Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-10-15
How the President and Vice President
Are Chosen,
4HE PROVISIONS OF THE CONSTITUTION
Gradual Change in the Function Of
Etpt~~''u i,e,t- ,J,.s -.ut tit-r' ''r'' ~
.~s..s.. .. the Electors. .a..
THE ORTIONM TENTS

All classes and both sexes are taking a
direct and intense interest in political mat
tiers this year, and The Star is often in re-
ceipt of queries showing the general de-
sire for information relative to the cleo
ton machinery of the country. Today there
comes note signed "Lady Subscriber say
ing: will The Star give space to explain
fully how the President Of the Unite!
States is elected? How, in word, are the
electors chosen? Who decides that i'm
portant thing? For otherwise there would
be a scramble by each party to outnumber
the other side in the number of electors
chosen
Naturally. there is a scramble on the part
of the rival organizations to secure pre-
ponderance of electoral votes, and this con-
stitutes the campaign Doubtless what the
writer wants to know Is how the division
Of electors among the various states Is
determined, or, in other words, how the
electoral college, so-called, is constituted.
Briefly. it depends upon the population of
the state. This is called "apportionment,"
and is based primarily upon the third para
graph OF section two of article one of the
Constitution Of the United States. as
changed by the fourteenth amendment.
Thus amended it provides that "Repr.sen-
tatives lin Congress- shall be apportione1
among the several states acc ord.ng to their
respective numbers. counting the whole
number of persons in each state, eXclud-
ing Indians not taxed. The actual enumer-
alton shall be made within three years
after the first meeting of the Congress Of
the United States, and within every sub
sequent term of ten years. in such manner
as they shall by law direct. The number
of Representatives shall not exceed one
for every thirty thousand, but each state
shall have at least one Representative
BASIS of Representations.
This minimum number was, of course
never reduced because the population stead
lily increased. 1t is interesting in this con-
nection to state that under the original
apportionment there were sixty-five mem
bers of the House. though this was based
on a somewhat arbitrary reckoning CT
population contained in the Constitution
The first census showed such a population
that the basis of apporiOnment was 81, OUO
and this gave 105 members The second
Gems us made change in the ratio but
the number of REPRESENTATIVES was in
creased. to i'll. The ratio based on the
third census one member to .st,Nn peO-
pie, and at tkis rate there were Isl Rep
resent atveS.
The fourth census showed such a gain
in population that in order to prevent The
undue crowding of the House the ratio was
raised to one to 10000. and even at this the
membe rship jumped to BIB Ten years
later the ratio went to 4l.lcO. and the
membership to $40. Under the returns of
u
up to 1O,6SD and for the first time in the
history of the country the membership of
the House was decreased. falling to 22i.
Another increase in the basis of repre-
Sentation followed the taking OF the sew
enth census, and ii was placed at ~, FL
and the membership was increased 10 23i.
The eighth census fixed the ratio at 1.I'sl
and the House contained 243 members in
consequence, and under the ninth count
ing of the people the ratio stood AZ one to
49, 425, and the membership at ~. The
census of 1850. the tenth, gave sucn re-
| turns that the basis of representation was
| fixed at 5191l. and the House held 32j
members. The last census fixed the ratio
| at to 173.9o1 and the present House
is entitled to 337 members.
| Constitution of the College.
What has this to do with the election
of the President? Simply this: The cleo
| toral college consists. of one person for
| each member of the House and as
| well for each Senator. Therefore. the
| number of electors depends almost d.
rectly upon the size of the nation. though
| not quite. Were the college measured by
| the size of the House alone the ratio that
| exists by law between the population and
| the number of Representatives would be
always preserved and this relationship
| would be transmitted directly to the col
| lege. The addition of one elector for each
| Senator however, diSturbs the ratio, mas
| much as in certain states the total popu-
| lation does not equal the bare basis of
| representation. For Instance in 1890 Del
aware had but 16s.t4i people. or about
| 300 less than the ratio, Idaho the same
! year had Si,:iSi people, or nearly 10000
less than the average congressional dis
trict; Montana had 132. $50 people; Nevada
! 45,761, and Wyoming 60, 1Ol yet each of
| these states has three representatives in
| the electoral college, a total of fifteen cleo
tors for a total of ,5ol people, whereas
| if each had the bare limit of 1891 those
,<1- VII
| pie. Therein lies the difference between
! the theoretical and the real relationship OF
4 the population and the electoral college.
This latter body, whose name of college
| is the growth of usage and has no strictly
| legal meaning, is founded upon the seconf
| paragraph of the first section of article
| of the Constitution. which reads as follows
| Each state shall appoint, in such man
f.ner, as the legislature thereof may direct
| number of electors, equal to the whole
number of Senators and Representatives r.
| which the state may be entitled in Con
| gress: but no Senator or Representative. OF
| person holding an office of trust or prof
| under the United States, shall be appointed
| an elector.
| Redistrictins and Gcrrymandering.
Therefore, the present electoral colleg,
| consists of All members, based on :'57 Rep
| resentatives and 30 Senators, there beins
now 40 states, each with two Senators. tt
| secure the presidency a candidate mus
have 22i electoral votes. Thus the size o
| the college is fixed by law, and is not
matter depending upon the success or fail
| ure of political maneuvers.
| The correspondent asks: who decide:
| this important thing?" The Congress na
this power. When the grand total of til
! census is known in each state, and for tn
whole country, the houses set to work eacl
tenth year to pass an "apportionment bill,
which takes effect March in the thir.
year Of the decade. This often bring
about conflict between the parties, eacl
side struggling for advantages that Nigh
| accrue from the effect of the new enumera
ton upon local political conditions. TIL
ratio Being once established, the state
must be redistricted, in order to fit tn
new proportion to the counties and cities
so as to preserve the balance and to main
tain the equality commanded by the Con
stitution This is difficult task, and here
in lies the possibility Of trickery, which
however, can hardly affect the presidential
election. Few states, save in the eAtrem
sections Of the country, present even pc
! It1cal conditions throughout their borders
Here Will be a republican stronghold, Their
democratic, and occasionally a co:.nt.
will tend strongly toward third party views
Sometimes industrial conditions proluc
this result sometimes it is the work of a.
unfathomable chance. To take advantag
of these discrepancies partisan legislature
are prone to outline congressional district
so as to make some of them certain TO
hf nc III n h1f.~ lost