Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1908-11-25
FORMAL EVENT NOT TO TAKE
PLACE UNTIL JAN
uARY.
POSSIBILITIES THAT MIGHT
CHANGE RESULT FROM THAT
EXPECTED.
REFORM NEEDED IN THE METH.
Cd OF ELEcTlNe THE
PRESIDENT.


new president of the United States
has been elected. Sucn is not the
case. The people have merely elect
ed a certain number of men to meet
on the second Monday in January to
elect president. The electors OF
each state will gather at their state
capitols on that date, cast their votes
and certify the result. Unquestion
ably they will vote according to a
popular wish made tolerably definite
by the recent balloting; but the
president will not be elected till they
have voted and congress has counted
the vote
There are so many chances here
for slips between cup and lip that
men who feel responsible for the
peace and unity of the country can
not fail TO be oppressed by the posi-
bilities OF the next three months. Only
once has the slip actually occurred
in 1876 That the dispute in that
ease did not end in civil war may be
credited to a phenomenal self control
on the part OF half the people of the
counJrf, the half that had to accept
defeat by partisan vote of the cleo
toral commission
Many serious slips have occurred al
other times. but these happened never
to involve the general result. Men
are not allowed to act as electors
who hold Office under the govern
ment. In 1897 it was discovered after
the electors were appointed that
North Carolina, New Hampshire and
Connecticut had selected electors who
happened to be deputy postmasters
A congressional committee headed by
Henry Clay held that their votes
must be rejected. 1t happened that
Van Buren, was elected regardless oil
these votes Otherwise this mishaI
might have reversed the election. Has
care been taken TO see that all the
electors are eligible?
Again, the constitution requires all
electors to meet on the same day In
1857 a snowstorm kept the Wisconsin
electors from meeting till the day
after the appointed time. Twice the
Georgia electors have voted On the
wrong day In these cases the votes
went amounted, fortunately not
changing the result But how easily
might it have been different!
There is also the possibility. BY no
means remote, that enough of the 483
electors might die between the No
vember election and the January cleo
ton to change the result There is
the equally troublesome possibility
that the man to be elected president
might die between the November cleo
ton and the meeting of the electors,
or between the voting of the electors
and the counting of congress
There is always, moreover. the
chance of dispute. when congress
comes to count the vote, over the re,
turns from states where contests
have arisen There have been such
cases. though happily the result of
an election has not hinged on the de.
cision except in the contest OF 1876.
These more serious complications
may arise at any time, however, and
the constitution and the ~ are not
clear and specific enough tc insure
decisions according to regularly ap-
pointed principles and according to
facts rather than prejudice.
Our method of electing presidents
is, IN short. a powder magazine under
the nations feet Few parts of the
constitution have been the subject of
so much debate and so reconcilable
disagreement as the parts providing
methods of electing president. These
disagreement and the entire danger
could be removed by simple changes
In the document If loyalty to state
rights precludes direct popular cleo
ton change allowing each state a
weight in he election proporti0nate
to population without requiring the
of human electors would
answer the objections. shall we
make those changes while there is
time, or wait inertly till the spark is
in the gowder?