University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1912-11-03
ELECTING 4 PRESIDENT.

day will be only one of the MANI
steps taken to choose a President o
the United States. The beginning O
ii all is when the national committee
of each party comes together five OF
six months before the time for nom.
mating a candidate This meeting is
usually held in December The com.
mittee decides on the time and place
for holding the national convention
for its party and issues a call for
the election of delegates.
In both the Democratic and Re-
publican parties, each state and ter
ritory is allowed, in the national con-
vention. two delegates for each con-
gressman the state has. Sometimes
the Democratic delegates are Sc
lected at the state convention and
az other times by the combined work
of state and district conventions.
The four Republican delegates at
large in each state are selected at the
state conventions and the others at
the congressional district conven-
tions.
The chairman of the national COM
mittee presides at the national con-
vention the first day until the tenn
porary officers are elected The i'm
portant committees are chosen and
go to work. The second day of the
convention, the permanent organiza-
tion is usually made, the platform is
adopted and the new national COM
mittee chosen. The nominations of
candidates for president are generally
made the third day. When the vote
is taken on the nominees the chair
man of each state delegation gives
the vote of the delegates, as the roll
is called. Each state has one vote in
the Democratic convention and it
takes a two-thirds majority to get the
nomination. The Vice-President is
chosen in the same way. Some time
after the convention, a committee
visits the candidates and notifies them
formally of their nomination.
The campaign Of speeches and
literature" follows. This is directed
by the national committee, the chair
man of which is chosen by the presi-
Dental nominee. He and the treas
urer are usually chosen from outside |
the national committee.
At the national election on the first
Tuesday after the first Monday in
November, the voters do not really
vote for these nominees for President
and Vice-President who were selected
at the conventions They vote for
electors who, according to the con-
stitution, elect the President
tial electors on the ticket at the gen.
eral election as it has representatives
in Congress. The electors of the po-
litical parties are usually nominated
to their places on the ballot, at the
state conventions. The party that
has a plurality of the popular vote at
the general election gets to cast all
the electoral votes which the state is
entitled to.
The second Monday in January, the
electors of each state meet at the
state capitol and cast their votes for
President and Vice-President lone of
whom at least shall not be an inhab-
liant of the same state with them
selves"
Each state sends the list of the
votes of the electors to the President
of the United States Senate. Both
houses of Congress meet together the
second Wednesday in February. two
tellers are chosen from each house
and the votes of the electors are
counted. The person having ma
jority of the votes of all the electors
is President.
In case there should be tie in
these electoral votes, the House of
Representatives would then choose