Evening star., 1948-12-12
ThisMayBe
LustSessiOn
.F0rE7ect0rs
Our Complex Votin;
System Apt to Get
Overhauled
By ChoImers M. Roberts

times obstreperous middlemen ir
choosing our Chief Executive-wil
meet tomorrow in each of the a
States. But it may be the last such
set of meetings in American history
AS every high school civics student
knows, the people didn't vote TO,
Truman and Barkley or, Dewey ant
Warren or any of the other slate
last November 2. They voted 70
electors in each State. Most of tho
electors were definitely pledged
vote for one slate or another ant
in many States the names OF thu
presidential and vice presidential
candidates appeared on the ballots
But some electors were not def
nitely pledged. Tennessee voted for
Truman and Barkley but one OF its
l. u electors has been saying all along
ne will vote for the Thurmond and
Wright Dixiecrat ticket tomorrow.
If he does, it will cut the Democratic
electoral total from 304 to 303.
An effort to force the II Alabama
electors to vote for the Truman
Barkley ticket instead of the Thur
mond- Wright ticket failed to win
/ the Intervention of the United States
Supreme Court last week. The Pres
idents name was not even on the
ballot in that State, the only such
instance in the Union. Gov. Fol-
som and some individual Alabama
citizens tried to get the court to
enjoin the electors from voting to-
morrow for any but the duly nomi-
mated candidates of the Democratic
Party"
All of this sort of controversy
would be abolished by the Lodge
Gossett constitutional amendment
which will come before both the
Senate and House soon after the
new Congress meets next month
The amendment would abolish elec-
tors as such and simply divide the
electoral vote of a State in propor-
ton to the division of the popular
vote in that State.
Lots of Formalities
The legal provisions for the cleo
ton OF a President barely begin
with the meetings tomorrow. helG
in compliance with Federal law
which states that the electors of
each State shall meet and give
their votes" on the first Monday
after the second Wednesday in De-
cember.
The electors meet, in place des-
ignated by the Legislature of each
State, to formally cast their votes.
Then, according to Federal law, 1t
becomes the duty of 'the executives
of each State "as soon as prac-
ticable" to SEND "by registered mail
under the seal of the State All
official notification of the vote to
the Secretary of State of the United
States, who, at the first meeting of
Congress following, sends copy to.
each house of Congress.
But that is far from all. The law
provides an elaborate setup to make
sure Congress finds out how the
State voted-even though it knew
the morning after election, for all
practical purposes this year.
All of this must be finally COM
pleted by January 6, the day set by
law for a joint session of Congress
to open and count the votes of all
the States electors.
Making 1t Official
AS soon as Congress meets in
January-January this year-a
joint resolution will be passed to
authorize the joint session. The
President of the Senate (the Presi-
dent pro tenn, in this case, since
there is no Vice President until
January 20 when Vice President
elect Barkley is sworn i'm and the
Speaker of the House will each
appoint two tellers. :
At the joint session on the 9Th
the President of the Senate will
open each certificate from an elector
and hand it to the tellers who will
read them out alphabetically by
States and count the votes by
States. The Senate President then
announces the final total vote.
The Lodge -Gossett amendment
would abolish this whole compli-
Gated and cumbersome procedure.
After the November election the
Secretary OF State, or other appro-
pirate official of each State. would
certify directly to the President of
the Senate, within As days of the
election, distinct lists of all per-
sons for whom votes were cast for
President and the number of votes
for each, and the total vote of the
electors (meaning the voting pub
licD OF the State for each caadi-
date.
Proposed System Explained
These certificates would be opened
by the Senate President at joint
session, just as is done now with
the electors votes. But instead Of
merely adding up the electoral
votes, this is what the new amend
mend would provide:
Each person for whom votes were
cast for President in each State
shall be credited with such propor-
ton of the electoral votes thereof
as he received of the total vote Of
the electors (again meaning the
voting public) therein for President.
In making the computations, frac-
tional numbers less than one one
Ithousandth shall be disregarded un-
less a more detailed calculation
would change the result of the
election"