Year: 1877

THE ELECTUkAL TRIBUNAL.
The Full Text Of the Bii Reported by the
joint Committee Of Congress.


The following is the complete text Of


the bill agreed upon by the joint COM


mittee on counting the electoral vote Of


the United States: ....


A bill to provide for and regulate the


counting of votes for President and


Vice. President, and the decision of


questions arising thereon, for the
? term commencing March 4, A. D..


1877:


BE IL enuctcd, etc., That the Senate


and House of Representatives shall meet
in the hall of the House of Represen-


tatives, Mt the hour of one o'clock p. M,


on the first Thursday in February, A.


ID. 1877, and the president sthe Senate


shall be their presiding officer. Two


tellers shall be previously appointed on


the part of the Senate and two on the


part Of the House of Representatives, to


whom shall be handed, as they are open


ed by the president of the Senate, all


the certificates and papers prrporting to


be certificates of electoral votes, which


certificates and papers shall be opened,


presented, and acted upon in the alpha


betical order of the States, beginning


with the letter A, and said tellers having


then read the same in the presence and


hearing Of the two houses, shall make a


list of the votes as they shall appear
from the said certificates, and, the votes


having been ascertained and counted us
in this act provided, the result of the
same shall be delivered to the president
of the Senate, who shall thereupon an
nounce the state of the vote and the
names of the persons, if any, elected,


which announcement shall be deemed
sufficient declaration of the persons
elected President and Vice President of
the United States, and together with a
list of the votes shall be entered on the
journals of the two houses. Upon
such reading OF any certificate or
paper, when there shall be only
one return from the State, the
| president of the Senate shall call for OBJ
jections, if any. Every objection shall
be made in writing, and shall state clear
ly and concisely and without argument
by at least one senator and one member
OF the House of Representatives before
the same shall be received. When all
objections SO made to any vote or paper
from q State shall have been receivedand
read, the Senate shall thereupon with
draw, and such objections shall be sub
mitted to the Senate for it's decision, and
the Speaker of the House of Representa-
! tives shall in like manner submit such
| objections to the House of Representa-
tives for it's decision, and no electoral
vote or votes from any State from which
but one return has been received shall
be rejected except by the affirmative vote
of the two houses. When the two
houses have voted they shall immediate
ly again meet, and the presiding officer
shall then announce the decision of the
question submitted.


Sec. 2. That if more than one return
or paper purporting to be return from
State shall have been received by the
president of the Senate, purporting to
be the certificates OF electoral votes given
at the last preceding election for Presi-
dent and Vice President in such State,
unless they shall be duplicates of the
same return, all such returns and papers
shall be opened by him, in the presence
of the two houses, which met as afore-
said, and read by the tellers, and all
such returns and papers shall thereupon
be submitted to the Judgment and deci-
sions as to which is the true and lawful
electoral vote of such State, of commits
sion constituted as follows, namely
During the session of each House on the
Tuesday next preceding the first Thurs
day in February, 1877, each House shall
Inv ,,ti,fr yntn on,,pint fyn of it's
members, who, with the five associate
justices OF the supreme court of the Uni
ted States, to be ascertained us herein
after provided, shall constitute COM
mission for the decision of all questions
upon or in respect of such double re-
turns named in this section. On the
Tuesday next preceding the first Thurs
day of February, A. d. 1877, or as soon
thereafter as may be, the associate JUS
tees of the supreme court of the United
States now assigned to the first, third,
eighth and ninth circuits shall select, i'll
such manner as ma jority Of them shall
deem fit, another of the associate JUS
tices of said court, which five persons
shall be members Of the said commits
sion, and the person longest in commits
sion of said five justices shall be the
president of said commission. Members
of said commission shall respectively
take and subscribe the following oath


81, -, do solemnly swear ~
affirm, as the case may beg that L will
impartially examine and consider all
questions submitted to the commission /
of which am member, and true .
judgment give thereon, agreeably to the |
Constitution and laws, so help me God"
Which oath shall be filed with the secre-
tary of the Senate.


When the commission shall have been
thus organized it shall not be in the
power of either House to dissolve the
same or to Withdraw any of its men,
bers but if any such senator or men,
Der shall die or become physically rn-
able to perform the duties required by
this act the fact of such death or physi-
cal inability shall be by said commission,
before it shall proceed further, commune
Gated to the Senate or House of Repre-
sentatives, as the case may be, which
body shall Immediately and without de-
bate proceed by uiUa uOce vote to fill the
place so vacated, and the person ap-
pointed shall take and subscribe the
oath hereinbefore prescribed, and be-
come member of said commission.
And, in lake manner, if any of said JUS
tices of the supreme court shall die or
become physically incapable of perform
ing the duties required by the act> the
other of said justices, members of the
said commission, shall Immediately ap-
point another justice of said court a
member of said commission, and in such
regard shall be had to the
and freedom from bias
sought by the original appointments to
said commission, who shall thereupon
take and subscribe to the