electors. The electoral advocates meet this by demanding that only men of high character be chosen as electors. See Index," Electors." ELECTORAL COUNT. The counting by Congress of the vote of the electors of the various States on "the second Wednesday in February" follows the election by the people of electors to choose a President and a Vice-President of the United States. The Constitution, Art. II., Sec. 1, Cl. 3, and Amendment XII., reads: "The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives open all certificates, and the votes shall then be counted. . . .” The wording plainly provides for a count of the votes by the President of the Senate, in the presence of the two Houses of Congress, and this plan was adhered to during the earlier years of the government. It was simply a verification of the votes of the electors for President and VicePresident, the operation of counting being merely mechanical, the Constitution placing the power solely with the President of the Senate. It is of interest to watch subsequent actions. He "opened the votes" in 1789; he "opened and read the certificates" in 1793; he "took the packet and broke the seal and read the certificates" in 1797, and "the papers were then handed to the tellers, who noted the contents"; the same procedure in 1801, and also in 1805, at which time Aaron Burr required the tellers to perform the duty for him. The President of the Senate's duty under the Constitution was finally assumed altogether by the tellers, and apparently has become their inherent right by direction of Congress, though their only functions under the Constitution are as witnesses of the action of the President of the Senate. Congress alleged the original instrument (the Constitution), as it was later demonstrated by them, failed to provide sufficiently explicit general laws relative to the authenticity of each of the electors' returns; consequently Congress, in the capacity of arbiter of legality of elections, arrogated to itself in various ways, from time to time, the power of deciding the validity of the returns (see page 298 et seq.). To obtain this authority, Congress adopted joint resolutions to govern the action of both Houses when assembled on "the second Wednesday of February" to see the returns opened. As each electoral count came before its respective Congress, rules were adopted which gradually encroached on the authority of the "President of the Senate," leading to various joint agreements on the part of the two Houses, culminating in the present statute of February 3, 1887 (see page 277), which provides a mode of procedure admittedly not contemplated by the Constitution. It was first applied in the electoral count of February 13, 1889 (see page 306). Total 4 4 64 6 8 8 7 7 7 7 24 23 23 28 12 21 21 21 24 24 25 25 25 24 91 135 138 138 176 176 218 221 235 261 261 288 294 294 Electoral votes necessary to a choice a majority. Electors "equal the whole number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress."- Constitution, Art. II., Sec. 1. See "Apportionment," page 198. |