Reconstruction and the Constitution, 1866-1876Burgess, John William
History
Reconstruction and the Constitution, 1866-1876
Burgess, John William
Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877); United States -- Politics and government -- 1865-1877
The Oregon case was more complicated. The three Republican electors
received the highest number of votes, as reported by the Secretary of
State, who by the laws of Oregon was the "State" canvassing officer, to
the Governor. But one of them, Watts, held the office of postmaster in
a small place at the time of his election, and the Constitution of the
United States provides that "no Senator or Representative, or person
holding any office of trust or profit under the United States, shall be
appointed an elector." The Democratic Governor of Oregon decided in his
own mind that Watts was not eligible, and made out his certification to
include, beside the two Republican electors who were eligible, one
Cronin, the Democrat receiving the highest number of votes for elector,
although the number received by him was a minority of all the votes
cast for the electoral tickets. This certificate was attested by the
Secretary of State, and was given to Cronin. When the day for the
meeting of the electors came around Cronin presented himself holding
the Governor's certificate, the only certificate which had been issued
to the electors by Governor Grover. But in spite of the fact that he
had this technical advantage, the two Republican electors, whose names
were included in the Governor's certificate, refused to act with him,
and he refused to let them have the certificate to attach to their
return of the electoral vote to the President of the Senate of the
United States unless they should so act. Both parties persisted {291}
in their refusals. Whereupon Cronin selected one J. N. Y. Miller and
one John Parker to fill up the electoral college of Oregon and these
three cast two electoral votes for Hayes and Wheeler and one for Tilden
and Hendricks, and, after attaching the Governor's certification to the
record of their vote in due form, sent this return to the President of
the Senate of the United States, as required by the Constitution. At
the same time the two Republican electors, Odell and Cartwright, met to
cast the electoral vote of the Commonwealth. Watts was also present. He
had resigned his office of postmaster, and now he resigned his position
as elector. The other two accepted his resignation, and immediately
chose him an elector. The three then cast the electoral vote of the
Commonwealth for Hayes and Wheeler. As we have seen, they did not have
the certification of their election by the Governor to attach to their
votes, as required by the law of the United States, but they procured
from the Secretary of State a certified copy of the canvass of the
votes for the electors, which showed the election of the three
Republican candidates, and sent this, and also a copy of their
proceedings in accepting the resignation of Watts, and then electing
him an elector, along with their report of the vote of the electors for
President and Vice-President, to the President of the Senate.
[Sidenote: The counsel before the Commission.]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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