But the bill seemed to the majority in Congress to offer a more practical plan than any yet proposed, and it passed the House May 4, by a vote of 73 to 59; the Senate, two months later, adopted it by a majority of four. But it failed to become a law by the adjournment of Congress before it received the President's signature.[31] The President, in justification of his neglect to sign the bill, issued a proclamation on July 8.[32] This stated that while he was unprepared "to be inflexibly committed to any single plan of restoration," and also "unprepared to declare that the free State constitutions and governments already adopted and installed in Arkansas and Louisiana, shall be set aside and held for naught, thereby repelling and discouraging the loyal citizens who have set up the same as to further effort," nevertheless he was "fully satisfied with the system for restoration contained in the bill, as one very proper plan for the loyal people of any State choosing to adopt it," and that in such case when the people "shall have sufficiently returned to their obedience to the Constitution and laws of the United States," military governors would be appointed, "with directions to proceed according to the bill." This attempt to modify the presidential plan virtually ended for the time the efforts of Congress towards the development of a distinctive theory, and the war thus closed with no well defined plan in operation, except that of President Lincoln, which was not well sustained by Congress. Only one thing seemed to be definitely decided. That was, that the seceded States, in whatever light they might be considered, were incapacitated from participating in presidential elections. A joint resolution to this effect was passed in 1865,[33] and in accordance with its provisions the electoral vote of Louisiana was ruled out.