PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 61, 2 March 1908, Page 4

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

j The election of President Roosevelt',' successor takes place on Tuesday, November 3. of the present year; and the method by which the greatest Republic of the planet chooses its head i, worth describing:--The Constitution of the L'nilcd Stales prescribes that each State shall "appoint" ill such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a number of i electors eipial to the whole number cf ' Senators and Representatives to which i the Stale may be entitled in Congress; ■ but no Senator or Representative or ' person holding au office of trust or pro- - lit under the I'nited States shall Ik- an ■ elector. The Constitution requires thai r the day when electors are chosen sh.ill be the same throughout the l'nilcd - -State,.

The manner in which the chosen v\w tors meet and ballot for a President and Vice-President of the United States is provided fur in Article XII. of the Constitution, mid is as follows: ••The electors shall meet in their respective States, .ind vote by ballot for President anil Vice-President, one of whom, at least, shall not be an inhabitant of the same State with then selves; they shjfl name in their ballots the person voted for as Presidenl. and in distinct ballots the person voted for as I Yice-l'i'csidciit; and they shall make distinct lists of all persons voted for as President, and of all persons voted for as Vice-President, and of the uiiiii- | Ikts of votes for each, which lists they shall sign and certify, and transmit, sealed, to the seat of government of the Cnited States, directed to the President of die sSeiiate..'' The same article tuen presenile* the I mode in which the Congress shall count the ballots of the"electors, and announce the result thereof, which is as follows: '■The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and the House of Representatives, opeu all their certificates, and the votes shall then I e counted: the person having tlic greatest number of votes for President" shall !«• President, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have such majority, then from the persons having the highest mimliers, not exceeding tin ,on the list of those voted for as President, the House of ltepre. sntatives shall choose immediately, by I ballot, the President, lint in choosimr I the President the votes shall be taken by the States, the representation from [ eaeli State having one vote; a quorum for this purpose shall consist of a ineni- | her or members from two-thirds of the i Stales, and the majority of all the States shall be necessary to a choice. And if the House of Representatives shall not choose a .'President, whenever the right of choice shall devolve upon them, Ijefore the fourth dav of .March next following, then the Vice-President shall act as President, as in the case of the death or other constitutional (lis. ability of the President, The person having the greatest number of votes as Vice-President shall be the Vice-Pre-sident, if such number be a majority of the whole number of electors appointed; and if no person have a majority, then from the two highest mimliers on the list the Senate shall choose the Vice-President; a quorum for the purpose shall consist of two-thirds of the whole number of Senators, and a majority of the whole number shall be necessary to a choice." The procedure of the two Houses, in ease the returns of the election of electors from any State are disputed, is provided in the "Electoral Count" Act. passed by the I'oity-iiinth Congress. The Act directs thai the Presidential electors shall meet and give their votes on the second Monday in .January next following their election. It fixes the lime when Congress shall be in session to count the ballots as the second Wednesday in February succeeding the meetof electors.