mocrats now put forth the
untenable claim that a joint rule adopted twelve years before and
never renewed should be considered in full force. On the other hand,
certain Republicans held that the Vice-President was clothed with the
power to open and count the electoral votes and declare the result,
the two Houses of Congress being present merely as spectators.
According to the first construction it would be necessary only for the
House of Representatives, which had a Democratic majority, to reject
even one of the three disputed States from the count, and Mr. Tilden
would be left with a majority of the electors. According to the
second construction, the acting Vice-President, Mr. Ferry, who was a
Republican, could count the three States in favor of Mr. Hayes, against
the protest of either or both branches, and he would be President-elect.

It was soon found necessary to abandon both pretensions. On the 14th
of December the House adopted a resolution (reported from the Judiciary
Committee by Mr. Knott of Kentucky, and originally introduced by Mr.
McCrary of Iowa) which, recognizing in a preamble that "there are
differences of opinion as to the proper mode of counting the electoral
votes for President and Vice-President," provided for the appointment
of a "committee of seven members, to act in conjunction with any
similar committee to be appointed by the Senate, to prepare and report
without delay such a measure, either legislative or Constitutional,
as may in their judgment be best calculated to accomplish the desired
end; and that said committee have leave to report at any time." The
Senate on the 18th of December appointed a similar committee empowered
to confer and act with the committee of the House of Representatives.
(1)

From the two committees acting as one, Mr. Edmunds on the 19th of
January (1877) reported 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, 1877."
Under the regulations of the proposed bill it was agreed that "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," in this respect reversing the joint rule of 1865. Where
more than one return had been received a reference to an Electoral
Commission was provided--the Commission to be composed of five members
of the Senate, five