Obscure Law Could Allow Congress to Decide Election
— -- The ballots have been counted and recounted. The courts have had their say. Think the presidential election saga ends there? Think again. Under an obscure, century-old law, Congress could ultimately choose the next president.
By Geraldine SealeyABCNEWS.comNov. 14— It seems reasonable to assume the nation will have a president-elect once thousands of votes are counted or recounted in Florida and other states. But the suspense might not end once the
ballots are tallied.
Although election experts call it a long shot, the outcome of the 2000 presidential contest could ultimately rest with Congress. An obscure century-old federal law grants Congress the power to contest the validity of any number of electoral votes when it meets for the customary reading of the votes on Jan. 6.
The law at issue is the Electoral Count Act of 1887, a delayed reaction on Congress’ part to the 1876 disputed presidential election between Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford B. Hayes. In that election, much like this one, results were contested in South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana.
A commission set up to settle the debate ultimately awarded the disputed returns to Hayes and gave him a majority of one vote in the Electoral College.
Defining ‘Regularly Given’
Under the law, any member of the House, together with any member of the Senate, can protest any one or more electoral votes after they are opened and read on Jan. 6. The Electoral College representatives meet to cast votes on Dec. 18.
Objections to electoral votes can be made if a vote or votes “have not been so regularly given” by the electors, the law stipulates. When an electoral vote is contested, both houses of Congress meet separately for a debate and vote. A majority of both houses must approve to discard the vote or votes.
The statute does not include a definition of what votes are or are not “regularly given.” However, the law likely refers at a minimum to electors who vote for candidates ineligible to hold office, such as foreign-born candidates or those under 35 years of age, says Michael Glennon, an election law specialist at University of California at Davis Law School.
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