[63] The day on which the electors assemble must be the same throughout the Union. The purpose of this requirement is to prevent deals or bargains among the electoral "colleges" of the different states. Moreover, meeting on the same day, the action of one state cannot be used to influence that of another. In 1857 the electors of Wisconsin were prevented by a snowstorm from assembling at the state capital on the day fixed by law. On the day following they met and cast the vote of the state for Frémont. But when the question of counting Wisconsin's vote came up in Congress, objection was made that it had not been cast on the day prescribed by law. As the vote of the state was not decisive, the matter did not become serious.
[64] Thus Jefferson as president of the senate in 1801, counted the vote which elected him President of the United States and declared himself duly elected. So did Adams in 1797. Suppose there had been a serious dispute in either of these cases, could the president of the senate have counted for himself the votes in dispute?
[65] It was from the five highest before the adoption of the Twelfth Amendment in 1804.
[66] This would have happened in 1912; 22 state delegations were Republican, 22 were Democratic, and 4 were equally divided.
[67] Apportionment of delegates among the states on the basis of their representation in Congress bears no relation to the party strength. For some years there has been a growing sentiment in the ranks of the Republican party in favor of reducing the representation in the national convention of the Southern states where the Republican party is practically nonexistent. In December, 1913, the Republican national committee adopted a resolution prescribing that representation in the national convention of 1916 should to a certain extent be based on the number of the voters of the party in each congressional district. The effect was to reduce the number of southern delegates by eighty-seven, and the number of northern delegates by seven. The basis of representation in the Democratic convention, however, remains unchanged.
[68] The convention of 1912 excepted certain states from this rule.
[69] In reality each state delegation names one of its own number as the national committeeman from the state, and the committee thus constituted is appointed by the convention.
[70] In 1908, the Democratic national committee had a labor bureau to look after the labor vote, and a committee on college men's clubs to look after the organization of college students into voters' clubs.
[71] In 1908, more than one million copies of Mr. Bryan's speech "Shall the People Rule" were distributed, printed in all languages spoken in the United States. Another million copies of his speeches on the trusts, the tariff, guarantee of bank deposits, and injunctions were also circulated.
[72] John C. Calhoun resigned the Vice Presidency to become a senator from South Carolina. The statutes provide that the President shall signify his resignation, in case he resigns, by a letter to the secretary of state.