ately preceding the firft Wednesday of December, 1792; and thenceforth, within thirty-four days immediately preceding the first Wednesday of December in the fourth year after the last election. The faid electors fhall be equal in number to that of the fenators and reprefentatives in congrefs, of which the feveral states shall have a right to compofe their deputation, at the time when the prefident and vice-prefident to be chofen fhall enter into office: provided that, if the new apportioning of reprefentatives, in virtuc of the new enumeration of the inhabitants, fhall not take place before the period for chufing the electors, then the number of clectors fhall be proportioned to the number of fenators and reprefentatives of the prefent congrefs.

Sect. 2d. The electors fhall affemble and vote on the first Wednesday of December, in each ftate, at fuch place as fhall be named by the legiflature of the ftate; and fhall draw up and fign three certificates of their respective votes, and fall fold up and feal the fame separately, and fhall indorfe upon the cover of each packet a declaration, that it contains a lift of the votes of the state for the prefident and vice-prefident; and every elector, or the majority of electors, fhall appoint by ballot the perfon to whom they will entrust one of the faid certificates, to be by him conveyed

conveyed to the prefident of the fenate, at the place of refidence of the government, before the first Wednesday of the January following; and fhall addrefs another of the faid certificates, by the poft, to the prefident of the senate, at the place of refidence of the government; and shall transmit the third of the faid certificates to the judge of the district in which their affembly fhall

be held.

Sect. 3d. The executive power in each state shall cause to be drawn up, and properly certified,

three lifts of the names of the electors of the ftate, and fhall tranfmit the fame to the electors before the first Wednesday of December; and the electors fhall add one of the faid lifts to each of the before-mentioned lifts of their votes.

Sect. 4th. In the cafe of a lift of the votes of a ftate not arriving at the place of refidence of the government on the first Wednesday in January, the secretary of ftate fhall difpatch an exprefs to the judge of the diftrict of fuch state, in whofe hands the third certificate fhall have been depofited, who fhall tranfmit it by the fame meffenger to the place of refidence of the go

vernment.

Sect. 5th. The congrefs fhall commence its fittings on the fecond Wednesday of February, 1793; and thenceforth, on the fecond Wednesday

of

of the February following each affembly of electors; and the certificates, or as many of them as hall have arrived, fhall be opened, the votes counted, and names of the perfons elected to fill the offices of prefident and vice-prefident declared and proclaimed, according to the forms of the conftitution.

Sect. 6th. In the cafe of the prefident of the fenate not being present at the place of refidence of the government, on the arrival of perfons charged with the lifts of the votes of the electors, fuch perfon fhall deliver the lifts to the fecretary of ftate, who fhall carefully preferve them, and remit them as soon as poffible to the president of the fenate.

Sect. 7th. The perfons appointed by the electors to convey the lifts to the prefident of the fenate, fhall receive, at the time of delivering the faid lists, fifteen pence per mile for the distance, by the high road, from the place of election to the refidence of the government.

Sect. 8th. If any perfon, being appointed to convey the votes of the electors to the prefident of the fenate, and having accepted that truft, shall neglect to discharge the fame, he shall incur a penalty of one thousand dollars.

Sect. 9th. In the cafe of the removal, death, refignation, or incapacity to fill his office, of the prefident

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prefident or vice-prefident, the provisional prefident of the fenate, or, where no fuch officer has been appointed, the fpeaker of the house of representatives, shall fulfil the duties of prefident of the United States, or vice-prefident, until the prefident or vice-prefident fhall refume his functions, or a new clection fhall take place.

Sect. 10th. When the offices of prefident and vice-prefident fhall become vacant at the fame time, the fecretary of ftate fhall give notice of the fame to the executive, power of each state; and shall publish the faid notice in one gazette at leaft of each state, in which it fhall be declared that the electors for the prefident of the United States will be appointed or chosen in the several ftates, within the thirty-four days immediately preceding the first Wednesday of the month of December following, provided a space of two months fhall intervene between the date of fuch notice, and the first Wednesday of the December following; but when the said space of time fhall not fo intervene, or if the term for which the late prefident and vice-president were elected does not expire on the third day of March following, then the fecretary of state shall declare in fuch notice that the electors are to be appointed or chofen within the thirty-four days immediately preceding the first Wednesday of December

December in the following year; and the electors fhall be appointed accordingly, and shall proceed as is provided in this act.

Sect. 11th. The only evidence that shall be required of the refufal to accept the office of president or vice-prefident, or refignation of either of the faid offices, fhall be a declaration in writing to that effect, figned by the perfon refusing to accept or refigning fuch office, which fhall be transmitted to and depofited in the office of the secretary of state.

Sect. 12th. The term for which the prefident and vice-prefident fhall be chofen fhall be four years; commencing, in all cafes, on the 4th of March following the day of the election.

By the provifions of this law, as well as those of the conftitution, the power of declaring the manner of nominating the electors who were to choose the prefident and vice-prefident, was left to the legislatures of the feveral states; and the refult was, that a uniform mode was not adopted. In fome of the states the people were left to nominate the electors, in the fame manner as they voted for other offices; in others, that power was confided to the legiflatures themselves. The following is a statement fhewing which of these modes was adopted by each state refpectively.