UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

ongtcssio,nal Record -
PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 78th CONG.RESS
SECOND SESSION

VOL:UME 90-PART ·l

JANUARY 10, 1944, TO FEBRUARY 8, 1944

(PAGES 3 TO 1444)

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UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON, 1944 ,
 1944 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE 1199
lection of their home officials, and I am them to the armed forces across the seas. destroy the constitutional right of the
sure that hundreds of thousands of them I do that by providing that for the pri- States to determine the qualifications of
will have fathers or brothers or friends mary elections all ballots shall be printed their voters, I feel impelled to record
who are candidates for office and for at least 30 days before the primary elec- briefly my own conscientious views upon
whom they would like to vote. tions, and for the general election that the subject, by which I must be governed.
And they should have the opportunity they shall be printed 129 days before the In the welter of words characterizing
of voting in the primaries as well as in general election. this debate, we might well pause to in-
the general elections. Certainly they I seek also by this amendment to meet sert in the RECORD the language of the
are of equal importance and, as most of the objection that the ballot that is to be Constitutrion which should govern our
you know, the results of the primary are submitted to the soldiers is not a consti- actions.
usually controlling in my State and in tutional baJlot, because I provide in this We deal here with two distinct consti-
my section of the country. amendment that the names and the tutional questions: First, the election of
Fortunately, under the call and splen- party designations of the respective can- President and Vice President which is
did leadership of the Governor of my didates for all the offices, including elec- governed by one provision of the Con-
State our general assembly met in special tors of President and Vice President, stitution; and second, the election of the
·session in early January and, by unani- Ehall be printed on the ballot. I believe Congress which is governed by an en-
mous vote, enacted a specia:l law which this will insure a constitutional ballot if tirely different section. Bear in mind
positively assun~s every man and woman it is at all possible to have a constitu- that the Congress has only such powers
from the State of Georgia who is now in tional ballot for national officers alone. as are expressly delegated to it by the
our armed forces, and who can qualify · It does away with the so-called bob- Constitution, and none other. The
as a voter ·under the Constitution and tailed ballot and requires the names of method provided for the election of
laws of the State of Georgia, an oppor- the candidates to be printed on the ballot. President and Vice President is con-
tunity to vote in any and every election Mr. Chairman, I trust the amendment tained in article II, section 1. Note care-
which is held, during his absence from will be adopted. I want us to enact leg- fully the language chosen:
home by reason of his serVice to our islation here that will not only insure the
country. Under this Georgia law all of men in our armed forces the right to Each State shall appoint in such manner
as the legislature thereof may direct, a num-
them, from 18 years of age and up, are vote but will also insure that their votes ber of electors, equal to the whole number
given the opportunity to vote in every will be counted. I am convinced that of Senators and Representatives to which
election, primary and general, national, ballots cast under authority of this sub- the State may be entitled in the Congress,
State, and local. stitute offered by the genth~man from but no Senator or Representative, or person
I am not, therefore, so much con- Texas [Mr. WoRLEY] will n()t be counted holding an office of trust or profit under the
cerned over the controversy which is now unless the substitute is amended to bring United States shall be appointed an elector.
raging here in Washington. I have of- its terms within the provisions of the The Congress may determine the time of
choosing the electors and the day on which
fered for your consideration a· bill to Federal Constitution. they shall give their votes, which day shall
provide free air mail to members of our The CHAIRMAN. The question is on - be the same throughout the United States,
armed forces in requesting and returning the amendment offered by the gentleman
both registration certificates and ballots. from Ohio. Another provision of the Constitution
I hope this bill may have your early and The amendment was rejzcted. provides the methods by which the elec-
favorable consideration. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair recog- tors so chosen, shall elect the President
The thing that concerns m·e most right nizes the gentleman from Virginia [Mr. and Vice President. Thus the sum tor
now, Mr. Chairman, is the eager desire SMITH]. tal of congressional power in the matter
on the part of many Federal officials to Mr. SMITH of Virginia. Mr. Chair- of the election of the· President, except
destroy all rights of the States and do man, the soldiers' vote bills are among the where a majority of such electors cannot
away·with local self-government. I am most far-reaching and significant meas- agree, is the power to fix the time for the
equally concerned with the delay and ures ever presented to the Congress. We States to choose their electors. There is
apparent refusal of the Governors of are conducting an experimental surgical no provision for popular election of the
many of our ·States to call their legisla- operation on the very arteries of demo- President and Vice President. Each
tive bodies into special session to enact cratic processes. I do not hope to influ- State may determine the method of se-
such laws as may be needed to assure the ence the vote of any other Member, and lecting its electors to the electoral col-
soldiers from their States an opportunity I attribute to all Members a conscientious lege; each State may choose a different
to vote. We must, therefore, agree with desire to conform to their sworn obliga- method; a State may prescribe that its
Governor Arnall, of niy State, that one tion to support the Constitution. Any electors be chosen by the legislature of
reason the Federal Government is en- other course would be unthinkable. Cer- the State, can provide that they be ap-
croaching upon the rights of the States tainly, I know that no Member of this pointed by the Governor; could even pro-
is because the State authorities fail or bJdy desires to deny any citizens in the vide that they be selected by lot. The 48
refuse to act promptly and effectively armed services of the United States their States can, if they desire, select 48 dif-
when the need arises. right to vote. But the determination of ferent methods for choosing the electors
Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Chairman, I offer an that right under the plain language of who are in turn· to elect the President
amendment. · the Constitution does not rest with the and Vice President, and Congress has no
The Clerk read as follows: Congress, but with the sovereign States. power on earth to do anything about it.
Amendment offered by Mr. LEwis to the The only power we possess is to facilitate I am not speaking of what the law ought
Worley .amendment: On page 2, line 23, strike the exercise of that right, so far as a right to be or what provisions should, in the
out all after the period and all of lines 24 exists under the laws of the State of light of modern times, be inserted in the
and 25; also strike out all of page 3 and which the soldier is a citizen. All the Constitution. I speak of the Constitu-
strike out lines 1, 2, 3, and 4, on page 4, and oratory, all .the devious language, all the tion as written, as it exists today, and as
insert in lieu thereof: threats of political reprisal cannot en-
"All such ballots shall be printed not later the Congress swore to uphold it. I can-
large that power by one jot or tittle, and not subscribe to the doctrine that the exi-
than 30 days preceding any primary election to attempt to do so is, in my opinion, not
and not later than 129 days preceding the gencies of the occasion or the emergency
gE.neral election and shall bear, under their only a violation of our oath of office, but . of war operates to suspend the Constitu-
respective party designations, the names of is fraught with -the gravest dangers for
the future of the Republic. I know that tion of the United States. If it were so,
the candidates of each of the States and
congressional districts for the offices of Presi- violent and intemperate criticism is being the Constitution would have said so. To
dent, Vice President, and the respective State and will be hurled at those who, like my- deviate from this course at this critical
electors thereof, United States Senator, self, feel bound to abide by what we be- time when the Nation is involved in the
Representative in Congress, and Representa- lieve to be the limit upon our 'powers most desperate war in its history might
tive at Large in Congress." under the Constitution which we are well result in such confusion in the elec- ·
Mr. LEWIS. Mr. Chairman, I seek to sworn to uphold. The easier course is to tion of the President and Vice President
do three things by this amendment. go with the tide of public opinion. as to throw the whole election into a.
First, I seek to insure that these ballots But in the light of the future impor- contest. I can think of no more danger-
will be printed in plenty of. time to get tance of the question as a precedent to ous or tragic possibility during this crisis,
 1200 CONGRESSIONAL RECOR.D -HOUSE
I do not intend by my vote to be a party
to it.
As to the election of the Congress, sec-
tion 2 of article I of the Constitution
provides:
And the electors in each State shall have
the qualifications requisite for electors of
the most numerous branch of the State leg-
islature. • State ballot may never catch up with the
·The only limitation upon the power
of the States is contained in section 4
of the same article and empowers Con-
gress to alter the times, places, and
manner of holding such elections.
It is my view that any act .of Con-
gress which in any way as;mmes power
to dictate the qualifications of voters
in any State or to preemptorily deter-
mine the form of ballot, or to pre-
emptorily prescribe a unform ballot for
the States is a clear and flagrant viola-
tion of the Constitution which we, indi-
vidually and collectively, are sworn to
uphold. The power of Congress is
clearly confined witnin narrow limita-
tions; in the case of election of Presi-
dent and Vice President, it may only
determine "thr time of choosing the
electors" ·and "the day on which they
shall give their votes "
In the case of election of Senators and
Representatives, Congress may deter-
mine the time, place, and manner of
holding the elections, but the qualifi-
cations of voters must be the same as
those prescribed for the election of the
lower branch of the State legislature.
Plainly the Constitution has said to
us: Thus far shalt thou go, and no fur-
ther.
Under my construction of the Con-
stitution, and in conformity with my
oath of office, I shall observe that ad-
monition. - ing manner: He ,may execute a power of at-
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair recog-
nizes the gentleman from Michigan [Mr.
SADOWSKI].
Mr. SADOWSKI. Mr. Chairman, this
week in Washington will go down as the
week of the big winds, the week of the
big dust storms, and not all of the dust
has come from Tupelo, Miss., either, be-
cause a good portion of it has come from
this side, around the table of the minority
leader. . ting over an legislation which it desired
-I am going to make just a few Temarks
now to my Republican colleagues from
the State of Michigan. Beware of those
political pied pipers on both sides of the
aisle and listen to a statesman, a great
leader from Michigan. I read this to
you. It was said on the Senate floor
Monday: ' record ourselves on this vote.
I favor a Federal ballot for the accommoda-
tion of any soldier or sailor who cannot be
reasonably sure of being served by a State
ballot. · Since the State ballot cannot be
certain to function overseas, even when a
State makes every maximum effort to this
end, I shall continue to vote for a Federal
ballot as the only available, final insurance
that all of our soldier sons and service
a
daughters are pro~ected against default iri
this supreme privilege of the Citizenship to
which they are giving the last full measure
• of devotion.
Further:
A State absentee voter's ballot is the bet-
ter ballot for a serviceman, if it can reach
h im and if he can get it back in time. It is
a better ballot because' it is a total ballot;
and its use offers the soldier or the sailor
the only way in which he can enjoy his total
right of suffrage and be certain that his
ballot will be counted.
Still further:
Furthermore, since all State ballots must
go by letter mail to individual addresses, the
soldier on the move, particularly in the battle
zones. I cannot close my .eyes to these facts
of life. It seems to me, therefore, that the
Federal ballot is indispensable as final suf-
ferage insurance.
This is Senator VANDENBERG, of Michi-
gan, speaking.
The .CHAIRMAN. The Chair recog-
nizes the gentleman from California [Mr.
POULSON].
Mr. POULSON. Mr. Chairman, prop-
aganda and false accusations have pre-
dominated in all of the debate on the
soldier-vote bill up to this time. The
statement made by the administration,
in many newspaper articles, and by com-
mentators, to the effect that those who
voted to sustain the regular rules of the
House were voting to a void standing up
. not sit here now and say, "We are im-
and being counted on the Worley ,bill,
certainly was an unfair charge. I ammot
afraid of being counted, but I am opposed
to the Worley bill .because I am just as
much interested in seeing the soldier's
vote being counted as·:I am in seeing the
soldier vote. Mr. Speaker, no one has
answered the charge that the Federal
ballot would be unconstitutional in many
States. I am glad to state that in Cali-
fornia arrangements have been made to
get the ballot ready in time for the pri-
mary and final election. As this is the
constitutional way and is not a· further
step in the centralization of government
and overriding of States' rights, I want ·
to be consistent and still vote for States'
rights.
Returning to the argument on the rule,
let me state that the present adminis-
tration has been using two rules since
it has come into power, the closed rule,
which denies amendments, and the open
rule, which allows amendments and which
is the rule we are operating under in con-
sidering this legislation. The adminis-
tration has used these two rules in put-
in the past, and now, when it is doubtful
that their bill can be passed under either
of these rules, a special rule is requested.
According to the rules of all games of
fair play, the contestants on both sides
are to abide by the same rules.
I am sur'e we will have a chance to
I do wish to compliment the distin-
guished Texan [Mr. WoRLEY] on his gen-
tlemanly performance. He has at-
tempted to confine himself to facts as he
sees them and is not resorting to dema-
goguery. This cannot be said of every-
one.
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair recog-
nizes the gentleman from New Mexico
[Mr. FERNANDEZ].
Mr. FERNANDEZ. Mr. Chairman, I
endo;rse every word said, and ably said,
by the gentleman from Tennessee [Mr.
PRIEST] earlier in the afternoon. I am
in favor of the Worley bill and I hope
that by the time the Senate and the
FEBRUARY 3
House get together we shall have a Fed-
·eral ballot of ·some kind, if not exactly
the kind provided by the Worley biU.
I say this because in New Mexico, my
State, we are in a hopeless situation. I
plead with you to help us protect the
right of the boys from New Mexico and
from any other State similarly situated,
to vote. In our State the Supreme Court
has · held that our constitution requires
manual delivery of the ballot by the
voter in the precinct in which he offers
to vote. Amendments to ·the constitu-
tion can be submitted only at a regular
session, as my colleague [Mr. ANDERSON]
has explained, and so we need your help.
Our legisla'ture has done ever~tqing it
could. It has advanced the d§: e of the
primary from September,rto early June,
and litigation has been initiated in an
effort to get the Supr~me Court to re-
verse itself. Being familiar with the
cases that resulted finally in this deci-
sion of the Supreme Court, I doubt if it
can be ,done.
Mr. Chairman, this Congress sent the
boys across to fight. This Congress can-
potent to do anything to protect the
right of'the soldiers to vote."
Mr. -ELMER. Mr. Chairman, I offer
an amendment.
The Clerk read as follows:
Amendment offered by Mr. ELMER: On page
19, after line 16, add the following new title:
"TITLE IV
"VOTING UNDER POWER OF ATTORNEY
"SEc. 41. (a) _The provisions of titles I, II,
and III of this act shall be applicable for
·purposes of carrying out and making ef-
fective the provisions of this section.
"(b) Any voter specified in •the foregoing ·
titles may, at his option, vote in the follow-
torney in due form, or by letter signed by
him, stating his rank and serial number, if
any, and stating the place of his residence,
and attested by two or more members of
the armed forces of the United States, sign-
ing as witnesses to voter's signature, stating
their serial number and place of residence,
name any citizen of t~e United States of
America, over 21 year:: of age, resident of
the same county as such voter, as ·his attorney
in fact to cast his ballot at any election
specified in the titles aforesaid, and deliver
or mail said power of attorney to such at-
torney in fact.
"(c) The person appointed as attorney in
fact , as provided in subsection (b), shall ex-
hibit such power of attorney to the election
official having charge of the distribution of
or receiving absentee ballots in the county
wherein said attorney in fact resides, which
shall be received, marked, filed, and signed
by said officer and returned to said attor-
ney in fact. Said officer shall at once post
tlle name of the absentee voter, his place
of ·residence, his· serial number, and the
names, addresses, and serial numbers of the
attesting signers, and the date filed along-
side the list of names of absentee voters, and
same shall remain posted for 5 days following
the election date.
"(d) On election day said attorney in fact
may secure a ballot, in ordinary use in said
election, ani;! vote the same as any other
ballot may be voted, nttach the power of at-
torney to said ballot, and deliver it to the
judges of election, who shall receive the same
and place it in a ballot box, separate from
ordinary ballots, and the same shall be Usted,
counted, and tallied sepnately on the poll
books.