Wednesday, November 6, 1968
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
11
CYRs: up, down, up
Election excitement is electric. It wavers in a partisan crowd with the tabulations of a CBS computer.
When Rick Harman pulled ahead in the governor's race last night, KU Collegiate Young Republicans (CYR) and other Young Republicans gathered in the Eldridge Hotel Crystal Room felt that excitement.
When Gov. Robert Docking pulled ahead in the see-saw gubernatorial race, their mood reversed with equal speed.
Richard Nixon took an early lead and they went wild.
The races began to swing back and forth in different cycles and no one knew what to do.
Hubert Humphrey caught up and the excitement subsided.
The closer the vote, the less booze left at the bar and the more excitable the crowd.
The Crystal Room itself seemed an inappropriate setting for watching the high-speed wizardry of the tabulators.
No one seemed to mind, though. They were all too busy to notice those things.
Especially with the comment, "there seems to be a great Democratic sweep in the East."
For a good part of the night, both the Republican gubernatorial and Lt. Governor candidates ran hard races before falling behind their Democratic opponents, Docking and James DeCoursey.
Everyone watched CBS, but outside of the Democrats, Walter Cronkite and Eric Seveareid seemed to be the most unpopular men in the place.
Not before Everett Dirksen had gotten in a few good licks at the electronic newsmen, though. "You boys are trying to fool the country with fragmentary returns," he said.
The election and the party moved on. By midnight, Harman and John Conard were far behind, and the powers that be, decided enough was enough. So they closed the party down.
"Let's go out to my apartment," someone suggested.
So they did. They moved the whole party, and as far as anyone knows, its still going on.
General Walt to speak
Lt. Gen. Lewis W. Walt, assistant commander of the Marine Corps, will speak at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the University Theatre.
Gen. Walt will be in Lawrence for the Veteran's Day ceremonies sponsored by the local Alford-Clarke post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
A parade featuring several units from nearby military bases is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monday. Gen. Walt will speak at a banquet honoring Vietnam veterans at 6:30 p.m. in the Kansas Union Ballroom.
Gen. Walt was born in Wabauen County, Kansas in 1913. He graduated from Colorado State University and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marines in 1936.
In addition to other citations, Gen. Walt holds two Navy Crosses and a Silver Star in World War II, a Legion of Merit and a Bronze star in Korea and a Distinguished Service Medal in Vietnam.
Douglas County voting
President
Nixon, R. 10,533
Humphrey, D. 6,936
Wallace. 2,080
U.S. Senator
Dole, R. 11,179
Robinson, D. 7,247
Congressman
Winn, R. 11,769
George, D. 6,736
Governor
Harman, R. 8,018
Docking, D. 11,361
Lieutenant Governor
Conard, R. 9,143
DeCoursey, D. 9,267
Secretary of State
Shanahan, R. 9,846
Stogell, B. 8,336
State Auditor
Hedrick, R. 10,271
Myers, D. 7,732
State Treasurer
Peery, R. 10,387
Lee, D. 17,97
Attorney General
Frizzell, R. 10,491
Muth, D. 7,433
Commissioner of Insurance
Sullivan, R. 11,842
Dial, D. 6,051
State Printer
Sanders, R. 10,266
Bayouth, D. 6,905
State Senator
Shultz, R. 10,401
Nelson, D. 8,260
State Representative
39th district
Vogel. 3,955
Charlton. 3,139
40th district
Keg. 6,084
Nelson. 4,254
41st district
Bergin. 234
Bower. 400
Constitutional Amendment
Patrol. 13,692
Against. 3,528
County Clerk
D. E. Mathia, R unopposed
County Sheriff
Bessie M. Bennett, R unopposed
County Attorney
Daniel A. Young, R unopposed
Prince Judge
Charles C. Rankin, R unopposed
Sheriff
Rene D. Johnson, R unopposed
The Presidential and Vice-
Even though millions voted for president and vice president yesterday, they couldn't actually elect a president.
Lack of electoral majority allows Congress to choose
A final decision will not be made until Jan. 6,1969,two months after the election date.
The delay is provided for in Article II of the Constitution, which sets up the Electoral College. The College actually chooses the president and his vice president. When voters cast ballots, they choose a slate of electors pledged to vote for a candidate.
The Vice President, if elected by the Senate, would have to receive 51 votes, a majority of the 100 senators. The choice is made between the top two candidates as selected by the College.
In the House, each state has one vote. In this case, only 26 votes, a majority of the representatives is required for election. The House chooses between the two candidates receiving the most electoral votes.
The electors are pledged—traditionally, but not legally—to vote for the candidates under whose name they appeared on the ballot. The Constitution does not require them to do so.
Votes cast by the electors are mailed to the President of the Senate, and the ballots are tabulated Jan. 6 in a joint session of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The College consists of 538 electors from all the states. Each state has a total number of electors equal to the number of representatives and its two senators. Kansas, then, with five representatives and two senators, has seven electoral votes.
To be elected, a candidate must have 270 electoral votes. In case no candidate receives that many votes, the election is given to the House of Representatives. The Senate then has the task of choosing the Vice President.
The Electoral College voting occurs in each state's capital Dec.16.
Presidential elections twice have been given to the Congress.
If a deadlock occurs in the College in 1969, third party candidate George Wallace could have some bargaining power. The electors of all but three states are actually free to vote for any candidate they choose. It is only through tradition that the electors in the other 47 states vote for the candidate who received a majority in their state.
If Wallace were to release his electoral votes, he could legally bargain, either in the College or the House.
"The electors are essentially free to bargain among themselves to decide upon a candidate," said Glen Drake, assistant instructor in political science.
If the election does go to the House, the new House of Representatives would be the electing body.
However, if President Johnson were to call a session of the old Congress, the date for convening the new Congress could be changed by law, Drake said, as provided for by the 20th Amendment to the Constitution. If such action did occur, the old House would elect the new President, he said. Presumably, the old Democratic Congress would give Vice President Hubert Humphrey an advantage in the election.
It is conceivable that the House could be deadlocked in choosing a president. In this event, the Senate's choice for vice president would become acting president. If the Senate could not choose a vice president, the new Speaker of the House would become acting president until either the Senate or the House reached a decision. In the case no decision is reached, the acting president carries out a four-year term.
Campus election reaction spellbound to apathetic
Some sat glued to television sets for hours' while others were apathetic and could have cared less.
In the Kansas Union, approximately 50 persons watched the election results on IV. Because of the large crowd, William Rowlands, the Union night manager, extended the closing deadline from 11 p.m. to midnight.
An especially lively crowd followed election programs in McColum Hall. Rounds of applause periodically sounded as Humphrey or Nixon partisans made gains.
An exuberant cheer rang out about 10:30 p.m. when it was announced that Eugene McCarthy made impressive showings in states where he was a write-in candidate.
"I knew the people wouldn't forget his sacrifice," one boy exclaimed.
In Templin Hall, where nearly 60 persons watched TV on the second floor lobby, a "special" Wallace poster was propped in front of the television set. It read, "Wallace has hemorrhoids.—Do you?"
Patrons of bars surrounding the campus showed little interest in the earlier election returns. Although televisions were on, jukeboxes frequently drowned out announcers. Few seemed to mind.
Collegiate Young Democrats (CYD), who watched voting results at the Lawrence Democratic headquarters, had reason to cheer after the early returns showed Hubert H. Humphrey leading.
They cheered as Humphrey led by a few thousand votes but remained silent when the trend reversed early this morning. Ten CYD members were stationed at the headquarters and some planned to stay until the last votes were counted.
A victim of the election—or perhaps of the rain—was Watson Library. Employees reported that
the number of evening patrons dropped 25-50 per cent below the average weekday flow. Branch libraries around campus also showed a sizable decrease.
Excitement over the election grew from a calm, "wait and see," attitude around 8 p.m. to a fever-pitch by 11 p.m. when Humphrey and Nixon ran neck-to-neck separated by fewer than 100,000 votes.
Then the news came—Nixon had won.
Those fixed before their TV sets all night reacted saving:
"Hallelujah, this is the best thing that could happen. We couldn't take another four years of Democrates." Margot Monaghan, Merriam junior responded.
Chris Wright, Chicago freshman, said, "I think he will try to bring the country back to a stable condition—it is a very difficult job. I'm hoping Nixon will make a drastic change in military strategy in Vietnam i.e. an increase in military force."
"There are going to be a lot of revolutions and student unrest. What we need in a liberal president like Humphrey who could unify dissident factions," said Tom Nelson, Overland Park junior.
Bob Quagliano, Hoboken, N.J., junior, explained, "Somebody had to win. If I told you what I really think, they wouldn't print it."
"I think this is one of the most glorious events in American history because Johnson's reign has had murderous effect on the economy and foreign and domestic policy," remarked Richard Hackney, Mission sophomore.
Almost 37 per cent of the 147 KU students polled Friday were right in their choice. Fifty-three of the 147 said they would vote for Nixon.
Several students said they would abstain and others were undecided as to their preference. Four out of five Negro students polled said they would not vote.
County to GOP, Docking
Voters, turning out in record numbers, gave Richard M. Nixon, Gov. Robert B. Docking, and Sen. Robert Dole decisive victories vested in Douglas County.
Despite cold weather and a steady drizzle throughout the day, a record 19,983 voters cast their ballots. This surpasses the 17,353 votes cast in the county in the 1964 Lyndon Johnson landslide and the 17,065 in 1960.
Vote totals:
President:
Nixon-10,533
Humphrey-6,936
Wallace-2,080
Senate:
Dole—11,179
Robinson—7,247
Governor:
Docking—11,361
Harman—8,018
Chancellor W. Clarke Wesco received a write-in vote for governor of Kansas along with Rick Atkinson, a People's Voice member. Other write-in votes were cast for Pat Paulsen for president, James Logan for U.S. Senator, and Mrs. Rick Atkinson, for state board of education.
"Eenie, meanie, minie, mo...'
Kansan photo by Greg Sorber