[Armscor38]

“The President of the Senate shall, in the presence of the Senate and House of Representatives, open all the certificates and the votes shall then be counted;—the person having the greatest number of votes for President, shall be the President,”

No where in the Constitution does it say the VP, as President of the Senate, has the power to reject any certificates. It clearly says that he must open all of them and the votes be counted.

[Dr. Franklin]

No where in the Constitution does it say the VP, as President of the Senate, has the power to reject any certificates. It clearly says that he must open all of them and the votes be counted.

The constitution makes no reference to certificates from a governor, nor what should be done if two competing slates of electors is received. The constitution, in the Twelfth Amendment, anticipated that state legislatures themselves would appoint the electors, not delegate powers to others.