After the election, Republican elector John W. Watts' candidacy was disputed by Democrats, arguing that under Article Two of the United States Constitution he was ineligible on the grounds that, as deputy postmaster of Lafayette, he held "an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States," even though he resigned from the position between the election on November 7 and the meeting of electors on December 6. If removed from contention, the fourth-placed elector, Democratic E. A. Cronin, would have become elector, giving Tilden the 185 votes he needed to secure the presidency.
On December 4, Secretary of StateStephen F. Chadwick declared that Watts and the other two Republican electors (John C. Cartwright and W. H. Odell) had been elected, but GovernorLa Fayette Grover issued a certificate to Cronin instead of Watts. On December 6, the three Republicans met and cast their votes for Hayes and his running mate William A. Wheeler, while Cronin appointed two others in Cartwright and Odell's steads - Cronin voted for Tilden and his running mate Thomas A. Hendricks while the others voted for Hayes and Wheeler. Both sets of returns were sent to Washington, D.C., with Cronin's bearing a certificate from the Governor and Watts' bearing the return of votes from the Secretary of State. Ultimately, the vote of the Watts slate was chosen by the Electoral Commission, confirming Hayes and Wheeler's victory in the election.[1]
Results
1876 United States presidential election in Oregon[2]
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