Results of the 1876 election, with states won by Hayes in red, and those won by Tilden in blue
There was considerable debate about which person or house of Congress was authorized to decide between the competing slates of electors, with the Republican Senate and the Democratic House each claiming priority.[119] By January 1877, with the question still unresolved, Congress and President Grant agreed to submit the matter to a bipartisan Electoral Commission, which would be authorized to determine the fate of the disputed electoral votes.[120] The Commission was to be made up of five representatives, five senators, and five Supreme Court justices.[121] To ensure partisan balance, there would be seven Democrats and seven Republicans, with Justice David Davis, an independent respected by both parties, as the 15th member.[121] The balance was upset when Democrats in the Illinois legislature elected Davis to the Senate, hoping to sway his vote.[122] Davis disappointed Democrats by refusing to serve on the Commission because of his election to the Senate.[122] As all the remaining Justices were Republicans, Justice Joseph P. Bradley, believed to be the most independent-minded of them, was selected to take Davis's place on the Commission.