On February 8, 1864, the House Committee of Elections, led by Henry L. Dawes, presented a report and two resolutions declaring that neither McKenzie nor Kitchen were entitled to a seat. Green Clay Smith presented a minority report. On February 26, 1864, McKenzie presented his case. Dawes discredited McKenzie's claims regarding the legitimacy of the Berkeley County election and irregularities in the reporting process. Berkeley County's participation in the Virginia election was ruled valid, due to West Virginia not fully accepting Berkeley County's admittance until August 5, 1863, more than two months after the May 28 election. The House passed the resolution that Lewis McKenzie was not entitled to the seat under any circumstances due to lack of votes. Dawes presented the committee's reasons for the resolution against Kitchen's eligibility as well. Green Clay Smith asked for the resolution to be struck out. The majority report declared that voting in most 7th District counties had been disrupted so badly by the war that many citizens had not been able to vote. Due to the lack of consistent voting throughout the district, the report concluded that the seat should remain vacant as no candidate could be determined to represent the choice of the majority of the district.