Congress considers voting remotely
WASHINGTON – Congress is in a race against the coronavirus – and not just to help Americans confront the global pandemic.
The virus is starting to prevent the world’s greatest deliberative body from deliberating.
On Wednesday, two House members, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ben McAdams, announced they had tested positive for the coronavirus. More than a dozen members are self-quarantining in their homes. Many staffers are staying away from the Capitol. Offices have been shuttered.
Suddenly the idea of changing foundational Senate rules to allow voting from remote locations rather than all together has become a serious proposition in a body that prides itself on following time-honored customs.
“The Senate is a pretty tradition-bound place,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, the second most powerful Republican in the chamber. “But these are extraordinary circumstances.”
Senate rules require a senator to be physically present during a roll call vote. Senators may vote from their desks or in the well of the chamber, but they must be present, so the clerk can record their vote.
Changing that likely would need a supermajority of 67 votes, the same number needed to override a presidential veto.
But the idea of “remote voting” is suddenly gaining traction in the marbled halls of Capitol Hill.
Senators Dick Durbin, D-Ill, and Rob Portman, ROhio, Thursday proposed a rules change that would permit senators to vote remotely during a national crisis provided the leaders of both parties agree.
“We live in an age where national emergencies, public health crises, and terrorism can threaten the ordinary course of Senate business,” Durbin said. “We need to bring voting in the Senate into the 21st century so that our important work can continue even under extraordinary circumstances.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wasn’t interested in changing the chamber’s rules but was willing to bend them a little by extending the time senators can cast floor votes.
“It’s not set in stone that a roll call vote goes on for only 15 minutes,” he said, referring to the usual time limit. “We can lengthen the amount of the roll call vote. People could come over one at a time, they could come over in small groups. We will deal with the social distancing issue without fundamentally changing Senate rules.”
Durbin, the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate, was on the floor Tuesday urging a change to “remote voting” and calling for the Senate at least to start holding committee meetings by teleconference or video links.
“We have to think anew about the way the Senate does business,” he said. “If we’re telling people to do their work from home when possible – teleconferencing as opposed to being physically present – what are we doing to achieve the same thing?”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has been resistant to remote voting, is apparently now open to the idea. She instructed Rules Committee chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass, to examine whether it could work.
The call for change grows with each passing announcement of another member in quarantine.
“For the safety of our communities, during this emergency, we must be able to legislate from our districts,” tweeted Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, D-Fla.
As of Thursday morning, at least eight members of the House of Representatives opted to go into selfquarantine after coming into contact with members who tested positive.