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A) Why can’t they just vote from home? That's a question surrounding Capitol Hill these days as the coronavirus crisis deepens and Congress struggles with whether it's appropriate to bring everyone back to DC to vote
B) Pelosi ordered House Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-MA) to assemble a draft report on possible alternatives to convening lawmakers to vote in person – as the risk of person-to-person contact poses a grave threat.
C) “We have to find ways to quickly respond to the massive problems we face – which may mean taking personal risk,” declares the report. “Above all, we need to act in a way that keeps public safety at the forefront, while preserving the integrity of the institution."
D) The lay person may simply ask why Congress just can’t meet over Zoom. After all, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra performed a tele-concert of the final moments of Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony.
One high school choir crooned “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” via video conference.
One high school choir crooned “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” via video conference.
E) There are major Constitutional, parliamentary and procedural hurdles which the Hse/Senate would have to consider to implement any sort of remote voting. And, Congress would want to reserve the concept of remote voting for the very type of scenario which the globe faces now.
F) Despite commissioning a report on remote voting, Pelosi appears cool to the concept of a virtual Congress.
“Let’s not waste time on something that is not going to happen,” said Pelosi. “There is no way we can get into remote voting without..changing the rules.”
“Let’s not waste time on something that is not going to happen,” said Pelosi. “There is no way we can get into remote voting without..changing the rules.”
G) Durbin/Portman drafted a plan which would allow remote voting in the Senate for a month at a time if there is an emergency. So far, the calls of Durbin and Portman have fallen on deaf ears. In the House, Pelosi at least asked for the study.
H) Article I, Section 5 of the Constitution grants the House and Senate authority to “determine the Rules of its Proceedings.” Thus, one body could implement some sort of virtual Congressional construct in times of crisis – and the other could not.
I) Congress isn’t going to turn into the Matrix (the Congrix?) any time soon. Drafting terabytes of code won’t suddenly become more important than the Office of Legislative Counsel drafting bill text.
J) There’s no precedent for the House deploying any sort of “remote voting” schematic. That includes the House voting via any alternative means during the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic.
K) One idea in the House report is the concept of “paired” voting. House rules currently bar the practice. That’s where members on opposite sides of an issue agree not to vote. Thus, their votes are “paired.” House members used to pair their votes in the 19th Century.
L) The House does allow “proxy” voting in committee. When there is a vote on an amendment, one often hears committee rooms echoing with various members yelling “aye by proxy” when their colleagues aren’t around.
M) The House report notes the institution could set itself up for a challenge in court if it approves a bill which becomes law that was passed via a proxy voting formula.
N) Finally, there is the “cyber Congress” option. This is where lawmakers actually cast ballots remotely, via some super-encrypted system which includes multiple levels of authentication. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) has pushed for remote voting for years
O) The House report notes that the current electronic voting system took three years from authorization to implementation in the 1970s.
P) Lawmakers pushed as far back as 1886 to launch electronic voting in the House. Thomas Edison even patented an electronic voting apparatus back in 1869. But Congress rejected it.
Q) The report argues that decentralized voting “raises serious concerns for another person accessing a Member’s system and voting on their behalf, including ‘deepfakes’ in a video-based system. The report asserts a future remote system could include biometric authentication.
R) There is also concern about the House engineering a new system amid a global pandemic. There’s fear that implementing a new regimen now would be slapdash at best – and could be the second coming of the app used for the Iowa Democratic Caucus.
S) Constitutional concerns may outweigh cyber ones. Article I of the Constitution is littered with language about “meeting” and “assembling” and “attendance.” Is it even practical Constitutionally for the House and Senate to vote virtually?
T) These are questions Congress will likely address once the pandemic fades. Congress implemented a number of provisions for “continuity of government” after 9/11. Lawmakers will likely follow suit once the coronavirus scourge abates if not before
