House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern recommends voting by proxy due to coronavirus pandemic

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House Rules Chairman Jim McGovern, D-Mass., urged lawmakers on Thursday to consider a plan that would break with hundreds of years of Congressional rules and allow members to vote by proxy.

Under the new method of "low-tech remote voting," members of Congress who could not travel to Washington to cast votes due to the coronavirus could offer specific instructions and authority to another member physically in the chamber to do so on their behalf.

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"This system would enable Members to vote remotely in a secure way, without using the kind of technology that is susceptible to hacking or interference by foreign bad actors. And because it doesn't rely on some new technology being stood up and vigorously tested, it could give Members a say on important legislation much more quickly," McGovern said in a statement.

McGovern floated the idea as a solution to restlessness from Congress to get back to work, particularly to pass legislation and economic relief for Americans, after a forced extended hiatus due to the coronavirus that could last until May 4.

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House Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., have both resisted the possibility of remote voting in the past but have also said that returning to the Hill too soon would indicate that the threat of COVID-19 and the need for social distancing is not serious.

“Until we have an appropriate way to do it, we can’t do it. So it’s not about being negative on it, it’s just, show us the way,” Pelosi told reporters during her weekly press call on Thursday. “Until we have the technology and until we have the passing of the rules that will enable it, it’s no use to say we should do it.”

A rule change to allow proxy voting would likely be limited to the duration of the pandemic, and some lawmakers in opposition to the idea have cited security and Constitutional concerns.

The House Rules Committee released a 23-page report in March that weighed the possibility of proxy voting and determined it was one of the best alternatives to prevent the spread of coronavirus while also enacting needed legislation.

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"There is currently no perfect solution to allow absent Members to vote on the floor," the report said. "However, proxy voting is likely the best of the options available under the circumstances."