U.S. House Republicans to sue Pelosi remote proxy voting in pandemic

[webfact]

U.S. House Republicans to sue Pelosi remote proxy voting in pandemic

 

FILE PHOTO: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) holds her weekly news conference with Capitol Hill reporters in Washington, U.S., May 14, 2020. REUTERS/Erin Scott/File Photo

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. House of Representatives Republicans will sue Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi over rule changes that allow members to vote on each other's behalf during the coronavirus pandemic, Republican aides said on Tuesday.

 

The lawsuit, to be filed in federal court in Washington, will seek to block the new system passed by the Democratic-majority House and intended to allow the chamber to function while observing social distancing guidelines. It will argue that the rule changes are unconstitutional, the Republican aides said.

 

The rules, passed earlier this month as part of a $3 trillion aid bill that the Republican-controlled Senate so far has not taken up, allow members to vote from outside the Capitol by asking another member to vote for them.

 

Without them, votes in the 435-member chamber can take hours as representatives file inside in small groups.

 

Pelosi condemned the lawsuit in a statement, calling it a "sad stunt."

 

The House is not the only element of the federal government adapting its behavior to the pandemic. The Supreme Court this month for the first time heard arguments by telephone.

 

(Reporting by Susan Cornwell; Editing by Scott Malone, Dan Grebler, Tom Brown and Richard Chang)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-27

 

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[YetAnother]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

allow members to vote from outside the Capitol by asking another member to vote for them.

unconstitutional and stupid as well, right down the alley from an ultra liberal like pelosi

[bendejo]

Sounds like a Devin Nunes idea, that boy is just brimming with lawsuit brilliance.

How now with the cow, Dev?

 

 

Edited May 27, 2020 by bendejo

[Proboscis]

3 hours ago, YetAnother said:

unconstitutional and stupid as well, right down the alley from an ultra liberal like pelosi

And so what is your suggestion, Prof. Constitutional Expert? Let Covid-19 rip through the houses of congress - remember, Covid-19 does not care whether someone is a Republican or Democrat.

[blazes]

4 hours ago, YetAnother said:

unconstitutional and stupid as well, right down the alley from an ultra liberal like pelosi

 

"Ultra liberal"??   Ultra fascist more like.  She always somehow reminds me of Mussolini....

[Phoenix Rising]

4 minutes ago, blazes said:

 

"Ultra liberal"??   Ultra fascist more like.  She always somehow reminds me of Mussolini....

Ultra facist, like Mussolini?? Wow, that's even beyond hyperbole.

[kamahele]

5 hours ago, YetAnother said:

unconstitutional and stupid as well, right down the alley from an ultra liberal like pelosi

What part of the constitution does this violate? You blame liberals and Pelosi but this was passed by the Republican controlled Senate.

[Paul Henry]

Now lets not let common sense get in the way of running government. Definitely not in the house but will be OK in the senate. The name proxy vote comes to mind used in many democratic societies but not in a one sided senate that cannot even run a true and far hearing.

[Srikcir]

40 minutes ago, kamahele said:

What part of the constitution does this violate? You blame liberals and Pelosi but this was passed by the Republican controlled Senate.

The House makes it's own procedural rules by majority vote. Democrat Representatives outnumber Republicans.

As such the unconstitutionality of remote proxy voting would be very high, ie., rules based on religion, race, nationality, etc. See the US Constitution.

I don't see the district federal court accepting the lawsuit.

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, Proboscis said:

And so what is your suggestion, Prof. Constitutional Expert? Let Covid-19 rip through the houses of congress - remember, Covid-19 does not care whether someone is a Republican or Democrat.

 

We live in the IT age, as well as now the Covid 19 one.

 

How hard would it be to have a mechanism that allowed members to vote remotely? Without having to ask someone to vote for them?

 

This smacks of Nancy the waxed one deciding everyone must vote every time how she tells them so it don't really matter.

[Mayhem11]

The use of proxy votes is universal in the world of commerce. What is all the hoo hah?

[TigerandDog]

This is just another example of Trump's mindless puppets doing his childish bidding. Was glad to see that Twitter finally jumped on him for his most recent FALSE posts. Trump is the most dishonest, corrupt president in the history of the USA. Compared to Trump Nixon was a saint. Karma will get Trump when he is no longer President and he WILL spend a lot of time in prison, as will most of his cronies and family. All those who believe the lies & BS he continually sprouts have the mentality of a 5 year old. Just as a reminder to something Trump said many, many years ago when asked if he would ever consider running for office ( and he was a Democrat at the time ) he stated ( and it's on the public record ) that if he did run he would run as a Republican because Republicans are simple minded and much easier to manipulate.

Edited May 27, 2020 by TigerandDog

[Jonnapat]

3 hours ago, blazes said:

 

"Ultra liberal"??   Ultra fascist more like.  She always somehow reminds me of Mussolini....

Your remarks show how much America has gone down the pan in recent years. Really sad. 

[Scott Tracy]

Proxy voting is commonplace.

 

Remote voting is also commonplace, postal voting is commonplace.

 

Get a grip. Just because it was proposed by a Demoncrat doesn't mean it's all bad.