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US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

durbin.senate.gov

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Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#21

Post by jschwartzi »

smt88 wrote: post #7
kd5bjo wrote: post #6

The Senate is a deliberative body, and its primary work requires debate . Already too much gets done behind closed doors and outside the public eye. Dispensing with even the pretense of open debate is somewhat concerning.

People can debate remotely, too.

Yes. People overlook this as well, that Roberts Rules of Order are primarily a tool for arbitrating discussion in huge groups of people. Technological solutions for managing these discussions exist or can be created now. So it's possible to have a virtual senate floor where the traditional rules of order are followed, people are allowed to speak, testify, etc. without being physically present in the same room. As long as the Senate's plan requires the traditional mode of session there's nothing wrong with using technology to allow them to hold sessions remotely. In fact this may lead to more participation from Senators because they no longer have to choose between presence on the Senate floor or presence within their district.

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#22

Post by smileysteve »

ISL wrote: post #8
humaniania wrote: post #2

I have never seen a compelling argument for why this should not be allowed.

There are ~243 years of experience built in to making the government function as intended. Changing the implementation of the key function of one of the critical components must be done with great care. How does debate work? How is a quorum decided? How long will members have to vote? How are their votes authenticated? etc. Done wrong, votes in Congress could be perceived as sneaky and illegitimate, and legitimacy is…

> How does debate work?

Roberts rules with a chairperson (current procedure) seems to translate nicely to a moderated web cast

> How is a quorum decided?

Is there a reason why taking roll by video and voice doesn't work in a video conference any less than it does in person?

> How long will members have to vote?

We don't have to change this with video conference software either

> How are their votes authenticated?

With the exception of deep fakes, video and voice confirmation.

Surely, in a world where each representative could feasible allocate fiber installation to their house, they can whitelist IPs; if not much cheaper options such as VPNs and secure factors.

> Congress could be perceived as sneaky and illegitimate, and legitimacy is critical

Why wouldn't (non classified) meetings be broadcast on CSpan? (Requiring HD Video and HD Voice seems like a no brainer for transparency)

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#23

Post by [deleted] »

smt88 wrote: post #7
kd5bjo wrote: post #6

The Senate is a deliberative body, and its primary work requires debate . Already too much gets done behind closed doors and outside the public eye. Dispensing with even the pretense of open debate is somewhat concerning.

People can debate remotely, too.

[deleted]

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#24

Post by mtmail »

swalsh wrote: post #20

I fear that if we do this, and Trump wins again, people will not trust the outcome of the election... I'm not quite sure what happens to this country, if people don't think the elections are legitimate. We almost ran into it with Kerry Vs Bush. But people's feelings are amplified when it comes to Trump.

The article is not about citizens voting.

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#25

Post by CalChris »

ISL wrote: post #8
humaniania wrote: post #2

I have never seen a compelling argument for why this should not be allowed.

There are ~243 years of experience built in to making the government function as intended. Changing the implementation of the key function of one of the critical components must be done with great care. How does debate work? How is a quorum decided? How long will members have to vote? How are their votes authenticated? etc. Done wrong, votes in Congress could be perceived as sneaky and illegitimate, and legitimacy is…

Article 1, Section 5, Clause 2:

  Each House may determine
  the Rules of its Proceedings, ...
It really is up to the Senate how to do this. No one will (should) think less or more of the Senate if they do this.

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#26

Post by coldcode »

No. If they want to lord it over the average American let them sacrifice a little comfort. The can always wear masks and face shields to block their pompous speechifying from causing illness. If doctors and nurses risk their lives to save people, why can't wealthy Senators risk a little to save/help the country. They could even put little booths around each desk like Costco does their checkout stands or meet in some larger space. Leaving them home to ignore the country and spend all their timer raising money is not what we elected them to do.

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#27

Post by karatestomp »

swalsh wrote: post #20

I fear that if we do this, and Trump wins again, people will not trust the outcome of the election... I'm not quite sure what happens to this country, if people don't think the elections are legitimate. We almost ran into it with Kerry Vs Bush. But people's feelings are amplified when it comes to Trump.

This is just for Senators. Not citizens voting in elections. The headline makes this seem more important than it is. It's still notable, but far less so than allowing/mandating universal vote-by-mail (like several states already do, plus members of the military everywhere), which would be widely expected to swing elections heavily "blue".

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#28

Post by nkohari »

kd5bjo wrote: post #6

The Senate is a deliberative body, and its primary work requires debate . Already too much gets done behind closed doors and outside the public eye. Dispensing with even the pretense of open debate is somewhat concerning.

Like you said, tough, it's just pretense. Any debate that is held on the floor of Congress isn't there to convince fellow congresspeople of anything. It's purely theater for constituents. All of the actual decision-making is done in meetings, and often congresspeople aren't directly involved until their staff makes a recommendation.

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#29

Post by beatgammit »

ShakataGaNai wrote: post #11

They're making sure they can vote... but yet no one has worked to make sure all of the American people can vote safely (Read also: mail in ballots for everyone).

A lot of states already do it. I think all we need to do is get the POTUS to publicly shame any remaining holdouts. It's not that expensive, so it wouldn't likely present a hardship for states to implement, so a little push in the right direction may be enough.

Re: US Senators Introduce Resolution to Allow Remote Voting During Emergencies

#30

Post by slg »

kd5bjo wrote: post #6

The Senate is a deliberative body, and its primary work requires debate . Already too much gets done behind closed doors and outside the public eye. Dispensing with even the pretense of open debate is somewhat concerning.

Can someone point to any concrete results of debate on the Senate floor from anytime in the last 20 years or so? I am genuinely asking, because it seems to me that the value of debate on the floor is like you said only pretense at this point. Mandating that pretense and in turn making the Senate slower to react in an emergency seems like an actively harmful requirement.
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