SHOULD CONGRESS VOTE REMOTELY INSTEAD OF IN FORMAL SESSIONS TOGETHER?

There’s been talk throughout the digital age of allowing senators and representatives to vote remotely, but the coronavirus crisis is prompting renewed interest in the idea.

“Not so fast,” warns Government Affairs Institute Senior Fellow Joshua Huder, who then lays out what I find to be a convincing case for not going in that direction. For one thing, he writes, “If we want more individual member influence, putting distance between members and the process does the opposite. It gives leaders even more opportunity to legislate in secret, manipulate the process, and otherwise keep rank and file in the dark.”

My concern would be the likelihood any digital remote voting would risk hacking by China, which has already hacked the Office of Personnel Management, much of the Department of Defense, and perhaps just Sunday the Department of Health and Human Services.

h/t Mark