CRS Legal Sidebar – Constitutional Considerations of Remote Voting In Congress April 14, 2020: “COVID-19 has had an impact on almost every facet of American life. Congress has not been spared. Largely because the risk of transmission of the disease is highest in concentrated groups, there have been calls to alter the internal operation of the two chambers to introduce “social distancing”into the legislative process. One high-profile suggestion—intended to limit the risks associated with Members’ physical presence on the House or Senate floor and travel back and forth from their districts—is to alter House or Senate rules to allow floor votes to be cast remotely, i.e. with Members being virtually rather than physically present. The prospect of remote voting has given rise to many issues and concerns, ranging from its impact on the deliberative nature of Congress to the technological and security hurdles inherent in its implementation. But there are also constitutional questions.A primary challenge, which both the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice have faced in various contexts, is determining how technological advancements that the Framers could not have foreseen when drafting the Constitution should be treated.Remote voting presents such an unforeseen question, and perhaps one not amenable to a “mechanical interpretation” in the face of “advancing technology.”As the House Rules Committee recently put it,“remote voting is an untested principle” that “[i]f challenged … would be a novel question for a court” with “no guarantee of a favorable ruling affirming its constitutionality.”