US House Republicans sued Tuesday evening over a remote voting rule change, set to be used in the House for the first time Wednesday.

This move underscore the continuing divide between Democrats and Republicans over whether it is safe to return to work amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The complaint states:

Over the course of 231 years, Congress has assembled at the seat of the government while war raged in the surrounding environs and deadly contagion spread throughout the country. Yet neither house of Congress has ever authorized voting from the floor by mail, telegraph, or proxy, nor even considered, it appears, such a procedure. The unbroken American tradition of in-person assembly and voting in Congress confirms the unambiguous text of the Constitution: proxy voting by Members of the House of Representatives is unconstitutional.

In their complaint, House Republicans argue that this voting rule change will dilute their voting power. In addition, they argue that this action is unconstitutional as it violates both the Quorum Requirement and the Yeas and Nays Requirement of Article I of the Constitution. More specifically, House Republican leader, Kevin McCarthy, stated “the Constitution is very clear about this, the Founders believed we should assemble. If the Democrats are successful in allowing a proxy vote to make their own rules, what sops them from making a rule that only certain people can vote, or certain members can only have a half-vote? Nothing?”

As the coronavirus pandemic worsened, House leaders grappled with ways to conduct business without posing serious risks to the health of members of Congress. Voting via proxy is one of the most significant changes to House voting since allowing electronic voting in 1973.

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