House Considers 30-Member Voting Shifts to Limit Virus Exposure

(Bloomberg) -- House leaders are developing a plan to limit the number of lawmakers voting at the same time in the 435-seat chamber to staggered, 30-member groupings, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus.

The plan to coordinate this separate voting process is still being developed, but it was discussed Monday during a call with House Democrats, said multiple persons familiar with the call.

Under normal voting procedures, all 435 House members are called to the floor to vote at the same time. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the vote groupings would be based on alphabetical sequencing or some other process, or how they would be split up by party.

One lawmaker said a number of possibilities were mentioned. The members could be called alphabetically by name, alphabetically by name within a state, by random computerized sorting, by the year they were first elected to Congress, by committees, or even first-come, first-serve. The lawmaker said one issue is the crowded Capitol elevators taken by members to get to the votes.

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland didn’t spell out more specifics of the plan during the call, the people said, and an aide had no further information. But Hoyer’s office did mention the idea in a scheduling update to members.

“Members are further advised that plans are being developed to coordinate votes in order to limit the number of members voting on the floor at any one time,” that notice said.

During the Monday call by House leaders with caucus members, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she opposed calls from some members to consider implementing long-distance, tele-voting so that lawmakers wouldn’t have to be in Washington.

The House is scheduled to return from its one-week recess next Tuesday, though the time away from Washington could be extended beyond that.

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