Supreme Court Rejects Kevin McCarthy's Challenge to House Proxy Voting

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Facts

  • SCOTUS has refused to hear House Minority Leader McCarthy's challenge to voting-by-proxy.1
  • The measure was introduced by Democrats to tackle COVID by allowing House members to designate a colleague to vote on their behalf.1
  • McCarthy argued that the practice was unconstitutional, but the lawsuit was dismissed by lower courts on the gournds that the House is entitled to decide its own voting rules.2

Sources: 1Axios and 2PBS NewsHour.

Narratives

  • Right narrative, as provided by One America. The proxy system was only meant to be a temporary measure to allow House members ito vote while in quarantine or otherwise unable to appear in person. It is now being used unconstitutionally by Democrats to maintain their slim majority.
  • Left narrative, as provided by CBS. Both legal precedent and the constitution are on the side of proxy voting, a measure that has frequently been employed by GOP members as well as Democrats.