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How Laws are Made page 8
quorum calls and rollcalls
Article 1, Section 5, of the Constitution provides that a majority of each House constitutes a quorum to do business and authorizes a smaller number than a quorum to compel the attendance of absent Members. In order to fulfill this constitutional responsibility, the rules of the House provide alternative procedures for quorum calls in the House and the Committee of the Whole. The rules of the House provide special authority for the Speaker to recognize a Member of the Speaker's choice to move a call of the House at any time. This motion for the call of the House is in order notwithstanding the rule that a point of order of no quorum may be made in the House only when the Speaker has put the pending question to a vote and not during periods of debate. In the absence of a quorum, 15 Members may initiate a call of the House to compel the attendance of absent Members. Such a call of the House must be ordered by a majority vote. A call of the House is then ordered and the call is taken by electronic device or by response to the alphabetical call of the roll of Members. Absent Members have a minimum of 15 minutes from the ordering of the call of the House by electronic device to have their presence recorded. If sufficient excuse is not offered for their absence, they may be sent for by the Sergeant-at-Arms and their attendance secured and retained. The House then determines the conditions on which they may be discharged. Members who voluntarily appear are, unless the House otherwise directs, immediately admitted to the Hall of the House and must report their names to the Clerk to be entered in the Journal as present. Compulsory attendance or arrest of Members has been rare in modern practice. When a question is put to a vote by the Speaker and a quorum fails to vote on such question, if a quorum is not present and objection is made for that reason, there is a call of the House unless the House adjourns. The call is taken by electronic device and the Sergeant-at-Arms may bring in absent Members. The yeas and nays on the pending question are at the same time considered as ordered and an ``automatic'' rollcall vote is taken. The Clerk utilizes the electronic system or if inoperative, calls the roll and each Member who is present may vote on the pending question as the Member answers the roll. If those voting on the question and those who are present and decline to vote together make a majority of the House, the Speaker declares that a quorum is constituted, and the pending question is decided according to the will of the majority of those voting. The rules prohibit points of order of no quorum (1) before or during the daily prayer, (2) during administration of the oath of office to the Speaker or any Member, (3) during the reception of messages from the President or the Senate, and (4) in connection with motions incidental to a call of the House. If the presence of a quorum has been established at least once on any day, further points of no quorum are prohibited (1) during the reading of the Journal, (2) between the time a Committee of the Whole rises and its Chairman reports, and (3) during the period on any legislative day when Members are addressing the House under special orders. The language prohibiting quorum calls ``during any period'' when Members are speaking under special orders includes the time between addresses delivered during this period as well as the addresses themselves. Furthermore, a quorum call is not in order when no business has intervened since the previous call. For the purposes of this provision, all the situations described above are not to be considered as ``business''. The rules of the House also prohibit points of order of no quorum when a motion or proposition is being debated in the House unless the Speaker has put the motion or proposition to a vote. The rules for quorum calls are different in some respects in the Committee of the Whole. The first time the Committee of the Whole finds itself without a quorum during any day the Chairman is required to order the roll to be called by electronic device, unless the Chairman orders a call of the Committee. If on a call, a quorum (100 Members) appears, the Committee continues its business. If a quorum does not appear, the Committee rises and the Chairman reports the names of the absentees to the House. The rules provide for the expeditious conduct of quorum calls in the Committee of the Whole. The Chairman may suspend a quorum call after 100 Members have recorded their presence. Under such a short quorum call, the Committee will not rise and present or absent Members' names will not be published. In that case, a recorded vote, if ordered immediately following the termination of the short quorum call, is a minimum of 15 minutes. In the alternative, the Chair may choose to permit a full 15 minute quorum call, wherein all Members names are recorded as present or absent, to be followed by a five-minute recorded vote on the pending question. Once a quorum of the Committee of the Whole has been established for the day, quorum calls in the Committee are only in order when the Committee is operating under the five-minute rule and the Chairman has put the pending motion or proposition to a vote. The rules prohibit a point of order of no quorum against a vote in which the Committee of the Whole agrees to rise. However, an appropriate point of order of no quorum would be permitted against a vote defeating a motion to rise.
voting
There are three methods of voting in the Committee of the Whole that are also employed in the House. These are the voice vote, the division, and the recorded vote. The yea-and-nay vote is an additional method used only in the House, which may be automatic if a Member objects to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present. To conduct a voice vote the Chair puts the question: ``As many as are in favor (as the question may be) say `Aye'. As many as are opposed, say `No'.'' The Chair determines the result on a comparison of the volume of ayes and noes. This is the form in which the vote is ordinarily taken in the first instance. If it is difficult to determine the result of a voice vote, a division may be demanded by a Member or initiated by the Chair. The Chair then states: ``As many as are in favor will rise and stand until counted''. After counting those in favor he calls on those opposed to stand and be counted, thereby determining the number in favor of and those opposed to the question. If any Member requests a recorded vote and that request is supported by at least one-fifth of a quorum of the House, or 25 Members in the Committee of the Whole, the vote is taken by electronic device. After the recorded vote is concluded, the names of those voting and those not voting are entered in the Journal. Members have a minimum of 15 minutes to be counted from the time the recorded vote is ordered. The Speaker may reduce the period for voting to five minutes on subsequent votes in certain situations where there has been no intervening debate or business. The Speaker is not required to vote unless the Speaker's vote would be decisive. In the House, if the yeas and nays are demanded, the Speaker directs those in favor of taking the vote by that method to stand and be counted. The support of one-fifth of the Members present is necessary for ordering the yeas and nays. When the yeas and nays are ordered or a point of order is made that a quorum is not present, the Speaker states: ``As many as are in favor of the proposition will vote `Aye'. As many as are opposed will vote `No'.'' The Clerk activates the electronic system or calls the roll and reports the result to the Speaker, who announces it to the House. The rules of the House require a three-fifths vote to pass a bill, joint resolution, amendment, or conference report that contains a federal income tax rate increase. The rules prohibit a Member from (1) casting another Member's vote or recording another Member's presence in the House or the Committee of the Whole or (2) authorizing another individual to cast a vote or record the Member's presence in the House or the Committee of the Whole.
electronic voting
Recorded and rollcall votes are usually taken by electronic device, except when the Speaker orders the vote to be recorded by other methods prescribed by the rules of the House, or in the failure of the electronic device to function. In addition, quorum calls are generally taken by electronic device. Essentially the system works as follows: A number of vote stations are attached to selected chairs in the Chamber. Each station is equipped with a vote card slot and four indicators, marked ``yea'', ``nay'', ``present'', and ``open'' that are lit when a vote is in progress and the system is ready to accept votes. Each Member is provided with a personalized Vote-ID Card. A Member votes by inserting the voting card into any one of the vote stations and depressing the appropriate button to indicate the Member's choice. If a Member is without a Vote-ID Card or wishes to change his vote during the last five minutes of a vote, the Member may be recorded by handing a paper ballot to the Tally Clerk, who then records the vote electronically according to the indicated preference of the Member. The paper ballots are green for ``yea'', red for ``nay'', and amber for ``present''. The voting machine records the votes and reports the result when the vote is completed.
pairing of members
When a Member anticipates being unavoidably absent at the time a vote is to be taken, the Member may arrange in advance to be recorded as being either in favor of or opposed to the question by being ``paired'' with a Member who will also be absent and who holds contrary views on the question. A specific pair of this kind shows how the Member would have voted if present. Occasionally, a Member who has arranged in advance to be paired is present at the time of voting. The Member then votes as if not paired, subsequently withdraws that vote, and asks to be marked ``present'' to protect the other Member. This is known as a ``live pair''. Absent Members often sign statements for submission in the Record stating how they would have voted if present on specific votes.
system of lights and bells
Due to the diverse nature of daily tasks that they have to perform, it is not practicable for Members to be present in the House or Senate Chamber at every minute that the body is in session. Furthermore, many of the routine matters do not require the personal attendance of all the Members. A legislative call system consisting of electric lights and bells or buzzers located in various parts of the Capitol Building and House and Senate Office Buildings alerts Members to certain occurrences in the House and Senate Chambers.