Speaker Nancy Pelosi Wednesday extended a rule allowing House members who are not in the Capitol to vote by proxy.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, told lawmakers that the rule will be extended to Nov. 16. It was set to expire on Friday.
Democrats voted to allow proxy voting on May 15 in order to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
It broke a 231-year-old requirement that House lawmakers debate and vote on legislation in person. The rule allows House members in the chamber to vote for up to 10 other lawmakers who designate them as their proxy.
A provision in the legislation allows House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, to extend the proxy voting rule unilaterally, and she has now done so three times.
In the letter to Democrats, Pelosi cited “that a public health emergency is in effect due to a novel coronavirus” as the reason for extending proxy voting.
A dozen lawmakers and more than 80 Capitol staff have contracted the coronavirus since the outbreak began.
House Republicans oppose the rule and point to several Democrats who appear to have utilized proxy voting in order to campaign, take vacations, or deal with family matters.
