The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many Americans to change the way they vote, from in person to mail balloting. Priscilla Southwell writes that, despite significant scaremongering, there is little evidence that voting by mail increases fraud. Instead, she argues, it can increase voter safety during the pandemic and also makes it easier for voters from both parties to vote

Southwell, Priscilla Lewis

English

LSE Research Online

Primary	Primers:	Why	the	Senate	Filibuster	is	soimportant	in	this	presidential	electionUS	Senators	can	use	the	filibuster	to	delay	and	block	legislation.	Lauren	C.	Bell	writes	that	shouldJoe	Biden	win	the	White	House	and	then	wish	to	increase	the	size	of	the	Supreme	Court	throughlegislation,	then	the	already	diminished	Senate	filibuster	would	need	to	be	eliminated	completely	–something	that	the	former	Vice	President	appears	reluctant	to	do.This	article	is	part	of	our	Primary	Primers	series	curated	by	Rob	Ledger	(Frankfurt	Goethe	University)and	Peter	Finn	(Kingston	University).	Ahead	of	the	2020	election,	this	series	explores	key	themes,	ideas,concepts,	procedures	and	events	that	shape,	affect	and	define	the	US	presidential	primary	process.	If	you	areinterested	in	contributing	to	the	series	contact	Rob	Ledger	(ledger@em.uni-frankfurt.de)	or	Peter	Finn(p.finn@kingston.ac.uk).Given	the	arcane	nature	of	the	US	Senate’s	legislative	process,	it’s	unusual	that	a	presidential	election	campaignwould	focus	any	amount	of	attention	on	the	chamber’s	rules.	But	after	determined	minorities	in	the	Senateprevented	the	Obama	Administration	from	reaching	its	legislative	and	appointment	goals,	many	Democrats	seeeliminating	the	filibuster	–	when	senators	hold	or	threaten	to	hold	the	Senate	floor	in	order	to	delay	or	to	block	avote	–	as	the	only	way	that	a	potential	Joe	Biden	administration	will	be	able	to	get	anything	done.A	Brief	History	of	the	Senate	FilibusterThere	is	nothing	in	the	rules	of	the	Senate	that	allow	for	filibustering.	Rather,	it	is	a	negative	right	possessed	by	allsenators	owing	to	the	chamber’s	lack	of	a	previous	question	rule,	and	to	Rule	XIX	of	the	Senate’s	Standing	Rules,which	provides	in	relevant	part	that	“No	Senator	shall	interrupt	another	Senator	in	debate	without	his	consent…”The	filibuster	has	long	been	a	defining	characteristic	of	the	Senate;	the	practice	dates	back	at	least	to	1826,	whenVirginia	Senator	John	Randolph	prevented	the	Senate	from	acting	on	several	of	President	John	Quincy	Adams’judicial	nominees.	But	for	much	of	the	Senate’s	history,	filibusters	were	rare.	From	1790	to	1900,	less	than	twodozen	filibusters	in	total	took	place.	From	1900	to	1925,	there	were	45	filibusters,	twenty	of	which	occurred	after1917,	the	year	the	that	the	Senate	first	implemented	Rule	XXII,	which	allows	a	supermajority	of	senators	to	limit	thetime	for	debate	by	invoking	what	is	known	as	cloture	and	effectively	ending	a	filibuster.The	Senate	adjusted	the	cloture	rule	a	handful	of	times	between	1917	and	1975	in	response	to	obstructionistbehavior	by	members	of	the	chamber,	ultimately	reducing	its	original	2/3	supermajority	to	three-fifths	in	1975.	Andthe	cloture	procedure	was	not	the	only	option	that	the	Senate	developed	to	keep	unruly	senators	in	check;	in	the92nd	Congress	(1971-2),	then-Majority	Whip	Robert	Byrd	developed	a	system	known	as	“double-tracking”	thatallowed	a	contested	bill	to	be	set	aside	while	other,	noncontroversial	legislation	proceeds.While	the	reduced	cloture	threshold	and	tracking	processes	were	intended	to	allow	the	majority	to	restrictobstruction,	in	fact,	the	opposite	occurred.	The	number	of	filibusters	increased	dramatically	starting	in	the	early1970s,	with	more	than	twice	as	many	filibusters	taking	place	between	1970	and	2010	than	took	place	total	in	the180	years	prior.	Indeed,	every	time	the	Senate	has	tried	blunt	the	impact	of	filibustering,	delays	have	become	morefrequent.	This	is	because	the	more	ways	there	are	to	work	around	a	filibuster,	the	less	costly	they	become	to	wage—senators	who	lead	them	can	do	so	largely	free	of	worry	about	retribution	or	injury	to	friendships	or	to	theirreputations.The	Filibuster	and	the	2020	Presidential	ElectionUSApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Primary Primers: Why the Senate Filibuster is so important in this presidential election Page 1 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-10-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/10/22/primary-primers-why-the-senate-filibuster-is-so-important-in-this-presidential-election/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/One	such	effort	to	reduce	the	effect	of	filibustering	was	the	successful	November	2013	effort	by	Senate	Democratsto	eliminate	the	filibuster	on	presidential	nominations	other	than	to	the	Supreme	Court.	While	this	paved	the	way	formany	of	President	Barack	Obama’s	stalled	judicial	nominees	to	be	confirmed	even	in	the	face	of	sustainedRepublican	opposition,	it	also	meant	that	when	Republicans	found	themselves	with	a	majority	in	the	Senate,	aRepublican	president,	and	a	presidential	nominee	to	the	Supreme	Court	in	2017,	they	could	simply	extend	theDemocrats’	precedent	to	include	nominations	to	the	Supreme	Court.	Indeed,	that	is	exactly	what	they	did	in	March2017	to	confirm	Neil	Gorsuch.As	a	result,	since	2017,	there	is	quite	literally	nothing	a	minority	party	in	the	Senate	can	do	to	block	a	president’snominations,	including	to	the	Supreme	Court.	Many	Democrats	seethe	that	the	seat	now	held	by	Justice	NeilGorsuch	was	stolen	and	object	to	the	expedited	confirmation	process	for	Judge	Amy	Coney	Barrett,	who	wasnominated	in	September	2020	to	replace	the	late	liberal	icon,	Justice	Ruth	Bader	Ginsburg.	For	this	group	ofpartisans,	the	only	possible	response,	should	Biden	be	elected,	is	to	increase	the	size	of	the	Supreme	Court	inorder	to	add	the	Democratic	president’s	appointees	–	known	more	widely	as	‘court	packing’.	There’s	nothing	in	theConstitution	that	would	prevent	this;	the	number	of	justices	is	a	matter	for	Congress	to	decide	through	legislation.Image	credit:	Scrumshus,	Public	domain,	via	Wikimedia	CommonsBut	the	only	path	forward	toward	increasing	the	size	of	the	Court	requires	the	elimination	of	the	Senate	filibuster,which	still	exists	for	legislation.	Besides	court	expansion,	many	Democrats	see	the	elimination	of	the	filibuster	asthe	most	expeditious	way	to	accomplish	important	legislative	priorities	in	the	areas	of	gun	control,	health	care,climate	change,	and	immigration—among	others.	Measures	addressing	many	of	these	issues	have	been	approvedby	the	Democratic	majority	in	the	House	during	2019	and	2020,	but	the	Senate	under	Republican	control	has	notmoved	forward	on	them.	Majority	Leader	Mitch	McConnell	has	proudly	proclaimed	himself	the	“Grim	Reaper”	forprogressive	legislation.But	Biden,	whose	political	career	was	steeped	in	the	old	folkways	of	the	Senate,	so	far	hasn’t	been	willing	to	committo	eliminating	the	filibuster.	He	has	been	cagey	about	his	views,	initially	suggesting	that	he	opposed	the	eliminationof	the	filibuster,	then	hinting	that	he	was	warming	up	to	it,	and	lately	signaling	a	reluctance	to	endorse	abolishingthe	practice.	And	while	the	progressive	wing	of	the	Democratic	party	is	agitating	for	an	end	to	the	procedure,	even	ifBiden	were	to	embrace	eliminating	the	filibuster,	it	is	not	a	foregone	conclusion	that	a	majority	of	Senate	Democratswould	agree—although	an	influx	of	new	Democratic	senators,	should	it	materialize,	might	force	the	veterans’	hands.It	is	also	far	from	clear	that	most	Democrats	would	support	such	a	step,	with	relatively	small	numbers	of	rank-and-file	partisans	embracing	the	abolition	of	the	tactic.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Primary Primers: Why the Senate Filibuster is so important in this presidential election Page 2 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-10-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/10/22/primary-primers-why-the-senate-filibuster-is-so-important-in-this-presidential-election/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/The	wholesale	elimination	of	the	Senate	filibuster	seems	unlikely;	reforms	are	much	more	probable.	So	far,	Biden’sevasiveness	on	the	issue	of	abolishing	the	filibuster	has	served	him	well;	should	he	win	election,	he	is	certain	to	findhimself	embroiled	in	a	debate	over	the	future	direction	of	his	former	institution,	and	he	has	left	all	his	options	open.But	what	he	must	know	from	his	decades	of	service	in	the	Senate,	and	what	the	Gorsuch	and	Barrett	confirmationsreveal,	is	that	if	Democrats	abolish	the	filibuster,	they	will	realize	short	term	legislative	gains	but	will	leavethemselves	vulnerable	if	their	majority	does	not	last.Please	read	our	comments	policy	before	commenting.		Note:	This	article	gives	the	views	of	the	author,	and	not	the	position	of	USAPP	–	American	Politics	and	Policy,	northe	London	School	of	Economics.Shortened	URL	for	this	post:	https://bit.ly/31yXgQSAbout	the	authorLauren	C.	Bell	–	Randolph-Macon	CollegeLauren	C.	Bell	is	Professor	of	Political	Science	and	Dean	of	Academic	Affairs	at	Randolph-MaconCollege	in	Ashland,	Virginia.	She	is	the	author	of	Filibustering	in	the	US	Senate	(Cambria	Press:	2011)and	Warring	Factions:	Interest	Groups,	Money,	and	the	New	Politics	of	Senate	Confirmation	(The	OhioState	University	Press:	2002),	and	co-author	of	Slingshot:	The	Defeat	of	Eric	Cantor	(CQ	Press	2015).She	served	as	a	United	States	Supreme	Court	Fellow	during	2006-07,	and	was	an	American	PoliticalScience	Association	Congressional	Fellow	on	the	US	Senate	Committee	on	the	Judiciary	from	November	1997	untilAugust	1998.USApp – American Politics and Policy Blog: Primary Primers: Why the Senate Filibuster is so important in this presidential election Page 3 of 3		Date originally posted: 2020-10-22Permalink: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2020/10/22/primary-primers-why-the-senate-filibuster-is-so-important-in-this-presidential-election/Blog homepage: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/

Primary primers: right now, the safest and easiest way to vote is by mail.

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/107391/1/usappblog_2020_10_22_primary_primers_why_the_senate_filibuster_is_so_1_.pdf

Primary primers: right now, the safest and easiest way to vote is by mail.

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