aggiehawg said:
Charlie 31 said:
aggiehawg said:
Jack Squat 83 said:
What is Texas protocol for replacing Congresspeople?
This is obviously on her, but how did no one notice her absence? Although the ethical thing to do for someone/anyone on her staff would have been to start that process back in July, etc. I guess they wanted to stay on the payroll? If so they need to be publicly shamed to halt any further advancement in this field.
Ridiculous.
Was wondering the same. Could the governor deem the seat abandoned after say, 60 or so days (excluding recesses) and call for a special election? Need a state law? Or amend the state constitution?
A member of the U.S. House of Representatives can only be removed from their elected position by a 2/3 vote of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The U.S. Constitution requires an election to replace a vacancy in the U.S. House, as well as the U.S. Senate, although the governor of a state can appoint a temporary replacement to a vacant U.S. Senate seat until an election is held at the next regular election.
I see a great equal protection argument against that. Depriving state citizens of representation.
Not sure how you can make a constitutional argument out of that since the bolded part referenced is part of the constitution, as is the equal protection clause/provision(s). Sort of like claiming capital punishment is unconstitutional even though it is IN the constitution.
Constitutional points aside, I'm beyond PISSED about this. It appears no local news reporters were on this and none of the other local reps, including mine, seemed to care. Had this started a month or two ago, that might be one thing, but its been going on for a QUARTER of her damn term. People, including (R)'s in the Texas delegation, have known about this and have done nothing about it. Her constituents, at a minimum, and the public had a right to know, even if it was "she is currently unavailable to serve..."