Jonathan Mehta Stein, executive director of California Common Cause, a government watchdog group, said they are not opposed to remote voting provided that lawmakers are participating from a known location and safeguards are in place to make sure they are not being influenced by someone off camera. But he opposed the Assembly’s plan to let lawmakers cast votes by proxy. He said proxies are not allowed to change their vote if new facts or arguments come to light that might be important to consider, undermining the deliberative function of the Legislature.
