Back door route to conviction in the Senate?

[onenote]

The assumption is that it will take 67 votes to convict in a Senate impeachment trial. And if it is assumed that all 45 Democrats and the two independents in the Senate vote for conviction, 20 Repubs would have to join them.

But the Constitution doesn't require 2/3 of all Senators. It requires 2/3 of "the members present". Thus, for every member that stays away from the Senate on the day impeachment is voted upon, the number of votes needed to convict declines. To give an extreme example: if 18 of the 53 republicans didn't show up, leaving 82 members "present", only 55 votes would be needed to convict. Meaning only 8 of the remaining 35 republicans would have to join with the 47 Dems/Independents.

Is this likely to happen? No. But it's interesting to consider the possibility that some republicans might decide that not voting either way is better than voting for or against.

[LeftInTX]

1. Hmmm....

Like last month when NC Dems went to a 911 event and the Republicans passed a bunch of sheet.....

[Guilded Lilly]

3. Yeah, I'm Guessing like that crap.

[qazplm135]

2. so we just need 30 or so Republicans to call in sick

lol

[customerserviceguy]

4. There's another possibility

If a GOP'er is not particularly inclined to go against Trump in the Senate, they can show up, vote "Present", and still keep the 2/3rds quorum up.

However, unless 20 GOP'ers agree to vote to convict, it ain't gonna happen. I doubt we will get any more than Murkowski and maybe Collins.

[lindysalsagal]

5. If mcturtle really wanted to, he could organize a sit-out-protest to the vote so that they

didn't vote at all: That way, they get the monster out of the way for the 2020 election, but don't piss off their own voters.