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The original was posted on /r/neutralpolitics by /u/nosecohn on 2023-04-11 10:55:20+00:00.

Recently, the House of Representatives in the US State of Tennessee voted to expel two members for violations of decorum.

One can argue over whether these members really violated the rules and whether the punishment fit the alleged violations, but the body’s procedures allow for expulsion of any member on a two-thirds vote, so I’d like to set aside the specifics of this case and ask instead about the rule itself.

There have been cases of serious misconduct, including in Tennessee, where the expulsion of members seems appropriate. Without that mechanism, how would a legislature sideline corrupt members and protect its legitimacy? How do legislative bodies in other states and countries handle it when one of their own elected members violates internal rules? In a democratic institution, when does the will of the body to expel a member justifiably outweigh the will of the people who elected them as a representative?