Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Thursday opened the door to looking into remote voting if the coronavirus epidemic prevents lawmakers from returning to Washington for a long period of time.

"If we can't come back for a long time, I think we should explore ... a way to vote remotely only in an emergency situation," he told reporters during a press conference.

Schumer noted that Democrats were just starting to look at the "legal, constitutional, [and] technical" ramifications, as well as how it would change the Senate as an institution.

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"The Senate is a body where we're supposed to debate and hear one another and be with one another. So I am loathe to get rid of that but, in an emergency, you may have to temporarily," he added.

The Senate left Washington, D.C., early Thursday morning and is not expected to return until April 20. The House left earlier this month; when leadership will bring lawmakers back is unclear.

The idea of remote voting has jumped into the national spotlight as the coronavirus has fundamentally changed American life by encouraging "social distancing" in an effort to prevent the spread of the virus.

A broad swath of the Senate is also older than 60, meaning that they fall into an age group that is particularly susceptible to the virus and should avoid the sort of travel and gathering that is routine for the Senate, where lawmakers travel to and from Washington and frequently stand together on the floor.

A group of roughly 70 House Democrats wrote to Rules Committee Chairman Jim McGovern (D-Mass) urging him to alter the House guidelines to allow for remote voting.

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But McGovern, in a report released late Monday, warned that Congress hasn't adopted secure enough technology to ensure it would work effectively.

"While remote voting deserves ... thoughtful study, to create a secure, reliable, and user-friendly system while in the midst of a crisis is not realistic," the report says.

The idea has bipartisan support in the Senate after Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced a rules change that would allow Schumer and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellGraham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Trump puts Supreme Court fight at center of Ohio rally The Memo: Dems face balancing act on SCOTUS fight MORE (R-Ky.) to secure temporary remove voting authority in the event of a national crisis.

The resolution has the backing of 15 additional senators ranging from Sens. Bernie Sanders Bernie SandersJacobin editor: Primarying Schumer would force him to fight Trump's SCOTUS nominee Trump campaign plays up Biden's skills ahead of Cleveland debate: 'He's actually quite good' Young voters backing Biden by 2:1 margin: poll MORE (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth WarrenJudd Gregg: The Kamala threat — the Californiaization of America GOP set to release controversial Biden report Biden's fiscal program: What is the likely market impact? MORE (D-Mass.) to GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamGraham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Fox's Napolitano: Supreme Court confirmation hearings will be 'World War III of political battles' Grassley, Ernst pledge to 'evaluate' Trump's Supreme Court nominee MORE (S.C.) and Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiGraham: GOP will confirm Trump's Supreme Court nominee before the election Gardner signals support for taking up Supreme Court nominee this year Tumultuous court battle upends fight for Senate MORE (Alaska).

But McConnell has rejected the idea for now. Instead, the GOP leader has lengthened vote times and encouraged social distancing. Staff has also started propping open doors to the chamber during the vote so members don't have to touch them on their way in or out.

“We’ll not be doing that. There are a number of different ways to avoid getting too many people together,” McConnell told reporters earlier this month.