Sixteen years ago, amid a pitched battle to become Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist unleashed a scathing TV ad highlighting the absenteeism of his opponent, then-Rep. Jim Davis (D), showing an empty office chair rolling past Washington landmarks.
After the chair passes the Capitol, the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Monument, the narrator asks, “If he doesn’t show up for work now, why should we elect him governor?” Crist, then a Republican, won by 7 percentage points.
Almost two decades later, Crist, now a Democrat, has perfected something Davis could only dream about: being in two places at once, at least on paper.
That’s because of the U.S. House’s continued use of proxy voting, in which lawmakers allow other lawmakers to cast their vote while they’re absent. Crist used proxy voting to vote for the Inflation Reduction Act in mid-August, even as he had a full schedule of get-out-the-vote events set for the next day in Florida.
With the heart of the midterm campaign season looming in September, Crist’s case shows a tempting use of proxy voting for something other than public health: to allow lawmakers to skip being in the House in favor of being on the campaign trail.
And with proxies becoming more widely used since 2020, this fall could see a rise in absentee voting as lawmakers weigh the practical value of being in the House chamber — where votes are usually seen as predetermined — versus pressing the flesh back home.
‘Physically Unable To Attend’
Technically, House members are only supposed to use proxy voting when they are “physically unable to attend proceedings in the House Chamber due to the ongoing public health emergency.” It’s part of a rules change that was passed in May 2020 to allow members to cast votes even if they could not be present due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But there is no procedure to verify a member’s reason for using it and no limits on how often proxy voting can be used.
Crist was by no means alone in voting by proxy on the climate and tax bill. House records indicate some 158 members, or more than a third of the entire House, declared they were unable to attend due to COVID-19 on that Friday in August.
And while Crist may be a prolific user of proxy voting, he is by no means alone or even the biggest user on the campaign trail. That title may belong to Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), who is running for the U.S. Senate and had given his proxy 42 times in the current Congress, as of late August, compared with Crist’s 23.
Crist’s office did not return a request for comment about his use of proxy voting while Ryan said “remote voting” should be a permanent option. “The year is 2022, we can walk and chew gum at the same time, and members of Congress should be able to use the technology at our disposal to do our jobs while also meeting face-to-face with the people we serve, taking care of kids, and more,” he said.
“We need to be together. We need to be looking at each other. We need to be talking to each other.”
- Rep. Frank Lucas (R-Okla.)
The job of a member of Congress pays $174,000 a year, usually requires in-person attendance at the Capitol only three to four days a week, and comes with plenty of formal and informal perks. Perhaps that’s why proxy voting hasn’t been embraced by some members, including some of the old guard.
“The body needs to be in the building,” Rep. Frank Lucas, a 15-term Oklahoma Republican told HuffPost before lawmakers left for their August break.
“We need to be together. We need to be looking at each other. We need to be talking to each other. And if you’re not physically able to do that for a two-year period, then maybe you should assess whether you’re a member or not,” he said.
Not Just Democrats
Republicans have argued House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has kept extending the temporary allowance of proxy voting to make it easier for Democrats to win close legislative votes with their narrow three-member majority, and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) has vowed to end the practice if Republicans take control after November’s midterms.
“If you think about it, that’s the story of this Democrat majority. They will destroy our economy and mortgage your future, but can’t be personally bothered to show up to make the trip to D.C. to do their jobs. What a disgrace,” McCarthy said during the Inflation Reduction Act debate.
But while Democrats have been much more open to using proxy voting, many Republicans have lost their initial wariness and begun to embrace it. One Republican, Rep. Brad Wenstrup (Ohio), was spotted at a Washington area airport only hours after attending a press conference at the Capitol but before the Inflation Reduction Act vote, in which he voted by proxy.
According to Brookings Institute researchers, 144 of the then-213 House GOP members had used proxy voting at least once in the current Congress through December of 2021, a number that’s likely grown since. On average, Republicans voted by proxy 29 times during that period, compared with 54 times for Democrats.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (Md.), the second-ranking House Democrat, told reporters in July he sees a need for proxy voting, even as he thinks its use may need to be tightened to prevent abuse.
“I’m not one of those that’s lathered up about proxy voting,” he said. “The pandemic’s not over.”
“There’s no doubt, however, that people are using it for convenience, not health. On both sides of the aisle,” Hoyer said. “We need to deal with it so we have a policy that is a rational one but also one that lets people be heard when they’re sick or something, or when their family members are sick.”
“So it will only be in September that it will get bad, before the election.”
- Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas), former chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee
As a former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, Rep. Pete Sessions (Texas) has little doubt proxies will be used more this fall so members can keep campaigning. On the bright side, the House is already out of session until the second full week of September and is scheduled to be out for all of October.
“So it will only be in September that it will get bad, before the election,” he told HuffPost.
Human Nature
Lucas, the Oklahoma Republican, said there are legitimate reasons to use proxy voting, and noted he used it himself after his wife had hip replacement surgery.
But he warned about human nature.
“Members of Congress are no different than normal people. Given an inch, most people will take a foot,” he said.