House Speaker McCarthy Officially Ends Proxy Voting

The practice of proxy voting was first established by the House Republicans. during the COVID-19 pandemic to allow legislators to vote in secret. 

“No more proxy voting,” House Speaker Kevin McCarthyThursday’s announcement by R-Calif. “Effective immediately, Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count.”

Former presidents established proxy voting Speaker of the House Nancy PelosiD-Calif. in May 2020 to allow Congress operation under COVID-19 pandemic protocols. A member of Congress could send a letter asking for a colleague to announce their position on the bills and amends. They can also cast votes in their names.  

Republicans are proud argued this policy enabled abuse This allowed legislators to ignore their responsibilities. However, many GOP legislators took advantage of proxy voting during the last Congress.

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The exterior of U.S Capitol is viewed during the second day of orientation of new members of Congress in Washington, D.C. on November 14, 2022.
(Sarah Silbiger, Washington Post via Getty Images).

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160 Republicans signed up to a lawsuit by McCarthy in 2020 challenging McCarthy’s practice. It was rejected by the Supreme Court. According to the Brookings Institute, 70% of the original Republican plaintiffs had voted through proxy by 2021. 

Proxy voting was meant to be a way of voting in a proxy election. “public health emergency” Both parties’ lawmakers have taken their votes and used them to attend events and functions unrelated to voting in-person. 

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Rep. Mike Johnson, R.La., holds the House Rules and Manual book at a news conference outside Washington, D.C. Capitol on May 27, 2020.
(Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Take, for example: three Michigan Democrats They voted in proxy to be able to attend a Ford Motors event in Dearborn, Michigan in May 2021 with President Biden. 

Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and other Republicans were caught using proxy votes to speak at Conservative Political Action Conference.

McCarthy had promised to end the practice if Republicans won the House majority. 

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“The Senate has managed to maintain in-person Floor voting for the entirety of the past two years — with a much older population and a 50-50 makeup, no less,” he said in December. “From the get-go, we warned that proxy voting would be misused as a means of convenience rather than as a precaution for health — and it has been, by members of both parties.”