More than half of Arizona’s House delegation cast votes by proxy this year, including two who were among the top remote voters in Congress and another who once called proxy voting “shameful and unconstitutional” but did it anyway.
They were in good company: 260 lawmakers had cast at least one vote by proxy this year before the House left for its August recess, according to a Cronkite News review of voting records, with some members doing so well over 200 times for the 254 roll call votes before the recess.
Proxy voting, in which a member who is not present designates another member to cast her vote on the floor of the House, was introduced for the first time last year in response to the pandemic. Critics claim that it’s unconstitutional and that makes it even harder for a divided Congress to work together.
But supporters say there is no reason for Congress to reject the technology that lets it, like workplaces everywhere, work remotely during a pandemic.
