WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – A new bipartisan agreement could reshape how members of Congress, especially new mothers, cast their votes when they’re away from Washington.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have reached a deal to reform the House’s proxy voting system, which has been a source of heated debate in recent weeks.
The reform would introduce a vote pairing system, allowing a lawmaker who is absent to coordinate with a colleague on the opposite side of an issue to effectively cancel out each other’s votes. This approach would maintain vote balance without the use of traditional proxy voting.
“We’re simply asking that members recovering from childbirth, only 13 in U.S. history, be able to vote while they recover,” said Rep. Luna.
The proposal marks a departure from an earlier push to allow new parents to vote remotely for a set period following childbirth. Some Democrats say the new compromise doesn’t go far enough.
“This is not a deal. This doesn’t solve our problems, and the work continues,” said Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.).
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) also criticized the shift, noting that the original idea, to allow 12 weeks of remote voting after childbirth, was the minimum support new families deserve.
Vote pairing isn’t new to Congress. It was used during the 2018 Senate confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh to balance absences.
A formal vote on the new reform measure could take place soon.
