As Congress tables proxy voting, state lawmakers seek solutions for parents who serve in office

As a bipartisan measure to allow new parents in Congress to vote by proxy has failed, some lawmakers hope their states can find solutions to bring and keep younger women in state capitols.

Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who had been leading the congressional push, said she reached an compromise with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson last week that does not include proxy voting.

Without a precedent in Congress, lawmakers remain hopeful that statehouses can change instead. Parents say proxy voting would allow women valuable and sometimes medically necessary time to recover and care for their infants at a moment when childcare, families and affordability are front and center for American politics.

''This should be about supporting families and supporting lawmakers who prioritize the issues of families,'' said Mallory McMorrow, who was the second sitting Michigan state senator to give birth. ''It should not be a partisan issue.''

Parenthood and policy making

Voting by proxy means a lawmaker casts a vote on behalf of another who is absent. Another option that has been used at the state level is remote voting, in which a member calls in to cast their vote.

Like in Congress, state legislative sessions can run late into the night, commutes home can be long and members stay away from home for several days a week.

There was no proxy or maternity leave policy for lawmakers when McMorrow had her daughter in 2021, but she took 12 weeks anyway. McMorrow, who is running for U.S. Senate, said technology exists to allow voting from afar. It would be useful as well for active duty military members and in medical emergencies.

Nebraska State Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh said the way legislatures operate shows state government was not built with women in mind. It was novel when she brought her baby to the floor in 2019 and had to push for a designated nursing room, both of which are now normalized.

Advocates for women's representation say lawmaking is so hard on mothers with young families many choose not to pursue public office. While the numbers vary by state, only a third of all state lawmakers are women.

''We want people in office who understand what most American families are dealing with," said Liuba Grechen Shirley, CEO and founder of Vote Mama, a group that supports mothers running for office.

Pandemic changes

Many states allowed remote participation during the COVID-19 pandemic and have since rolled back those practices. Others have kept the provisions.

The Minnesota and Colorado House chambers allow remote participation in limited circumstances, including health issues and the birth of child, while Minnesota's Senate allows remote voting for any reason with permission from leadership. Earlier this year, Virginia leadership allowed a lawmaker to cast votes from afar after she gave birth in February.

Virginia Del. Destiny LeVere Bolling, who is currently on maternity leave, called the flexibility ''invaluable'' and was disheartened by the outcome in Congress.

''I am glad that Democrats in the Commonwealth of Virginia choose to stand with families, as we always have, to set a better example for our friends in D.C.,'' she said in a statement.

Opponents of the practice such as Johnson, the Republican House speaker, say lawmaking requires participation in person. Some fear the option would result in too many lawmakers missing session.

Johnson agreed to formalize a ''pairing system'' long used in Congress in which one member who is physically present in the House cancels out the vote of someone who is absent. Arkansas' Legislature has a similar system.

Rules made at the federal level have some precedent on practice in statehouses. Since the Federal Election Commission allowed congressional candidates to spend their campaign dollars on child care in 2018, 39 states have followed suit, according to Vote Mama.

''At the root of this, there just aren't enough moms in office to push for these changes,'' Grechen Shirley said.

‘You do miss a lot by not being there'

Hawaii House minority Leader Lauren Matsumoto said she was denied the chance to vote remotely when she gave birth to her daughter in late 2019. Shortly thereafter, the pandemic caused the Legislature to temporarily move to a remote system anyway.

Reinstating that practice would be useful for the many young parents joining the Legislature, but Matsumoto would want a system that safeguards against abuse.

''In Hawaii, we're separated by water,'' said Matsumoto, a Republican. ''There's different reps that have to fly in. So what works for Hawaii might not be the same for Oklahoma."

Many proponents also want male lawmakers to be with their families during the birth of a child.

Former Missouri state Rep. Peter Merideth had to speed home occasionally during his tenure after his young daughter developed epilepsy. While video calling into committees or voting remotely would not have solved all his family needs, it would have helped.

''I would not want my representative to start doing that on a regular basis. I do think you miss a lot by not being there,'' Merideth said. ''But I wouldn't want them to have to choose between a crisis situation at home and being able to be there for those of us that voted for them."

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Associated Press writers Olivia Diaz, Andrew DeMillo and Steve Karnowski contributed to this report.

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