{"id":443979,"date":"2024-10-21T05:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T12:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/?p=443979"},"modified":"2024-10-22T13:05:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T20:05:37","slug":"california-legislature-absences-abstentions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calmatters.org\/_ko\/politics\/2024\/10\/california-legislature-absences-abstentions\/","title":{"rendered":"Some legislators miss hundreds of votes, but even ‘excused’ absences count as a ‘no’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\uc694\uc57d\ud574\uc11c<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

Seven Assemblymembers missed more than a quarter of their votes this year, most involving illness or family matters. But when it comes to bills, an absence is the same as a \u201cno\u201d vote.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\n

\uc774 \uc5ed\uc0ac\ub97c \uc77d\uc5b4\ubcf4\uc138\uc694 \uc2a4\ud398\uc778\uc5b4<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

‘Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes<\/a>, a Democrat from Corona who is running for state Senate, missed about two-thirds of her votes this year \u2014 1,647 of 2,510 voting opportunities she had based on her committee assignments and floor sessions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In most cases, the missed votes came from two \u201cexcused\u201d absences during busy times of the year \u2014 once for a death in her family, and once due to illness after attending the Democratic National Convention in August, according to her staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Six other legislators missed more than a quarter of their votes this year, most involving excused absences for illness or family matters, according to an analysis of voting data from CalMatters\u2019 Digital Democracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it comes to voting on bills, however, the California Legislature does not distinguish between a lawmaker who is absent \u2014 excused or not \u2014 and a legislator who is present but does not vote. They all count the same as a legislator who casts a “no” vote, but they are categorized as: \u201cNo Vote Recorded\u201d or NVR.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sean McMorris, a program manager for California Common Cause, said the lack of transparency around absences versus abstentions can feed distrust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think people are naturally skeptical about politics and politicians, so when you have things like this \u2026 it just reinforces that narrative,\u201d he said. \u201cUnfortunately, whether there’s ill intent or not, that’s probably what the public is going to assume.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a Legislature with a supermajority of Democrats who almost always vote \u201cyes,<\/a>\u201d there are few close votes where an individual will sway the outcome. But Digital Democracy data shows 45 bills that died in the current two-year legislative session because NVRs were counted as \u201cno.\u201d And at certain times, such as during the Democratic National Convention when 21 legislators missed votes during a busy week, legislators say it can make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Assembly Speaker \ub85c\ubc84\ud2b8 \ub9ac\ubc14\uc2a4<\/a> and Senate President Pro Tem \ub9c8\uc774\ud06c \ub9e5\uacfc\uc774\uc5b4<\/a> both declined interviews with CalMatters to discuss concerns about the way absences or abstentions are recorded and counted. But others suggested the rules might be changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnything that can be part of a conversation that helps with transparency and boldness of disclosure for the viewing public, I think is certainly appropriate,\u201d said Assemblymember Chris Holden<\/a>, a Democrat from Pasadena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lorena Gonzalez, a former Assemblymember who now heads the California Labor Federation, said the lack of clarity around why people didn\u2019t vote can make it difficult for her group to rank legislators based on its priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cervantes, for instance, earned a 100% score from the federation in 2023, but missed eight votes on 12 of the group\u2019s priority bills this year. Gonzalez said she has no doubt about Cervantes\u2019 support of labor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for others, Gonzalez said the uncertainty can require going to each legislator to confirm where they stand: \u201cAbstain, absent, truly absent, excused absence, unexcused absence, and just sitting at your frickin\u2019 desk and choosing not to vote \u2026. I don’t think there’s any transparency for constituents.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Legislative policies for votes and absences in other states are not tracked, but there are some with differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

~ \uc548\uc5d0 Colorado<\/a>, for example, absent members\u2019 votes are recorded separately from those abstaining, but they still count as \u201cno\u201d votes. And in Hawaii, there\u2019s an option to vote as \u201cyes with reservations<\/a>,\u201d which counts as a yes vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Behind the no-vote rates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While California\u2019s Legislature is in session for about seven months each year, most important votes on bills happen around a few key deadlines: the \u201chouse of origin\u201d deadline in late spring, when a bill must pass from the chamber where it was introduced, and the last week of the session before the Legislature adjourns in August or September. During those times, legislators can be asked to cast more than 200 votes in a single day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It explains why Cervantes missed more votes than any other legislator, but she ranked fourth in the number of days she was absent. Assemblymember Megan Dahle<\/a>, a Republican from Redding, was absent for 88 days due to a stroke she suffered in January, more than twice as many absences as Cervantes. But Cervantes missed 441 more votes than Dahle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, there were seven legislators who missed more than a quarter of their opportunities to vote, a number that depends on their committee assignments. Most were absent for medical reasons. The seven legislators \u2014 four Democrats and three Republicans \u2014 all serve in the Assembly: <\/p>\n\n\n\n