Congresswoman Moves to Force Vote on Proxy Voting for New Parents

Members of Congress should not have to choose between representing their constituents and having children, she said.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) speaks during a press conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on June 26, 2024. Samuel Corum/Getty Images

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) is seeking to force a vote on her resolution to allow new parents in the House to vote by proxy, and Democrats are flocking to help.

Filing a motion called a discharge petition with the House clerk on March 10, Luna began the process to force her legislation’s release from the Rules Committee, where it has languished since Jan. 9.

The petition needs 218 signatures to trigger a vote on the motion to move the bill forward. Ninety-three members have signed the petition so far, including 87 Democrats.

The Florida congresswoman’s proposal would allow members who have just given birth—or whose spouses have just given birth—to vote remotely by designating another member to vote in their stead for a period of up to 12 weeks.

The temporary authorization would also be available to an expecting mother whose doctor has advised that her pregnancy presents a serious medical condition or has otherwise rendered her unable to travel safely.

“Female members should not be forced to choose between representing their constituents and having children,” Luna said while advocating for the change last November.

“Until Congress embraces changes to reflect American’s [sic] family values, we will not have true representation in Washington.”

Luna’s comments at the time followed her reported receipt of the news that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would not back her resolution.

“Among other things, this is something that I fundamentally disagree with him on,” she said, describing his lack of support as “anti-family” and “a slap in the face” to voters.

Johnson told NBC News in January that his position was purely based on the text of the Constitution.

“I’ve filed a brief with the United States Supreme Court asserting that proxy vote is unconstitutional. That’s been my belief as a constitutional law litigator, and I don’t see any way around that,” Johnson said.

“And it’s unfortunate. I have great sympathy, empathy for all of our young women legislators who are of birthing age. It’s a real quandary. But I’m afraid it doesn’t fit with the language of the Constitution, and that’s the inescapable truth that we have.”

Proxy voting became a regular occurrence in the House during the COVID-19 pandemic as members sought to limit the spread of the virus. But many Republicans argue that the practice violates the constitutional requirement that a majority of the House, or a quorum, be physically present to conduct business. House leadership consequently ended proxy voting when the GOP reclaimed control of the House in 2023.

Luna’s proposal is nevertheless supported by at least a handful of Republicans and dozens of Democrats, including Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), who recently flew to Washington with her 4-week-old baby to vote on a budget bill.

“Our government works best when the life experiences of the American people are represented,” Pettersen said in a Jan. 9 statement along with Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).

“Enabling new parents to vote by proxy while they spend time recovering and taking care of their newborn baby is an important step in modernizing Congress and addressing one of the significant barriers young parents face to serving,” the statement said.

If Luna’s petition garners enough signatures, she can trigger a vote on the motion to discharge. If that motion is adopted, she can immediately call the resolution up for consideration by the full House.