The Candidates: Missed Votes
Saturday March 29, 2008
One measure of a Senator or Representative is how many votes the legislator has missed. Here are the data for the three major candidates in the presidential race. Looks like two presidential runs have put a dent in John McCain's voting record, but his percentage still beats Barack Obama's.
- Hillary Clinton (D-NY) has missed 181 of 2479 votes since 23 Jan 2001 for a 93% "present and voting" record.
- John McCain (R-AZ) has missed 632 of 3793 votes since 22 Jan 1997 for an 83% "present and voting" record.
- Barack Obama (D-IL) has missed 208 of 1171 votes since 6 Jan 2005 for an 82% "present and voting" record.
Comments
I am curious as to why so many miss votes. Obviously I understand the ones who have been sick or have passed away. Is this just politics or what? I know if I showed up to work %83 of the time I’d be on the job hunt. Sorry if this is a dumb question but I’m at a loss.