PORTSMOUTH – Of the 81 House and Senate members that Seacoast Sunday has followed since January, 13 legislators – seven Republicans and six Democrats – have achieved perfect voting percentages on roll calls throughout this year’s session. Another 32 legislators – 16 Republicans and 16 Democrats – attained voting records of 90 percent or better. Five members, three Republicans and two Democrats, missed more than half the roll call votes taken during the six-month session.
In the House, 234 roll call votes were taken during 16 legislative meeting days. In the Senate, 143 roll calls were tabulated during 18 meeting days. Both bodies met extensively during the first six months of this year, holding hundreds of public hearings and committee debates on bills, as well as taking floor action and roll call votes.
For this report, if a legislator voted on all roll calls, he or she has a 100 percent rating. The number of missed votes is given for those not receiving a perfect rating. “Excused” means the member notified the House or Senate leadership that they could not attend due to important business or illness. “Not excused” means the member did not make that notification, and missed a vote. In some cases, a legislator may have avoided a vote due to a potential conflict of interest on a bill.
Information is also provided for those legislators running for re-election or for election to another office. This information is based on filing information by the Office of Secretary of State, and may change since political parties may add candidates in September, and write-in candidacies are possible.
State senators
100 percent: Of state Senators followed by seacoastonline, Sens. Jeb Bradley, R-Wolfeboro; Sam Cataldo, R-Farmington; Martha Fuller Clark, D-Portsmouth; and David Watters, D-Dover answered all 143 roll call votes for perfect percentages. Bradley, Fuller Clark, and Watters are running for reelection. Cataldo is running for Executive Council, District 2.
99.3: Sen. Nancy Stiles, R-Hampton, was excused for one vote.
97.9: Sen. Russell Prescott, R-Kingston, was excused for three votes. Running for Executive Council, District 3.
97.2: Sen. John Reagan, was excused for four votes. Running for reelection.
There are various reasons for members to miss votes. With legislative meetings beginning early in the morning and often going late into the afternoon or evening, not all members can be present for each vote, with business and family obligations.
Frequently, little notice is given that a roll call will be taken, and some legislators may be present in the Statehouse attending meetings with constituents, committees, or doing research and may not be in their seats the moment a roll call is requested. Missing many votes may be the result of a long illness. Sometimes, legislators may have excellent attendance for legislative days, but may have missed a day when a large number of votes were recorded. This roll call tally indicates those circumstances.
Legislators have also been known to “take a walk,” which refers to purposely avoiding being present when a controversial vote comes up.
For contact information and specific roll call votes, visit NH.gov.
