We believe the adage “just showing up is half the battle” applies to showing up for roll call votes in Congress, as it does to other aspects of life. GovTrack.us tracks the number of roll call votes that members of Congress miss during each session of Congress. GovTrack.us is one of the oldest government transparency websites in the world.
The missed vote records of Montana’s current members of Congress are quoted below in the order of most career missed roll call votes to least career missed roll call votes.
Rep. Ryan Zinke
“From Jan 2015 to Apr 2024, Zinke missed 132 of 2,311 roll call votes, which is 5.7%. This is much worse than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.” Rep. Zinke missed 1.9 % of roll call votes during January-March 2024 and 4.0% of roll call votes during April 2024.
Sen. Steve Daines
“From Jan 2015 to Apr 2024, Daines missed 87 of 3,264 roll call votes, which is 2.7%. This is on par with the median of 2.8% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.” Sen. Daines missed 10.5% of roll call votes during January-March 2024 and zero percent of roll call votes during April 2024.
Sen. Matt Rosendale
“From Jan 2021 to Apr 2024, Rosendale missed 20 of 1,876 roll call votes, which is 1.1%. This is better than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving.” Rep. Rosendale missed zero percent of roll call votes during January-March 2024 and zero percent of roll call votes during April 2024.
Sen. Jon Tester
“From Jan 2007 to Apr 2024, Tester missed 53 of 5,760 roll call votes, which is 0.9%. This is better than the median of 2.8% among the lifetime records of senators currently serving.” Sen. Tester missed zero percent of roll call votes during January-March 2024 and zero percent of rol call votes during April 2024.
And the Winner Is: Sen. Jon Tester
So, the winner of our Showing Up contest is Sen. Jon Tester and the loser is Rep. Ryan Zinke. These results are consistent with our analysis of the lawmaking effectiveness of the members of Montana’s congressional delegation, with Sen. Jon Tester ranked first and and Rep. Ryan Zinke ranked last. You will note (no surprise here) that there is a strong relationship between showing up and lawmaking effectiveness.