Legislators say missing some votes is inevitable
Some key Oklahoma lawmakers missed the most votes during the legislative session that ended May 26.
Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang, led the House in missed votes.
Osborn, who chairs the House Appropriations and Budget Committee, missed 25 percent of the floor and committee votes.
“I hate the number of votes I had to miss, but I was constantly called off of the floor into meetings with fiscal staff, the governor’s office and the Senate Appropriations chair for negotiations on our budget.
“I truly regret not being able to cast as many votes on policy measures. It was an absolutely overwhelming year with the amount of budget work that was going on.”
Lawmakers had $878 million less to spend in crafting a fiscal year 2018 budget.
Her counterpart in the Senate also ranked high in the upper chamber for missed votes.
Sen. Kim David, R-Porter, ranked fifth in missed votes in the upper chamber. David is chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
She missed 26 percent of the floor and committee votes.
“I knew I was going to be right up there at the top,” David said. “It was
I hate the number of votes I had to miss, but I was constantly called off of the floor into meetings with fiscal staff, the governor’s office and the Senate Appropriations chair for negotiations on our budget. I truly regret not being able to cast as many votes on policy measures. It was an absolutely overwhelming year with the amount of budget work that was going on.”
Rep. Leslie Osborn, R-Mustang
because of budget meetings.”
Senate President Pro Tem Mike Schulz, R-Altus, ranked second in the Senate on missed votes behind Sen. Jack Fry, R-Midwest City.
Schulz missed 37.5 percent of the votes.
“It is not uncommon for the Pro Tem or Speaker to miss some floor votes because often times we are pulled away in budget negotiations,” Schulz said.
Fry missed 68.34 percent of the votes.
“My wife had some health issues,” Fry said. “It required my immediate attention.”
He and his wife, Gail, have been married 46 years, he said, adding that they take care of each other.
Sen. Randy Bass, D-Lawton, ranked third in missed votes in the upper chamber. Bass missed 36.36 percent of the votes.
“I think when you get close to the end and you are trying to figure out what you are doing, you get a lot of calls and options to go somewhere else and see what your next job is going to be,” said Bass.
Bass is termed out in 2018.
“I did miss some time just for that,” Bass said.
“I haven’t really decided what I am going to do, but I have a good idea. You have job interviews and stuff. Unfortunately, it just happened during the time the session was going on.”
Sen. Bryce Marlatt, R-Woodward, ranked fourth in the Senate in missed votes. Marlatt missed 28.04 percent of the votes. Marlatt is assistant floor leader.
He said he believes the 28 percent figure is misleading because he had a 100 percent attendance rate.
He said he missed votes to negotiate budget and policy issues and due to family health issues.
Rep. Tommy Hardin, R-Madill, ranked second in the House, missing 23.98 percent.
He said he had an illness during a busy deadline period.
Rep. Cory Williams, D-Stillwater, ranked third in the lower chamber. He missed 23.87 percent of the votes.
Williams said he was working to secure votes for bills that he authored or co-authored.
He said being in the minority party means he has to work 10 times harder to get things done.
He said that he believes he is being effective in representing his constituents.
Rep. Mike Ritze, R-Broken Arrow, ranked fourth in the House missing 23.73 percent of the votes and missing several days on Thursdays.
Ritze said his 36-yearold daughter has breast cancer and has chemotherapy on Thursdays.
“I had to leave quite a bit on Thursdays,” Ritze said.
Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, came in fifth in the House on missed votes. Lowe missed 23.63 percent of the votes.
Lowe said he meets with more constituents than any other member of the Legislature and has an open-door policy.
“I pride myself on being one of the most accessible members of the Legislature,” he said.
“I believe it is important that any constituent can meet with me at any time during the legislative session. Many members ignore their constituents. I move mountains to meet with mine.”
The voting calculations were done by eCapitol, a subscriptionbased bill tracking and news service.