Nine Members Had Perfect Voting Records

The votes are in for the 110th Congress, and nine members between both chambers can proudly proclaim having perfect voting records.

The senators who cast all 657 votes taken over the past two years are: Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Ken Salazar (D-Colo.), Herb Kohl (D-Wis.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Bob Casey (D-Pa.).

Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), who succeeded Sen. Craig Thomas (R) after his death last year, deserves an honorable mention for making it to all 431 votes held during his time in the upper chamber.

In the House, just two members had perfect records. Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) and Jason Altmire (D-Pa.) made it to all 1,876 votes during the current Congress. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), who succeeded Bobby Jindal (R) when he left to become Louisiana governor, didn’t miss any of the 423 votes held during his year in the House.

The most truant members were those running for president or were ill.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) missed 64 percent of the Senate votes cast over the past two years, the most of any in the upper chamber. He was followed by Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.), who missed 47 percent of the votes. Johnson has been recovering from a brain hemorrhage suffered in late 2006 and campaigned successfully for reelection this year. After McCain and Johnson, those who missed the most votes were candidates for president: Barack Obama, Joe Biden (D-Del.), Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Sam Brownback (R-Kan.).

The House members to miss the most votes were ones dealing with serious health issues. Reps. Charles Norwood (R-Ga.) and Jo Ann Davis (R-Va.) missed approximately nine-in-10 votes before they passed away. Both were fighting cancer. Retiring Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-Wyo.), whose husband was seriously ill and who dealt with her own unspecified immune disorder, missed 49 percent of her votes. Cubin was followed by Jindal, who missed a third of his votes before leaving for the governor’s mansion earlier this year.

The voting records were tabulated by The Washington Post votes database.