When you elect someone to public office, you hope that politician considers your priorities when it’s time to vote on legislation. You also hope they actually show up to vote.
When a roll call vote on a piece of legislation occurs, each member’s vote is recorded as either a “yea” or “nay.” There have been 967 roll call votes in the Senate and 189 in the House of Representatives this year as of June 4.
So how many votes have this class of elected officials from Philly missed so far in 2025?
Fetterman: 30 Absences
Senator John Fetterman (D) is behind the pack when it comes to attendance. The senior senator made headlines in February after independent outlet Zeteo reported that he had missed 18 votes this year, eight more than any other senator. Fetterman said he was “devastated” by inquiries regarding his absences, the reasons for which remain unclear. Most fell on Thursdays.
At time of writing, Fetterman has missed 174 roll call votes since February 2023.
McCormick: 9 Absences
Newly elected Senator Dave McCormick (R) has yet to missed nine votes since beginning his term in January. McCormick’s key votes have been supporting nominations for leadership positions under the second Trump administration.
Boyle: 3 Absences
Representative Brendan Boyle (D) has been serving Pennsylvania’s second congressional district since 2015. His district represents Philadelphia east of Broad Street, including parts of Center City, North Philadelphia, and the Far Northeast. This year, Boyle has only missed three out of 147 roll call votes.
Since he began serving in office in January 2015, Boyle has missed 189 votes.
Evans: 9 Absences
Representative Dwight Evans (D) has been serving Pennsylvania’s third congressional district since 2015. Evans’ district represents Philadelphia west of Broad Street, including parts of Center City, North Philadelphia, and Northwest, and West Philadelphia. So far, Evans has only missed eight votes this year.
Since January 2015, Evans has missed 416 votes. That’s mostly due to the fact that in 2024, Evans suffered a stroke, leading him to miss the majority of votes that year.
Scanlon: 2 Absences
Representative Mary Gay Scanlon (D) has been serving Pennsylvania’s fifth congressional district since 2019. Her district includes parts of South and Southwest Philadelphia. She’s missed two votes this year and has missed 73 in all as the representative in the fifth district, having previously served in the seventh district.
