Journalist: Jasmine Hornek (ORU)
Across the country, lawmakers sometimes skip votes, but how significant is this in the long run? In 2011, researcher Adam Brown found that American state legislators missed an average of five percent of their floor votes, with some skipping nearly three times that amount. As questions of accountability rise nationwide, some argue that the public deserves a clearer record of who shows up to work.
The “Legislative Attendance Transparency” Act, authored by Representative Patterson of the Oklahoma State University delegation, aims to address this issue by requiring both chambers of the Oklahoma Legislature to make their attendance records publicly available online.
Under the bill, the House and Senate would be required to post, within five business days, the names of members who were present, absent, or excused for every floor session and committee meeting. The measure also requires attendance data to remain accessible for at least ten years, ensuring long-term transparency and accountability within the state’s legislative process.
The necessity of legislators showing up became painfully clear on October 1, 2025, when the federal government shut down, resulting in all government-run agencies and operations coming to a halt. This shutdown highlighted the critical importance of accountability among lawmakers— without their presence and action, the government cannot function. The extended recess and delays in the House exemplified how absences can directly stall essential services and legislative processes.
Despite the shutdown ending on November 11 – marking the longest shutdown in American History – the ramifications are long-lasting. During the national conference for state legislators, the shutdown put approximately 750,000 employees on unpaid leave.”
The Bipartisan Policy Center reported that at least 670,000 federal employees were furloughed, and roughly 730,000 continued to work without pay throughout the shutdown. State-level measures, like Oklahoma’s Legislative Attendance Transparency Act, aim to prevent similar dysfunction by requiring lawmakers’ attendance to be publicly tracked and accessible, ensuring citizens can hold their representatives accountable before crises occur.