Republican House speakers set new precedent on voting 

From eighth-grade civics to college administration courses to nearly 30 years in the House and think tank worlds, I mistakenly believed that the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives could only vote to break ties.

My long-held misconceptions were shattered last month when House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) voted to pass a resolution rather than break it on April 12th. Vote Major Amendments 212-212 Proposed to FISA Authorization (A tie vote rejects the bill or amendment).

This development led me to take a look at other recent roll call votes. I was surprised to learn that Chairman Johnson is a frequent voter. For example, of the 88 roll call votes cast between March 12 and May 1, 2024, Chairman Johnson voted 59 times (67 percent) and refrained from voting 29 times (33 percent). Most of the results were far from a draw. Johnson’s predecessor, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), also frequently voted as House speaker during this Congress, sources familiar with the matter said.

This revelation led me to consider more carefully the wording of the Speaker’s voting rule and its history. In the first Congress in 1789, the rules read: “In all cases of a vote by the House” (a now largely obsolete voting procedure), “the Speaker shall vote. In any other case, unless the House is evenly divided, or his vote falls into the minority.” No vote shall be taken unless, in the given case, the division is even, and in such case the issue shall be lost.” This happened with the FISA amendments cited above. Ta.

The original House rules for the speaker’s vote closely track the Senate rules embedded in Congress. Article 1, Section 3 of the Constitution states:: “The Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate, but shall have no vote unless opinion is evenly divided.”

Both the original House of Commons rules and the House of Lords’ constitutional provisions derive from the rules of the British House of Commons, which require the speaker to be a neutral speaker and vote only to break ties. The Speaker of the House of Representatives must also resign from the party and must not run again in the party’s name. In the U.S. House of Representatives, on the other hand, the speaker is a neutral speaker when in the chair, but otherwise the majority leader.

According to a footnote included in the House Rules and Manual, two attempts were made, in 1833 and 1837, to amend the House Rules to require the Speaker to always vote. Both attempts were defeated, the former by a roll call vote of 96-122 and the latter by voice vote. The main arguments made against this rule change were that (a) speakers could not account for votes from the chair; and (b) this change would make both the Speaker and the House more partisan.

In 1850, the House of Representatives changed the rules regarding the Speaker’s vote as follows: “The Speaker is not required to vote in normal legislative procedure unless the vote is decisive or the House has voted by ballot. In all cases of a tie, the question shall be lost. do.”

As explained in a footnote to the rules, the chair has “the same voting rights as other members.” However, it is important to note that while members must vote, the chair’s vote is discretionary. A footnote also indicates that the speaker’s name does not appear on the voting list from which members’ names are called. This means that if the chair does not vote, the member will not be listed as “no vote”.

A footnote in the latest manual, published at the beginning of the current 118th Congress, states that the speaker’s right to vote on any issue has been “historically rarely exercised.” Speaker McCarthy and Speaker Johnson broke with historical precedent of previous speakers refraining from voting unless they cast a decisive vote.

The new convention in this chamber, where the speaker almost always votes, is tied to a Republican majority that allows even two defectors to break the leadership if Democrats vote unanimously against it. It can be inferred that. At the very least, the Speaker’s vote sends a strong signal to colleagues of the leadership’s official position on important issues.

Looking back at the history of this rule, the first iteration in 1789 ironically coincides with my long-held mistaken belief that the chair is prohibited from voting unless the vote is decisive. We are doing so. My first misunderstanding about the chairman’s voting situation today stemmed from my failure to realize that the 1789 rules had been changed in his 1850 year to give the chairman voting discretion. I wish I could claim that it is, but I can’t. I never bothered to read either version, nor did I have any reason to.

We tend to cling to short-sighted misconceptions until a surprising change in circumstances forces us to take a closer look. This Congress has set a new precedent for more frequent votes by the speaker. This policy is likely to be followed in future parliaments, regardless of which party is in power.

Don Wolfensberger is a 28-year veteran of Congressional staff and served as majority chief of staff on the House Rules Committee during the 104th Congress. His books include Parliament and the People: Deliberative Democracy in Courts (2000) and Changing Parliamentary Culture: From Fair Play to Power Play (2018). The views expressed are his own.