Congressman Byron Donalds is being accused of voter fraud after he voted last week in Washington D.C. but wasn't actually there in person to cast the vote.
Democrats say he voted by proxy, something that is not permitted according to the rules of Congress. It’s also a process that Donalds voted to get rid of.
A proxy vote allows a member of Congress to vote by delegating their voting power to another person while they’re absent.
Donalds is accused of doing just that after opposing that kind of voting. Congressman James McGovern said on the house floor that Donalds somehow voted when he wasn’t even in the building.
McGovern pointed out Donalds missed a vote in Washington while he was on the other side of the country.
“Last week Congressman Donalds was at HBO Studios in California not on the house floor but somehow news reports say he also voted here on the house floor at the same time,” McGovern told Congress.
Democrats put a proxy in place during COVID, however, Republicans voted to end proxy voting, making it a violation of House chamber rules.
“When Johnson became speaker he ended remote voting because he said it was unconstitutional,” McGovern said.
Donalds tweeted in 2023 “House Republicans will vote to end proxy voting once and for all. It's members should work in person in the people's house.”
McGovern called Donalds vote last week voter fraud.
Lee County voters like Steve Maisch found Donalds vote ironic.
“Now that we're talking about bringing all the government workers back to the office to be at work in person, that congress would see fit to avail themselves to working from their home effectively,” Maisch said.
Republican Greg Boyd who voted for Donalds and supports him questioned the vote.
“It sounds like Byron Donalds should have been present for the vote,” Boyd said.
Boyd believes Republicans may want to re-consider proxy voting.
“Maybe they need to review it and see it and determine they can vote absentee anyhow electronically,” he said.
Donalds did not respond to a request for a comment on the matter.