Bernie Sanders on Face the Nation, Feb. 19, 2023. Screenshot. By Michael Arria / Mondoweiss Last week Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) announced that he had introduced legislation to block a $20 billi…
Another example of more subtle forms of exclusion afforded by anonymity can be found in the
practice of voice vote in the US Congress. While the roll call voting record, which identifies
the voting behavior of each Congress member individually, has established itself as the
dominant practice in modern congressional procedures, the default version still practiced today
is the voice vote. Here yeas and nays are each expressed verbally and collectively so that the
individual vote of the respective Congress member remains unknown to the public. The chair
then gauges the majority and decides the vote. This procedure, which is the original practice of
the US Congress, undermines transparency and parliamentary accountability. Obscuring voting
behavior effectively shuts the public out and metaphorically speaking closes the doors of
parliament to public scrutiny. Lynch and Madonna (2103) find that elections incentivize
Congress members to request a recorded roll call vote. Thus, while the competition for seats
enhances transparency, voice voting is still a common practice when members of Congress
want to conceal their voting behavior on controversial issues
Assuming they don’t do a voice vote (PDF).