The effort to change House rules to allow recent mothers and fathers to vote by proxy is picking up steam, and proponents can now circumvent leadership and force a floor vote in the coming weeks.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who has led the charge with Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., filed a discharge petition that accumulated signatures from a majority of House members by Tuesday evening.
“I’m hopeful that we’re going to actually get it passed,” Pettersen told reporters Tuesday from the House steps while holding her son, who is a little more than a month old. “It’s a bipartisan issue. There’s a lot of really intense and chaotic things happening here in Washington. It’s great that we can have something that we can come together on and support each other when we’re new parents.”
