Order Code 98-970 GOV
Updated July 21, 2003
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Pairing in Congressional Voting: The House
Richard C. Sachs
Specialist in American National Government
Government and Finance Division
Under Rule XX, clause 3, the practice of “pairing” involves—under certain
procedural circumstances—a Member who is absent during a vote on the House floor
arranging with a Member on the opposite side of a specific question who is present during
a vote to announce that the Member who is present is forming a “pair” with the absent
Member, thus allowing the absent Member to have recorded how he would have voted
had he been present.
This particular type of pair, where one Member is absent and the other present for
the vote, is referred to as a “live pair,” although the term no longer appears in the House
Rules. Charles W. Johnson, the House Parliamentarian, has stated, “Although rarely used,
the announcement of live pairs, which involves an agreement between one Member who
is present and voting and another on the opposite side of the question who is absent, is
still permitted under Rule XX, clause 3.” (See House Practice: A Guide to the Rules,
Precedents and Procedures of the House [Washington: GPO, 2003], p. 926.)
F o r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n l e g i s l a t i v e p r o c e s s , s e e
[http://www.crs.gov/products/guidehome.shtml].
Prior to a rules change in 1999 at the start of the 106th Congress, the House
recognized, in addition to a live pair, two other types of pairs. In a “specific pair,”also
called a “special” or “dead” pair,” both Members were absent, but they made their
positions on a vote known beforehand and their names were listed in the Congressional
Record following the vote. The third type of pair, a “general pair,” was shown in the
Congressional Record without an indication of the positions of the Members.
According to current House rules, a pair remains an option only under the specific
circumstances stated in Rule XX, clause 3. This rule enables the Speaker to “direct the
Clerk to conduct a record vote or quorum call by call of the roll .... Members appearing
after the second call, but before the result is announced, may vote or announce a pair.”
In practice, the Member who is present casts a vote, then withdraws it, announces that he
or she has a pair, identifies the absent Member of the pair, and announces the opposing
positions on the vote. The initial vote of the Member who is present is then withdrawn
and the vote does not count in the vote total. Following the printed recording of the vote
in the Congressional Record, the pair would be shown. A pair would need to comprise
three Members on those votes requiring a two-thirds vote.
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

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As an example, a live pair occurred on June 27, 2003, (Congressional Record of
June 26, 2003, p. H5256), during the final vote on H.R. 1, the medicare prescription drug
bill. At the conclusion of voting, but before the result of the vote was announced, the
Congressional Record reported the following:
Live pair.
On this vote:
Mr. Istook with Mr. Young of Florida.
Mr. ISTOOK. Mr Speaker, on my vote just recorded I voted “no.” I have a
pair with the gentleman from Florida, Mr. Young, who is at a funeral, and
desire to change my vote and be recorded as “present.”
The Speaker pro tempore then announced the final vote, in accordance with Rule
XX, clause 3.
Because two of the three previous forms of pairing are no longer allowed, and a third
form is permitted only under the limited conditions stated in Rule XX, clause 3, an
alternative to pairing was established at the start of the 106th Congress. A Member who
is absent or otherwise unable to vote may now place a statement in the Congressional
Record as to how he or she would have voted. The statement appears immediately after
the vote. The headings for these statements read “stated ‘yea’”; or “stated ‘nay’.” These
statements do not have to be read from the floor if they are submitted in a timely fashion
to the clerks, generally one to two hours after the vote.

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