Bachmann missed third most votes in House, Kline has perfect attendance

Michele Bachmann, John Kline

Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann has missed more votes than all but two of her House colleagues, both of whom were ill.

Bachmann is running for the GOP nod for president and spends much of her time in Iowa and other early primary states. She missed 26 percent of all votes so far in 2011, according to a New York Times’ analysis of House attendance. In missed votes, Bachmann trails only Rep. Maurice Hinchey of New York, who is ill, and Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in January.

Rep. Ron Paul, who is also running for president, missed 21.3 percent of 2011 votes.

But Bachmann has vastly improved her voting record since this summer, when the Hill reported that she had missed 37 percent of all House votes from the time she declared her candidacy until late July.

Even before she officially declared her candidacy, Bachmann had a higher proportion of missed votes than most members of the House. A Minnesota Independent report last year found that many of her missed votes coincided with media appearances.

The analysis shows Rep. Keith Ellison also missed 11.3 percent of the year’s votes, mostly because of a leg injury earlier this year.

The New York Times’ analysis of House attendance showed a bright spot for Minnesota, with Rep. John Kline being one of only 15 House members to make every one of the 814 votes so far this year.