There were no roll call votes in the House or Senate last week.
This week, Beacon Hill Roll Call reports local senators’ roll call attendance records for the 2026 session through Aug. 21.
The Senate has held 122 roll calls so far in the 2026 session. Beacon Hill Roll Call tabulates the number of roll calls on which each senator voted and then calculates that number as a percentage of the total roll call votes held. That percentage is the number referred to as the roll call attendance record.
Senate rules allow a senator, who is not physically present at the session in the Senate chamber, to vote remotely from any location inside or outside of the State House — without giving a reason for his or her absence from the Senate chamber.
Sometimes a senator is not able to attend only one or two sessions during which roll calls are held, but since there are sometimes multiple roll calls on each of those days, the number of roll calls they missed can be high.
Thirty-two (80%) out of the 40 senators did not miss any roll call votes and had a 100% roll call attendance record. The senator who missed the most roll calls is Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, who missed 36 roll calls (70.5% roll call attendance record).
“As a major in the Massachusetts National Guard, Sen. Velis was deployed to the southern border with the U.S. Army earlier this year,” said Gabriel Adams-Keane, Velis’ chief of staff. “While the senator was not able to participate in roll call votes during his deployment, he has since returned and has not missed a roll call since coming home. During the senator’s activation, our office remained fully operational and continued to assist constituents with any and all inquiries. Sen. Velis also received regular updates from our office on all district and Senate matters.”
Following Velis, Sen. Mike Rush, D-West Roxbury, missed seven roll calls, giving him a 94.2% attendance record.
“As a commander and 30-year member of the United States Navy Reserves, I am several times a year required to go on orders with Navy within the USA,” Rush said. “Very rarely, these orders will coincide with formal Senate session, which caused me to miss a small number of roll call votes.”
It is a Senate tradition that the Senate president only votes occasionally. Current Senate President Karen Spilka, D-Ashland, follows that tradition and only voted on 36 (29.5%) of the 122 roll calls while not voting on 86 (70.5%) of them.
The other five senators who missed roll calls are Sens. Mike Barrett, D-Lexington, Jo Comerford, D-Northampton, Julian Cyr, D-Truro, Dylan Fernandes, D-Falmouth, and Becca Rausch, D-Needham. Each missed only one roll call (99.1% attendance record).
“As advised by counsel, Sen. Comerford did not vote [on that single roll call] due to a potential conflict of interest as the senator’s wife is a public high school teacher and could be affected by this policy,” said Katelyn Billings, Comerford’s director of communication and engagement.
“Sen. Cyr takes his attendance at Senate roll calls seriously, which is why he participated in 121 of the 122 roll calls this year,” said Matt Fortin, Cyr’s communications director. “His one absence was due to a medical appointment.”
“During the week following Senate budget debates, Sen. Rausch attended an invitation-only bipartisan conference for state lawmakers recognized as national leaders on election law and policy,” said Madelein McCormick, Rausch’s chief of staff. “Formal sessions rarely occur during the week after budget and [were] not scheduled until the senator was already at the conference. Accordingly, she was unable to vote.”
Barrett and Fernandes did not respond to requests from Beacon Hill Roll Call asking them why they missed roll call votes.
The percentage listed next to the senator’s name is the percentage of roll call votes on which the senator voted. The number in parentheses represents the number of roll calls that he or she missed.
- Sen. Jo Comerford — 99.1% (1)
- Sen. Paul Mark — 100% (0)
Also up on Beacon Hill
Allow credit unions to pay their board members (H 1338)
The House and Senate gave final approval to and sent to Gov. Maura Healey a bill that would allow credit unions to compensate board members for their service.
“I was proud to sponsor this legislation, which would modernize current law by allowing credit unions to compensate their board members for their service,” said sponsor Sen. Pavel Payano, D-Lawrence. “Under existing statute, board members may only be reimbursed for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.”
Payano continued, “This bill would permit compensation to be set and approved by the membership at an annual meeting, giving credit unions the flexibility to determine appropriate levels of compensation as needed. … Credit unions play a vital role in supporting our communities, and this update will help them attract and retain strong leadership, strengthen their institutions and enhance their ability to serve their members. We look forward to seeing the governor sign this important legislation into law.”
Field of potential host cities narrows for 2028 Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Committee announced that Boston, Denver and Philadelphia made the final cut and are the three cities being considered to host the 2028 Democratic National Convention.
“We are honored to move forward to the final stage as host for the 2028 Democratic National Convention, and will continue to work alongside our incredible partners and the Greater Boston community to share the best of our city with the Democratic National Committee,” said Steve Kerrigan, chair of the Massachusetts Democratic Party. “Time and again, Massachusetts has demonstrated the vision and capability to take on ambitious events and carry them through to success — backed by the infrastructure, talent and civic spirit that make great achievements possible. We are honored to join Denver and Philadelphia as this process moves forward.”
“Coming off this successful summer hosting the World Cup, Tall Ships and MA 250 events, the people of Massachusetts have shown that we can host major events and showcase our state to the entire world,” Gov. Maura Healey said. “The 2028 election will be an important moment to choose the direction of our country, and there is no better city than Boston to chart that future. I’m thrilled that Boston has advanced to the next round, and I look forward to working with partners like Mayor Wu and other leaders in this next phase of the convention process.”
“Throughout the World Cup, Boston showed the entire world that our beautiful, safe and welcoming city is the perfect venue to host important events that can bring people together from all communities,” said Boston Mayor Michelle Wu. “Boston is ready to host a Democratic National Convention that will showcase our vibrant, diverse city to a global audience, welcome guests and delegates to hotels within walking distance of both the convention venues and our major attractions, and deliver major economic benefits to local businesses. We are proud to offer the country clear proof of the progress that’s possible when we build the America our founders fought for.”