Anna Paulina Luna led efforts in Congress to allow new parents, particularly new mothers, to vote by proxy while recovering from childbirth, drafting both solo and bipartisan proposals to formalize parental leave proxy voting (Orlando Sentinel; NBC - 8 WFLA).
Luna's proxy voting proposals gained bipartisan support, including from Democratic Representatives Brittany Pettersen and Sara Jacobs, leading to plans for up to 12 weeks of proxy voting for all new parents (South Florida Sun-Sentinel).
Facing resistance from GOP leadership, Luna used a discharge petition and led a group of Republicans who voted with Democrats to block leadership attempts to halt the proxy voting resolution, temporarily paralyzing the House (NBC - 8 WFLA).
After negotiations, Luna agreed to abandon strict proxy voting in favor of formalizing the "live/dead pairing" practice, allowing absent members---including new parents---to have their votes paired and counted in certain circumstances (St. Lucie News-Tribune).
Luna received bipartisan criticism for abandoning the initial comprehensive bipartisan effort for proxy voting, with some Democrats expressing disappointment in her shift (NBC - 8 WFLA).
Separately, Luna has long advocated for school choice as a means to address racial inequality, citing her own experiences in multiple schools growing up (Tampa Bay Times).
March 2025: Luna Supported Proxy Voting For New Parents And Female Members Of Congress According to Fox News, JESSE WATTERS PRIMETIME, Anna Paulina Luna stated, "I'm currently working on something that would allow new parents, and specifically female members of Congress to vote by proxy when they're recovering from childbirth." [Fox News JESSE WATTERS PRIMETIME, 3/28/25]
2025: Anna Paulina Luna Supported Allowing New Parents to Vote by Proxy After Childbirth In an interview with FOX News host Jesse Watters, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said, "I'm currently working on something that would allow new parents, and specifically female members of Congress to vote by proxy when they're recovering from childbirth." [Interview - Rep. Anna Paulina Luna with FOX News' Jesse Watters Primetime, 3/28/25]
2025: Luna Supported Bipartisan House Resolution For Parental Leave Proxy Voting According to South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "Democrats, including Reps. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, who gave birth this year to her second child, and Sara Jacobs of California, joined Luna's effort, expanding the resolution to include new fathers and up to 12 weeks of proxy voting during a parental leave." [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/2/25]
2025: Luna Voted Against Blocking Proxy Voting Resolution According to South Florida Sun-Sentinel, "Eight Republicans joined Luna and all Democrats in voting no." [South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 4/2/25]
2024: Anna Paulina Luna Advocated For Parental Proxy Voting In The House According to Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), "It began over a year ago, when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., began agitating for a change to House rules that would allow new mothers to designate a colleague to vote by proxy on their behalf for up to six weeks after giving birth. Luna landed on the idea after her own child was born." [Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), 4/2/25]
2025: Anna Paulina Luna Voted Against Blocking Proxy Voting Resolution According to Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), "Eight Republicans joined Luna and all Democrats in voting no." [Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale), 4/2/25]
2024: Anna Paulina Luna Advocated For Temporary Proxy Voting For New Mothers In Congress According to Orlando Sentinel, "It began over a year ago, when Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., began agitating for a change to House rules that would allow new mothers to designate a colleague to vote by proxy on their behalf for up to six weeks after giving birth. Luna landed on the idea after her own child was born." [Orlando Sentinel, 4/2/25]
2025: Anna Paulina Luna Joined Bipartisan Effort To Expand Proxy Voting To Parental Leave According to Orlando Sentinel, "Democrats, including Reps. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado, who gave birth this year to her second child, and Sara Jacobs of California, joined Luna's effort, expanding the resolution to include new fathers and up to 12 weeks of proxy voting during a parental leave." [Orlando Sentinel, 4/2/25]
April 2025: Anna Paulina Luna Voted Against Speaker Johnson's Attempt To Block Proxy Voting Resolution According to Orlando Sentinel, "Eight Republicans joined Luna and all Democrats in voting no." [Orlando Sentinel, 4/2/25]
2025: Luna Clashed With GOP House Leadership Over Proxy Voting For New Parents According to NBC - 8 WFLA, "Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and House GOP leadership are at odds. The Pinellas County Republican is pushing to allow new parents the ability to vote by proxy, or remotely, for up to 12 weeks after having a baby." [NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), 4/3/25]
2025: Luna Used Discharge Petition To Advance Proxy Voting Legislation According to NBC - 8 WFLA, "When Luna felt the remote voting House Resolution for members was stalled, she then got most members of the House to sign a so-called discharge petition. That's how you get legislation directly to the floor, bypassing committees and leadership." [NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), 4/3/25]
April 2025: Anna Paulina Luna Led Republican Effort For Parental Proxy Voting According to NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), "A band of nine Republicans, led by Luna, joined with Democrats on Tuesday to torpedo a vote on a procedural rule that included language to thwart the proxy voting effort, halting unrelated key legislative business on the House floor and prompting leadership to send lawmakers home for the week." [NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), 4/3/25]
April 2025: Anna Paulina Luna Continued To Press For Parental Proxy Voting After Leadership's Proposed Accommodations According to NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), "It is unclear, however, if those offerings would be enough to get Luna to relent on her push for a vote on parental proxy voting. She continued pushing for the practice Wednesday night." [NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), 4/3/25]
April 2025: Luna Praised Vote Pairing Compromise For Young Parents In Congress According to NBC - 8 WFLA, '"If we truly want a younger Congress ... these are the changes that need to happen," Luna said in praising the compromise.' [NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), 4/8/25]
April 2025: Anna Paulina Luna Abandoned Effort For Proxy Voting, Supported Formalizing 'Live/Dead Pairing' Procedure According to St. Lucie News-Tribune, "But Luna wrote on X that she and Johnson instead are moving to formalize a procedure known as 'live/dead pairing,' dating back to the 1800s, for the entire conference to use when unable to physically be present to vote, for example due to being new parents, bereaved or in an emergency." [St. Lucie News-Tribune, 4/8/25]
2024: Luna Introduced Bill To Allow Proxy Voting For New Mothers In House According to Orlando Sentinel, "She introduced a bill in January 2024 that would allow a mother to designate a proxy for six weeks, but by autumn, her legislation had gone nowhere, languishing in committee." [Orlando Sentinel (Florida), 4/13/25]
2025: Luna Co-Authored Bipartisan Bill To Extend Proxy Voting For New Parents According to Orlando Sentinel, "Then she turned to Democrats, drafting a new proposal this year with Reps. Brittany Pettersen of Colorado and Sara Jacobs of California that would extend proxy voting to not just moms but all new parents for 12 weeks, double the time Luna had initially proposed." [Orlando Sentinel (Florida), 4/13/25]
April 2025: Luna Criticized By Democrats For Abandoning Bipartisan Proxy Vote Effort According to NBC - 8 WFLA, '"It's unfortunate that Rep. Luna is walking away from the bipartisanship that we had in this effort."' [NBC - 8 WFLA: Web Edition Articles (Florida), 4/8/25]
April 2025: Anna Paulina Luna Reached Agreement With Speaker Mike Johnson Over Parent Proxy Voting Push According to St. Lucie News-Tribune, "Florida Republican Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said on Sunday that she had reached an agreement with House Speaker Mike Johnson over her push to allow new parents to vote by proxy after a standoff between the two Republicans left the House paralyzed for a week." [St. Lucie News-Tribune, 4/8/25]
April 2025: Anna Paulina Luna Thanked Trump For Support Of New Moms Voting Remotely According to St. Lucie News-Tribune, "'Thanks to POTUS and his support of new moms being able to vote when recovering from child brith (sic) as well as those who worked hard to get these changes done. If we truly want a pro-family Congress, these are the changes that need to happen,' Luna wrote." [St. Lucie News-Tribune, 4/8/25]
October 2020: Luna Supported School Choice To Address Racial Inequality According to Tampa Bay Times, "Luna said the best way to address racial inequality in District 13 is through school choice. She recalled her high school days, when she attended six schools before receiving her diploma." [Tampa Bay Times, 10/17/20]