Four New York Lawmakers Missed Every Capitol Session in 2026

Zero in-person appearances in Albany since January: that is the record for four New York state lawmakers, according to attendance data obtained by the New York Post through a public information request. The same records show the ten most absent members of the Senate and Assembly combined for 442 missed votes this year, each skipping more than 37% of votes taken in the Capitol, the Post reported.

Those ten lawmakers make up roughly 5% of the full state legislature but accounted for 39% of all absences recorded since January, according to the Post's analysis of the data.

Which Lawmakers Had Zero In-Person Appearances?

The four members with no in-person attendance all year are Assembly members Vivian Cook (D-Queens) and David McDonough (R-Nassau County), Assemblyman Brian Maher (R-Orange County), and state Sen. Samra Brouk (D-Monroe), the Post reported. Lawmakers are permitted to vote remotely but cannot participate in floor sessions that way, per the records cited by the Post.

Why Were They Absent?

Cook and McDonough are each 89 and have been dealing with long-term illnesses while serving as lame ducks after neither sought reelection, according to the Post. Cook was admitted to rehab in March, a fact Assembly Majority Leader Crystal People-Stokes (D-Erie) announced from the floor, the outlet reported. McDonough has not appeared in Albany in at least two years despite winning reelection in 2024 with 65% of the vote, Newsday reported in February, as cited by the Post.

Maher, a Navy reservist, missed the entire session because he was deployed in the Middle East from November 2025 through last month, the Post reported. Brouk, the seven-term incumbent who announced she would not seek reelection, participated virtually eight times but recorded no in-person appearances, according to the records.

What Explanations Did Lawmakers Give?

Maher, who is running unopposed this year, told the Post that prolonged absences from elderly colleagues make the case for term limits. "People will say elections are term limits. We know they're not. We know that incumbency brings a lack of an even playing field," Maher said, according to the Post.

The Post reported that two other members among the ten most absent — both entrenched New York City Democrats — offered no explanations for their chronic absences. The outlet's report does not name those two members in the material reviewed.

How Many Votes Did the Full Group of Ten Miss?

Across the ten lawmakers with the worst attendance, the combined tally reached 442 missed votes since January, with each individual missing above the 37% threshold, according to the records the Post obtained. The group also included a mother on maternity leave, the Post reported, though her name and specific absence count were not detailed in the available reporting.

How Was the Attendance Data Obtained?

The figures come from attendance records the Post obtained through a public information request covering the legislative session that began in January, according to the outlet's reporting. The Post did not specify in the material reviewed whether the legislature disputes the tally.