In February 2026, a video (archived) circulated online that claimed to authentically show U.S. Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican, illegally voting on behalf of absent representatives during his tenure in the Florida House of Representatives.
The video showed Fine in the Florida House appearing to press buttons on at least four voting panels. Several other people were in the chamber and in view of Fine when he did this.
One Threads user wrote of the video, "Watch as MAGA Randy Fine illegally casts votes for other members of the Florida House of Reps."
Snopes readers wrote in about the claim, asking "Did Randy Fine really illegally vote on behalf of other members in February 2026?" The claim also circulated on Facebook (archived), X (archived), Instagram (archived), Bluesky (archived) and Reddit (archived).
At the time of this writing, Fine himself appeared to acknowledge on X (archived) that the video showed him voting in the Florida House of Representatives. Fine was a representative in the Florida House from 2016 to 2024 and became a member of the U.S. House of Representatives in 2025 after briefly serving as a Florida state senator. The video did not display visual signs of artificial intelligence use.
Julie Keefe, a TikTok user who frequently posts videos from the Florida Capitol, told Snopes via email she recorded the video (archived) and posted it and another video of Fine appearing to vote on behalf of absent representatives in February and March 2024, but did not recall the exact recording dates.
As a result, we could not independently verify claims the February 2024 video showed Fine voting on legislation to ban boycotts on Israeli companies.
It was not possible to verify from the video whether Fine's conduct breached House rules or was otherwise "illegal." Florida House rules throughout Fine's tenure did not allow proxy voting (one person voting on behalf of another), except at the "request and direction" of a member who was also present in the chamber. The footage did not show whether the representatives Fine appeared to vote on behalf of had asked him to do so and were also in the chamber at the time.
Given the above, we've left this claim unrated.
Snopes contacted the Florida House of Representatives and Fine's congressional office for more information about the video and await replies to our queries.
The House rules
According to a document that lays out the rules governing the Florida House of Representatives, proxy voting is generally not allowed. Rule 3.2 of the document reads:
Except when abstention is required, every member shall have an obligation to vote on all matters that come before the House in session or before any committee or subcommittee to which the member is appointed. A member may not vote by proxy. A member may register an electronic vote in the Chamber for another member at the other member's specific request and direction, provided the requesting member is in the Chamber during the vote.
In addition, Rule 9.5(a) reads:
No member may vote for another member except at the other member's specific request and direction. No member may vote for another member who is absent from the Chamber, nor may any person who is not a member cast a vote for a member.
The wordings above came from the 2022-24 edition of the House rules, governing the final two years of Fine's tenure in the Florida House of Representatives. Rule 3.2 and Rule 9.5(a) didn't change between editions from 2014 to 2024, according to the Florida House website.
Commenting on the video in 2026, Fine wrote on X:
Members are explicitly allowed to vote for other members, with their permission, when they are in certain other parts of the Capitol (known as the "Blue Carpeted" areas). This includes dozens of meeting rooms and offices surrounding the chamber.
That definition appeared to be inaccurate. The House rules throughout Fine's tenure said that members could instruct other members to vote for them, but only if both parties were in "the Chamber" during the vote. According to the Florida House glossary, the "Chamber" is defined as "The large meeting rooms in which the House and the Senate hold their floor sessions. The House and Senate chambers are located on the fourth floor of the Capitol."
Neither the glossary nor rules referenced "'Blue Carpeted' areas."
In between videos of Fine appearing to vote on behalf of absent representatives, Keefe posted at least one screenshot of the Florida House rules cited above. She told Snopes she had frequently informed users about those House rules as they related to Fine's actions but that "the video is about the optics of things. Things can be 'legal' but still have bad optics."
Keefe claimed that other social media users had since circulated the video without "providing the factual truth about the 'legality'" of Fine's actions, which appeared to have contributed to the idea that Fine's actions in the video were illegal.
Video shows laptops, papers on desks
The footage showed Fine appearing to press buttons on four desks in the Florida House of Representatives. According to a visitor guide to the Florida Capitol from 2022 (Page 13), representatives used such buttons to vote on matters in the House. Two of the desks had laptops with active screens on them, while the other two had papers and what appeared to be a drinking cup. This suggested that someone had recently sat at the desks.
If the desks' occupants were still in the chamber and had instructed Fine to vote for them, that would be in compliance with House rules. If the members had told Fine to vote on their behalf but weren't in the chamber during the vote, Fine's actions would not be permitted under House rules. It would also break House rules if the members that Fine voted on behalf of didn't request or direct him to vote for them.
It was not possible from the available footage to determine whether other representatives instructed Fine to vote for them and remained in the room during the vote.
Were Fine's actions 'illegal'?
According to the House rules, anyone who breached the House's rules "may be disciplined in such a manner as the House may deem proper." Such discipline could include the member being, "fined, censured, reprimanded, placed on probation, or expelled or have such other lesser penalty imposed as may be appropriate," according to Rule 15.9.
The House could also carry out investigations into members on the basis of complaints that could result in disciplinary proceedings, according to Rule 18. We contacted Fine's office and the Florida House of Representatives to ask whether Fine ever faced an investigation into or disciplinary action for the actions seen in the video and await replies to our queries.
Attempting to establish whether Fine's actions were "illegal" under civil or criminal law would amount to speculation, as it did not appear anyone ever brought legal action against Fine in connection with the actions in the video.
Snopes previously investigated whether Fine promoted an act that would allow drivers to run over protesters.