I Thought “Ghost Voting” Went Out In The 1980s….
Vince Leibowitz | May 08, 2007 | Comments 2
I seem to remember some big Texas Legislature Scandal in the 1980s about “ghost voting” where legislators cast votes for other legislators.
I thought the practice had kind of gone by the wayside, but evidently not. Here are two recent instances:
From the McAllen Monitor:
House Bill 13 passed 140-5. Seven of the eight Rio Grande Valley representatives voted for the bill.
Rep. Armando “Mando†Martinez, D-Weslaco, was present but did not vote.
Rep. Ismael “Kino†Flores, D-Mission, was not present but someone voted for him.
From the Statesman:
It’s not clear when Krusee left Texas. He was shown recording votes on the House floor into Wednesday evening. Just before 7 p.m., after a verification of votes on a proposal, House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, announced Krusee was excused on account of business.
Evidently, this is not a practice of the past. I assumed it went on once in a while, but somehow didn’t realize the practice was still so widespread, especially with electronic voting such as it is.
Interesting.
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Filed Under: 80th Legislature
AAS Says:
“Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, who sits at the desk in front of Krusee, could be seen punching the vote button on Krusee’s desk, not an uncommon practice in the chamber.”
How could this possibly be legal? Is there some “proxy” rule I’m unaware of? That is not cool.
I fear speculating on whether or not it is legal. But, typically, wouldn’t Krusee and Veasey be on opposite sides of the issue? If so, how did he cast Krusee’s vote?
I remember in the 80s a big, big, big stink being made about this.