In the Washington State House of Representatives one person, one vote is preached, but not practiced. Too often the reality is one legislator, how many buttons can she push?

A long-standing House practice allows a member to vote for an absent member or, in some cases several members. The practice has become an issue in the Congressional race to replace Rep. Brian Baird, D-3^rd Dist. and the subject of a scathing editorial condemning it in The Olympian.

The double-voting practice appears to violate the House’s own procedural rules:

“Every member who was in the house when the question was put shall vote unless, for special reasons, excused by the house…Upon a division and count of the house on the question only members at their desks within the bar of the house shall be counted.”(Emphasis added.)

When House members vote, they do so by pushing a button with the result then being displayed on one of two large electronic tote boards. Unlike the Washington State Senate, the House does not take oral roll call votes unless specifically requested.

Legislators consider it to be a ho-hum practice. Whether a legislator leaves the floor to meet with a constituent, grab a meal or leave for hours, few bat an eye at double -voting to make it look as though she was there the entire time.

A few legislators express embarrassment over it and acknowledge abuses. They say that it exposes an excessive House work load that prompts it – if there were not so many bills to vote on, it would not be necessary.

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