A double-take on double-voting in the Washington State House of Representatives
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Posted by Scott “The Piper” St. Clair
Double-voting in the Washington State House of Representatives needs to go. Whatever prompted adopting the practice of one legislator voting on behalf of an absent colleague – or, in some cases, colleagues – no longer justifies it. These are the days of transparency and openness in government, not gaming the system to make your vote record look good.
In the House, members vote by pushing a button on a box at their desk. Votes are then electronically tabulated and posted on one of two large tote boards that hang on the wall at the head of the House chamber.
The double-voting practice is common and widespread. In fact, nobody makes even the slightest attempt to conceal it – as we reported last week it’s considered a ho-hum by legislators.
Double-voting cannot happen in the Senate where voice roll call votes are the order of the day on each bill.
LibertyLive.org exposed the practice at about the same time that The Olympian editorially called for it to be abolished. Calling it “wrong,” “dishonest” and “fraudulent,” the paper placed the blame for it at the feet of House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, and Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis.
The Olympian demanded a “hard and fast rule that House members can only vote for themselves. Integrity in the system of governance demands it.”
A couple days after our piece, Vancouver’s The Columbian climbed on board the bandwagon condemning double-voting as a practice “that is patently illegal among the rest of us.” Like The Olympian, blame was placed squarely on Chopp and DeBolt.
Posted under News.
Tags: double voting, House of Representatives, LibertyLive.org, Richard DeBolt, Washington State
