Abuses of Legislative ‘Ghost Voting’ Are Virtually Always Corrected – By Legislators

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Bill Cavala
A veteran of over 30 years in Sacramento

“Ghost Voting”, the practice of one lawmaker voting for another in the California Assembly, regularly makes “news” as an abuse—another malfeasance by politicians.

In fact, abuses of the practice are rare, and the practice itself is both necessary and constant. While the smaller State Senate uses a ‘voice’ vote for its tallies, the Assembly has used a mechanical tote machine since the mid-1930’s. It requires a lawmaker to unlock the buttons on his or her desk and push either the green or red button on each vote. To do so, the lawmaker must remain in or quite near the desk. A Senator can roam the floor and the rear of the Senate chamber in conversations with other Senators and staff and still call out “aye” when his or her name is called.

To free lawmakers up to talk with other lawmakers about bills about to be voted upon and to discuss matters with their staffs in the rear of the Legislative Chamber, it has become customary to allow their seatmate to push their voting button. Most lawmakers have reviewed the upcoming votes prior to the session and have their preference marked on the bill analyses provided by staff (so they don’t have to pay close attention to the debate which is more for the public’s edification than their own). The ‘marked’ analysis is then used by the seatmate to cast the vote of a Member not at his desk. If a mistake is made it can be corrected at the end of session as the Member addresses the Assembly Clerk and orally speaks into the microphone for the public to hear, “on Assembly Bill xx, Member YY, “aye to no”. It is the responsibility of each Member to ensure that he or she is recorded as voting as desired on each bill on each session day.

During the final days of session, when thousands of bills are voted up or down on final passage after having gone through the Committee and Floor processes of both houses of the legislature, the custom is broadened somewhat. While breaks in the proceedings are taken for “caucuses” of each party during which food is served, there are other occasions when Members leave the floor: to go to the restrooms, to return briefly to their offices for a change of clothes or to make some personal calls. To cover these absences from the floor of the Assembly, seatmates are allowed to push the missing Member’s button. (To do otherwise might mean hundreds of bills “on call” – legislation that failed to achieve a majority, not because of opposition, but because of members in the restrooms or elsewhere. Such bills would then have to be taken up a second or third time until sufficient attendance is achieved – a waste of scarce time during a period when the Legislature is meeting into the small hours of the morning).