Josh Goodman is a former staff writer for GOVERNING..
E-mail: mailbox@governing.comTwitter: @governing
Nothing Is Spookier Than Legislative Malfeasance
It sounds scary and it is: The Texas House of Representatives has a ghost voting problem.
Legislators often cast votes on behalf of absent colleagues (in addition to voting for themselves), in violation of House rules. As the Dallas Morning News reported this morning, one legislator wants to install fingerprint recognition technology at lawmakers' desks to put a stop to the practice.
Ghost voting is an appropriate name, by the way. From the Morning News article:
In 1991, Houston Rep. Larry Evans died unexpectedly early one morning but was shown voting at least three times on measures throughout the day.
This newscast does a great job showing ghost voting in action:
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