From the file of "you can't make this shit up" comes this gem from today's Dallas Morning News: Some Texas lawmakers cast votes for fellow members on bill meant to protect elections
As they debated a photo identification mandate for voters, House members passionately and frequently defended the imperative of ballot integrity.
And then, often and openly, many of them voted for themselves, then reached over and cast their colleagues’ votes, too, on some of the bill’s 63 amendments.
The practice of "ghost voting" is nothing new in the Texas Legislature, but it's particularly hypocritical that it was used for this vote. Below the jump is a video from 2008 about the procedure that lawmakers call "a necessary courtesy and convenience."
In this video, lawmakers are seen casting their own votes, then reaching over to vote for an absent colleague:
According to Christy Hoppe's article, "Few said they saw the irony of widespread ghost voting on a bill that would require Texans to show a picture ID before they would be allowed to cast their ballot."
Rep. Jodie Laubenberg, R-Parker, said members have heard complaints before about the practice and have tried to be more specific with a deskmate on how they wish to vote before they leave.
"At some point in time, a member is going to have to get up and do something--get something to eat, exercise their legs, whatever it is. You can't sit at your desk for 13 hours," Laubenberg said.
After all the ghost votes and live votes were tallied, the
Voter ID bill passed 101-48 and Speaker Joe Strauss had this to say:
The Legislature must do all it can to guarantee that our elections are conducted fairly, legally, and without fraud.
Like I said, you can't make this shit up.