Squeaky talks about some funny business in the Texas legislature, in regards to votes legislators cast, or rather, cast for other members who are absent. I think the rules of the legislative body in Texas needs to be changed to stop this from happening, but this probably doesn’t mean the legislator is voting twice. Remember, these votes are on record, and it one of their colleagues comes up on record as having voted for something he needed to be against for political reasons, you can imagine the trouble that would cause.
What is likely happening here, is legislators are casting votes on their colleague’s behalf. I agree this should change, but not because it’s double voting, but because it’s lazy and unprofessional.  If you want to cast a vote, at the very least, you should show up. Otherwise, how are the folks back home to know how uninvolved you are?
Um – you missed something very important in that video, then.
One gentleman walked away from his desk, racing to get to a missing colleague’s desk before anyone else, missed his mark, and came back to HIS desk to find that the guy in front of him had voted for him.
If they WERE casting votes “on behalf” of the missing colleagues, that sort of thing wouldn’t happen, and they wouldn’t be practically fighting each other to be able to cast as many votes as possible. They’re simply trying to impose their opinion in as many areas as possible. That’s seriously not right.
That could have been “I’m with you guys” at a closed door meeting, meaning they all his colleagues knew how he wanted to vote. What happens on the floor is typically a formality; a dog and pony show. The actual deals are worked out in committee sessions and behind closed doors.
Like I said, it doesn’t make it a good practice that shouldn’t be stopped, but no politician is going to take a record on issues that his other colleague picked for him against his will.
I’ve rewatched that part a few times. I’m not convinced the guy was actually at that desk the media claims he was at. I’m not trusting of politicians at all, but there’s just no way politicians would tolerate “whoever gets to the button first” rules. By the time the votes happen on the floor, everyone knows how everyone else is voting.
What do you expect? They’re Texans.