Legislators would go ballistic if someone else voted for you. For one thing, it’s against the law. Why, then, shouldn’t you be angry when legislators don’t also vote on their own?
Of course you should be angry, but in the state House of Representatives the practice is more than just widespread, it’s pervasive. We’ve been unable to find one state rep who hasn’t, at one time or another, instructed a colleague to punch a “yes” or “no” vote while the absent politician was out in the hallways meeting with constituents, visiting a restroom or leaving the chamber for another reason.
There’s little hope this abuse of the voting system will end. House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, and House Minority Leader Richard DeBolt, R-Chehalis, have shown no inclination to stop the voting-by-proxy stunt. (In the 98-member House, legislators use an electronic voting machine linked to a scoreboard, and push buttons on their desks to cast their votes.)
This tactic came to light recently when Rep. Deb Wallace, D-Vancouver, accused Rep. Jaime Herrera, R-Camas, of being absent from the House floor “for hours on end” and asking others to vote for her while she is out of the chamber. Wallace registered the accusation as she was bowing out of the race for the 3rd Congressional District, which is being vacated by the retiring Brian Baird. Herrera remains in that race. Wallace also said of Herrera: “Either she is in the building fundraising, which is illegal, or she is off campus and she has not been excused,” to which Herrera replied angrily: “Deb has no credibility, she has no proof. … I have missed 10 votes in my entire time as a legislator here. I haven’t missed any votes (by being) off the floor this session.” But Wallace stuck with her accusation, and said that she, too, has asked others to vote for her on occasion.