Editorial
Desk |
April 14, 2003, Monday
EZ
Voting in Albany
(NYT) 521 words
Late Edition - Final ,
Section A , Page 18 , Column 1
ABSTRACT -
Editorial in series Fixing Albany examines system by which New York's
representatives do not have to be present to vote; says members need only
swipe their plastic ID card at entrances to chamber, and once card is
swiped, legislator automatically votes yes on every bill that comes up that
day; says this means that in Democratic Party-controlled Assembly, Democrats
need not attend, and in Republican-controlled Senate, Republicans need not
attend; says this voting scheme is another example of how New York's
representatives are encouraged to do as little as possible A legislator's
voting record should be a political profile, a documentation of how the
people are being represented on the big issues of the day. In Albany,
however, a legislator's voting record is anything but. Unlike lawmakers in
Congress or other state legislatures or even in the assemblies of Nicaragua
and Albania, New York's representatives don't actually have to be present to
vote.
Here's how it works. Each member of the State Assembly receives a plastic
ID card to swipe at the entrances to the chamber. Once the card is swiped, a
legislator automatically votes yes on every bill that comes up that day.
Only rarely does someone call a ''slow vote,'' which means actually punching
the button to cast a ballot.
Return
|
