YouTube exposes the House

So, apparently there is a place for YouTube in Texas politics. In response to public outcry over YouTube videos depicting Texas legislatures’ habit of “ghost voting” on the House floor during legislative session, 10 new fingerprint-activated voting stations are being installed in the House chamber. These new voting stations will be placed outside the brass rails that surround the chamber floor giving members the ability to cast a vote even when they are away from their desk. The idea behind this is to compromise with the public without surrendering their capability of utilizing the “ghost vote”. This new system is not even going to be a mandatory practice. Only members that wish to use the new machines are required to submit their fingerprints to the House computer’s database. While House members will attest that this unconventional voting practice is not being abused, it has been well documented that some lawmakers have voted for their colleagues without their permission or even in their absence. Many members of the public, including myself, are shocked to learn that this practice is widely accepted on a government platform where you would think that the accuracy and integrity of voting would be treated with great regard. However, lawmakers are not only okay with it, most of them seem to hold the position that is a necessary mode of operation. A few legislatures have presented the argument that because of the large number of issues being tackle, combined with the fact that they are only in session for 140 days every other year, that voting has to take place in a fast-paced environment, and for this reason it is impossible for every member to be at their desk for every vote. While I, myself, do not claim to know the intricacies of the house floor, it does seem to me that we ought to be able to provide a more logical remedy to this situation.