Ghost Voting in TN and Elsewhere

This is happening all over the nation. The state legislatures have so many laws to pass they don't have time for bathroom breaks.Instead of doing the trucker thing with milk jugs (pee bombs aren't dignified), they get their deskmates to vote for them. This practice extends to lunch breaks, and eventually, they just tag team it.

The legislative rules say all members casting votes are supposed to be in their own seats. But lawmakers say that rule is rarely enforced.
The House clerk told NewsChannel 5 that this courtesy is given to lawmakers so they can get up to take care of legislative business or even go to the bathroom.
This story has already generated a lot of buzz on Capitol Hill in this final days of the session and even some fallout.

In fact, in Tennessee, the art of ghost voting is highly sophisticated - involving the employment of sticks to punch the buttons around you. In one article, House Speaker Beth Harwell was asked about this practice:

"What's the deal with the sticks?"
"I'm not familiar with the sticks," she said.
"You're saying you have not seen the sticks?"
"I'm not familiar with the sticks, no," Harwell said.
These sticks come in all shapes and sizes and seem to make voting for others a lot easier.
Incredibly, she claimed not to know about them, but just days earlier and just feet from Harwell, retiring Rep. Mike McDonald, D-Portland, made a big deal of passing his on. In front of the entire House, he announced, "I wanted to present this voting stick to my deskmate."

Ouch, that guy McDonald is from my hometown and has been a representative forever.

Just watch and see how it's done in Texas:
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You heard it, they've got so many laws to make, they can't stop to eat and go to the bathroom. Now to a sane person, you might conclude that maybe they just have too many votes!! For the love of all that's holy, STOP passing laws, start REPEALING laws. sheesh.