First encountered on Metafilter, then BoingBoing (both inspired by this blog post [YouTube]), I was struck by CBS Austin station KEYE-TV’s report on vote fraud within the Texas Legislature. The lege’s biannual convergence is so rare and brief that it causes a political uproar in Texas media. Usually cameras are pointed at the House/Senate floors to document how truly effective our politicians are at being ineffective ((For out-of-state readers: yes, that is our governor. Politician or GoodFellas extra? You decide!)) time-wasters. KEYE reporters, though, picked up on something else: not only do legislators vote, but they vote for their neighbours not at their desks. The coverage, posted and viewable on YouTube above, has an element of sick humour to it, possibly because of the otherwise dead-serious ding sound effect made when a vote is cast: when one person votes four times, it creates a political pinball machine. If you don’t laugh at the absurdity of it all, watch for one legislator’s excuse as to why she does it.
Ding!