NY Senate Dems: Stroll-thru Republican counts because we never enacted reform of our ridiculous rules
Another ironic twist in the Albany Senate circus: Remember the reforms Democrats promised to enact, changing the rules under which the Senate operates? They didn’t get enacted, and now the Democrats are laying claim to the validity of “empty seat voting” as their argument for the validity of the Tuesday session… That’s the day on which they claimed a quorum when a Republican walked through the Senate chamber to get a beverage from the lounge.
From Liz Benjamin at the Daily News:
Democrats distributed a three-page memo compiled by one of their in-house attorneys, Greg Krakower, which argues that Padavan, who is insisting he did not intend to be marked present, could have challenged the quorum at any time once he realized what the other side was up to.
Among the “empty seat” rules Democrats are now embracing: Attendance is recorded by the clerk, not by a quorum roll call; unless Senators notify the clerk they are leaving, they are considered to be in attendance, even after they leave the chamber; under “fast roll call” rules, all Senators in attendance are presumed to vote “yes” on bills unless they are present to cast a negative vote… so those who leave the chamber but are considered present, are also presumed to be voting… empty seat voting.
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