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No more free passes for Kentucky senators

By Caleb O. Brown

Like a merry band of mad hatters, the Kentucky Senate has turned the act of not voting into a vote itself.

Rather than voting “yea” or “nay” or deciding not to vote altogether – the reasonable choices available to lawmakers on the floor of the House – the Kentucky Senate has created a fourth option known as “voting a pass.” This practice allows ambivalent lawmakers to avoid casting their lots with one side or another on important legislation while also not being considered as officially missing those votes.

Incredibly, defenders of this practice claim they are better serving their constituents by not making tough choices. One senator explained in an e-mail: “I personally vote a ‘pass’ when I do not feel informed enough on an issue to vote yes or no, or when there is not enough information to make an educated vote, or when I feel that I have not received enough feedback from my constituents on a specific issue.”

But a lawmaker choosing to “vote a pass” because he hasn’t done the proper research is like an impaired driver telling a cop: “It’s OK, officer. I was swerving because I’ve been drinking.” Sure, it’s a clear explanation … but a poor excuse.

“Indecision is debilitating …” – Harry A. Hopf       

Another senator blamed the Legislative Research Commission (LRC) staff after voting “to pass” on important legislation. This senator, concerned about the final provisions added into some bills during this year’s legislative session, claims to have cast votes “to pass” after being assured by LRC staffers that the “passes” counted as actual votes.

Without the option of voting “a pass,” the senator’s best alternative would have been – perish the thought – a “nay” vote on a problematic bill.

These senators don’t like the fact that KentuckyVotes.org treats votes “to pass” as missed votes. They argue that their “passes” are, in fact, bold stances on behalf of … well, something, surely.

But there are good reasons for counting “passes” as missed votes.

For one thing, it allows representatives and senators to be treated in the same manner. House members may vote ‘yea,’ ‘nay’ or simply choose not to vote. A more coherent legislative process would give all lawmakers the same menu of options when the roll is taken.

Also, rather than trying to lead constituents into a strained logical conundrum in which senators must reluctantly admit that they occasionally vote for nothing in particular, KentuckyVotes.org simply treats votes “to pass” as abstentions, and abstentions as missed votes.

Treating “passes” as missed votes also rightly recognizes that showing up and voting “to pass” is really no different than failing to show up at all. Such practices do nothing but reinforce the caricature of politicians holding their fingers to the wind before casting a vote.

Practices such as the Senate’s “vote-to-pass” policy also provide a stark example of the kind of indecision that plagues state policymakers – from the governor’s office and legislature in Frankfort all the way to Main Street, Kentucky. Such indecision makes clear that the attribute most needed – but noticeably absent among the commonwealth’s lawmakers – is genuine and courageous leadership.

Author Harry A. Hopf observes: “Indecision is debilitating; it feeds upon itself; it is, as one might almost say, habit-forming. Not only that, but it is contagious; it transmits itself to others.”

The ease with which senators feel they can “vote to pass” demonstrates the extent to which habit-forming indecision vexes Frankfort.

Lawmakers face the difficult task of gathering feedback from their constituents in order to cast votes that best serves their districts. But it’s a position that they wage vigorous campaigns to attain. They want the tough job.

If it's too much for senators to cast the tough votes, they might rethink imploring us to elect them in the first place.

– Caleb O. Brown is director of KentuckyVotes.org, a voter information Web site. Contact him at brown@bipps.org or at (270) 782-2140.

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