Vote-Switching
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Re “Assembly’s Vote-Switching at Issue,” Sept. 11:
It’s about time that someone exposed this grossly unethical practice that can serve no legitimate purpose and is almost always employed with the willful intent to deceive constituents.
Two years ago a critically needed education bond measure (AB 1168) failed by a vote of 53 to 5 (a more than 10-to-1 margin of support) because 54 votes were required for passage. This “official” vote tally--which would appear to show virtually no opposition to the measure--deceptively masks the fact that 31 Assembly members initially did not vote, thereby ensuring the failure of the measure.
As soon as that failure was firmly secured, nine Republicans changed their votes making it appear that they had favored the measure and leaving the erroneous impression that just one more sympathetic soul would have turned the tide. Now what do you suppose those guys really had in mind?
JOHN MALLINCKRODT
Claremont
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