In a comment to classmate Toni's blog post concerning Ghost voting, http://bigtexpolitic.blogspot.com/, I wrote:

    The idea of ghost voting is just haunting......yeah that one was pretty bad, sorry. But honestly, the fact that this is a way that our bills and laws get passed is extremely unsettling. As Tonisha has pointed out, it is unclear to us as to why these people think it's ok to do this. Ok, maaaaaybe you could say that the people are just acting out of the interest of the people who are not present and are in fact voting in a way that honors the absentees. Maybe I'm a cynic, but I have a really hard time believing that. Regardless, I think this is something that just shouldn't happen. It leaves to much opportunity for people to be misrepresented. More importantly, these votes that could be possibly being misrepresented by selfish politicians are ultimately affecting us, the people. This comes down on us. Are we really ok with people cheating and voting in a way that suits their needs and not the people they should be representing?
    This is where Tonisha brings up an excellent point, make the legislation a full time gig. This seems like it will end the whole possibility of ghost voting. As it is the legislators have such a short session time, they are rushing to complete everything they have on their agenda. Some legislators have meetings and are not always able to be present when the voting is taking place. This is the kind of situation that lends to ghost voting. A full time legislature will give the legislators more time to address all the issues. This will allow for all the legislators to be present during voting and we will have honest voting with proper representation. Even on a personal note, the legislators will probably also be less stressed. This is important because a less stressed legislator is one who can calmly address the issues in a reasonable and logical manner instead of a rushed and apathetic one. There are many things that need to change about Texas politics and this is one of the more important ones, especially if Texans want to be properly represented when it comes to making laws.