Letter to the editor published in the Marietta Daily Journal today

“Senator answers: Maybe all votes weren’t counted”

DEAR EDITOR:
A few days ago an MDJ columnist called me out alleging I did not support a procedural request for a roll call vote on a bill with a provision related to separate bill, Senate Bill 6. I am a co-sponsor of SB 6, not a reluctant co-sponsor, as he alleged.
The hands went up to request a roll call, or a recorded vote on a proposed amendment, and perhaps all hands were not all counted. The lieutenant governor moved on.
Hand and voice votes are common parliamentary practice and authorized in perhaps every legislature in the country as well as at the national level to speed along debate.
Sen. Judson Hill
East Cobb

“I would firmly expect that one to two years from now this case will be in the U.S. Supreme Court,” Olens said, adding: “This could easily take two years. Wouldn’t it be smarter for Congress and the president to pass [an immigration] bill in that time frame?” HERE from Sam Olens via the (elated) AJC

Sam wants to be governor.

With a straight face, ACLU demands taxpayer-funded lawyers for illegals; judge fails to dismiss ludicrous claim… HERE

VIDEO: Of Georgia Senate debate and vote on HB 118 and the McKoon amendment (referred to as “amendment # 1”), Legislative Day 39, Tuesday, March 31, 2015 – HERE , then go to “SENATE DAY 39 AM” beginning at 137:00 and going to about 2:18 on the counter.

The McKoon amendment was intended to end the practice of rewarding any/all illegal aliens with Georgia driver’s licenses. It failed with an unrecorded hand vote after an un-recorded hand vote on whether or not to have the un-recorded hand vote. Really. Watch.

SEATING CHART HERE

Note: Many Senators seemed to try to be off-camera when the raise-your-hand vote was taken. Some even stood up and tried to make it hard to see how they voted by looking like they were counting other Senators votes.

*Background: Under current rules of the Georgia state senate, some motions and amendments are decided on the senate floor by a vote in which the information on how a senate member has voted go un-recorded and off the vote tally machine we have all seen high up on the wall of the senate chamber. This is known as “rise stand and be counted.” It is important to understand that this maneuver does not currently result in any senator rising, or standing unless they happen to already be out of their desk seats. The raise-your-hand vote happens in a matter of seconds. Whether or not to have this unrecorded hand vote is decided by another unrecorded hand vote.

According to senate rules, there is no recorded, machine vote on floor amendments to pending bills unless and until any one senator makes a motion for the recorded machine vote – called “YEAS AND NAYS” – and the motion is then (quickly) supported by four other senators who indicate their support for a recorded machine vote by… raising their hands..

Again: With the “rise stand and be counted” voting method, there is no official record of how each senator voted on important amendments to bills that effect all Georgians. See Senate rules, 5-1.3 VOTING GENERAL

* For a recent example of use of the un-recorded vote maneuver, see HERE.

A RESOLUTION

With the goal of creating a completely transparent, accountable and recorded voting system for members of the Georgia state Senate on official legislative questions.

WHEREAS, We, the people of Georgia expect and demand complete accountability and transparency in all legislative votes and decisions made by our elected public servants in the General Assembly, and
WHEREAS, under current rules of the Georgia Senate ( 5-1.3 (b) ) known as “rise stand and be counted,” legislative matters in the Senate Chambers are decided without any public record of each senator’s vote or position, and
WHEREAS, “rise stand and be counted” represents a demonstrable and proven avenue and maneuver that allows amendments to legislation to be added or defeated without a public record of any senators vote, and
WHEREAS, Senate Rules must be altered and modernized to reflect the will of the people and the entire Senate and it’s president to produce a public record of all legislative related votes in the Senate Chamber, and
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, we the voters attending the ________ District Republican convention do hereby direct and demand that Georgia Senate rules be changed to eliminate any un-recorded vote method or format in the Georgia senate chamber, that all votes on all amendments to all legislation be conducted with recorded, machine counted voting, and that the unaccountable and un-recorded voting method known as “rise stand and be counted” be struck from senate rules, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Secretary of the Republican Party ___District convention ______ is hereby authorized and directed to transfer a copy of this Resolution urging legislative voting transparency to each member of the ___ District state legislative body, the Honorable Casey Cagle Lieutenant Governor of the State of Georgia and president of the Georgia Senate, The Honorable Nathan Deal Governor of the State of Georgia and the Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party.

Respectfully Submitted:
By: ________________________________________

Name:

Title: Secretary, ________ District Republican Party convention

dak

DIS alert

Republican Georgia Senate votes to continue to reward illegal aliens with driver’s licenses.

The Chamber of Commerce/ACLU/tribalist coalition runs Republican-ruled Georgia.

For those of you who do not take advantage of our posting on Facebook:

On orders from Big Business and the ACLU, Republican-controlled Georgia is issuing driver’s licenses, official state ID cards and public benefits to illegal aliens. Those public benefits include unemployment benefits.

Senate Bill 6 from Georgia state Senator Josh McKoon (Great American) was designed to end the practice of rewarding illegals with Georgia driver’s licenses. Of 38 Republican state Senators, the bill only had 12 co-sponsors.

It was not allowed out of the Senate Public Safety Committee and never even had a hearing.

Anticipating the refusal of the Chamber of Commerce Republicans to move the entire bill, Plan B was always to try to attach a “floor amendment” with the driver’s license language in the senate to a bill that had already passed the House. That plan failed as well.

In an un-recorded hand vote which keeps who voted which way secret from you, the super-majority GOP senate defeated that amendment by a vote of 27-16 on March 31, 2015.

Republican Senator Tommie Williams, a South Georgia farmer and restaurant owner, served as leader of the other Republicans who voted with the Democrats against enforcement. The speeches were intentionally framed to omit the fact that Obama has expanded his amnesty to include grown, adult illegal aliens and was always focused on “for the children…”

The AJC, the Associated Press and most news services made sure this all stayed out of “the news.”

It is imperative that you understand: This was done with an unrecorded hand vote after another unrecorded hand vote on whether to have the unrecorded vote. I was in the gallery and watched as only 4 senators voted to conduct a machine-counted, permanently recorded vote on consideration of the amendment offered by Senator McKoon.

Even most of the co-sponsors of SB 6 were afraid to oppose the Establishment Republicans and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce by voting for a machine counted, recorded vote on giving drivers licenses to illegal aliens. Including my own Senator.

I know which senators had the courage to demand a recorded vote.

I also know that many of the co-sponsors – including my own Senator – signed on very reluctantly with the (correct) assumption that the bill would never be allowed out of committee and/or there would never be a recorded vote.

One of the SB 6 co-sponsors even voted against the amendment that would stopped illegal aliens from getting a Georgia driver’s license.

ASK THEM YOURSELF: For educational purposes, I hope you will ask your own Republican state Senator if he voted for or against (or refused to even raise his/her hand to vote) for a recorded machine vote on the March 31 McKoon amendment (#1) to HB 118 that would have stopped illegal aliens from getting a drivers license.

* More to come. And please know, the activity described above is recorded on official video of the proceedings of the Georgia Senate.

• VIDEO: HERE ,  then SENATE DAY 39 AM  beginning at 137:00 and going to about 2:18 on the counter.  SEATING CHART HERE Note: Many Senators seemed to try to be off-camera when the raise-your-hand vote was taken. Some even stood up and tried to make it hard to see how they voted by looking like they were counting other Senators votes.

• Conclusion: Many Republican Georgia state Senators need to have viable primary challengers in 2016. Including my own.

D.A. King explains a troublesome rule in the GEORGIA senate on the Tim Bryant radio show. April 1, 2015.

Listen - 5 minutes.