11:10 a.m. Saturday: an alert caller (a legislative staffer) just rang my cell to relate the following news. The House voting machine which House Speaker Pat Murphy decided to keep open/on until Monday at 1 p.m. sort of went on strike mid-morning Saturday. As you may know, the "prevailing wage" bill that House debated on Friday garnered just 50 "yes" votes when the votes were cast Friday evening. It takes 51 votes to pass a bill, so rather than declare the bill defeated, Murphy decided to keep the voting machine open.
Apparently, the voting machine has long-haul limits, as it shut down about half an hour ago. The chief clerk of the House had written down the votes on a sheet of paper, so Representative Polly Bukta (a Democrat) reset the voting machine and punched back in all the votes by hand as Representative Linda Upmeyer (a Republican) stood over her shoulder to make sure the vote count was identical to where it stood Friday night.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
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