HB 109 Stalls on Tie Vote in Committee
HB109 would let the citizens of Alabama vote on a constitutional convention. The Birmingham News offers no detail, but my sources tell me it was a 7-7 vote, with one Republican, Paul DeMarco, voting yes, and two Democrats, Steve Hurst and Joseph Mitchell, voting no. Sadly, the Mobile Register captured the no voters’ mentality perfectly: “Let the people decide? Are you crazy?”
February 16th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
So if it’s a 7-7 vote then why do the ‘no’s’ win? Don’t they have to go to the next step?
I have to admit I have my own doubts about ‘letting the people decide’. This IS Alabama after all. How many people like you and me can there be?
February 16th, 2006 at 6:01 pm
I know what you mean, Wanda, but I don’t think a convention could come up with a worse constitution than the one we have now. I think our esteemed legislators want to do an article-by-article rewrite, but they really don’t have time to do it under our current system — with just about every local issue coming to them for approval.
I’m not sure about the next step. I emailed Paul DeMarco and asked him to push for reconsideration of the bill if possible. The senate committee will vote on its bill next week.
February 19th, 2006 at 11:02 am
wanda Says: February 16th, 2006 at 4:07 pm
So if it’s a 7-7 vote then why do the ‘no’s’ win? Don’t they have to go to the next step?
Hon, what would the next step be, try for an extra point, maybe? No, they punted, instead. 7-7 is a tie, and ties die unless reconsidered. Close, but close only counts in horseshoes and romantic encounters, but no Lewinsky cigar.
February 20th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
I wondered about that as well, Wanda. It does seem that a tie is a bit different from a defeat. And Don, hon, you might not want to call women other than your wife “hon” ;).