How can a legislator who’s not even in the building, appear to be present during debate inside the State Capitol?  It happens more often than you might think, even though, it’s against House and Senate rules.

Radio talk show host, Spud McConnell got an unsolicited phone call a week ago, from a state representative defending his vote for the legislative pay raise.

SPUD: “On the Spud Show, State Representative Reed Henderson calling.  You on your way up there (Baton Rouge) Reed?

HENDERSON: “No, I’m on my way back.  I haven’t seen my wife and I’m going to pick her up.”

SPUD: “I thought you had like 60 bills to deal with on the House floor today?”

HENDERSON: “I left instructions on each bill on how I wanted to vote.”

But according to House rules, what this one St. Bernard Parish State Representative, Reed Henderson, did was illegal.  During that 20 minute interview with WWL Radio, while Henderson drove back to St. Bernard, the House held 10 votes.  A review of the House video archive and voting logs show during that interview, Henderson voted 10 times.  In fact, during his absence that entire afternoon last Friday, Henderson voted in favor of 32 bills and was listed absent for only 5.

Council for a Better Louisiana President Barry Erwin said, “I don’t think there’s anyway you can defend having a legislator not in the building and not at work having people vote for their machines.”

House rules allow members to vote for other members, but only if they are in the chamber.  If they leave the Capitol building, legislators are supposed to ask the clerk to lock out their voting machines.

“The point is you should be there and you should listen to the debate,” Erwin said.  “You should understand what is going on and you should be pushing your own button.”

But frequently in Baton Rouge, lawmakers don’t push their own button.  Cameras caught one Shreveport representative voting for two of her colleagues.   She then directed another lawmakers to cast another absent legislators vote.  That one was out of her reach.

“I don’t think there’s ever a defense for breaking the rule,” Channel 4 Political Analyst Clancy DuBos said.  “If you got to go to the bathroom, ask the speaker to postpone the vote.”

This business of voting for other lawmakers is not new though.  At times, when that stretch is too much, some lawmakers have gotten creative, ordering sticks to increase their reach.  It’s a reach that allows some lawmakers to look present and engaged, when in reality, they can be many miles away