By Bob Katzen

The Senate 6-31, rejected an amendment that would require that all Senate roll call votes, publicly published by the state, include “Virtual Vote” (VV) alongside any member’s name if the senator was not in the chamber and voted remotely from his or home, office or other location.

“I sponsored [this amendment] because senators are elected to represent their constituents on Beacon Hill, not in a Zoom room,” said amendment sponsor Sen. Ryan Fattman (R-Sutton). “We’re a full-time Legislature and our bosses are the constituents in our districts. They deserve to know when we are showing up to work. We shouldn’t get an unlimited pass to work from home without anybody who elected us knowing.”

Other amendment supporters said that the only way a constituent can know if a senator was present for a vote or voted remotely, is by watching the session online, which takes a lot of time and which most people don’t have time to do.

Sen. Lovely said that the votes that are cast remotely are of the same weight and impact and do not have to be singled out when a roll call is published. She noted that all Senate sessions are broadcast live online and are archived online on video. She said that anyone who watches a session will know whether his or her senator was in the chamber or voting remotely because it is announced at the session.

(A “Yes” vote is for the amendment requiring the notation “virtual voting.” A “No” vote is against the amendment.)

Sen. Patricia Jehlen No