2009 General Assembly Voted Anonymously 75 Percent of the Time

The South Carolina General Assembly recorded its votes on 532 out of 2,116 bills considered during the 2009 legislative session, according to the final vote count tracked by the Policy Council. This total excludes votes on congratulatory resolutions that did not impact actual legislation.

74.9 percent of votes held by the General Assembly were taken via anonymous voice votes despite new rules adopted by the legislature in January requiring more accountability. The House recorded votes 31.2 percent of the time in 2009. The Senate recorded votes 15.6 percent of the time.

Both legislative bodies held more votes on the record this year than in 2008, but even with this improvement the South Carolina legislature remains among the nation’s worst with just 1 out of every 4 votes being recorded.