With all the controversy this week about ghost voting in the state legislature, Fox and Hounds Daily attained an exclusive interview with the Ghost about his voting practices.

F&H: So, you’re the ghost who votes on these bills. Tell me Ghost, why do you do it?

GHOST: Someone has to vote. Do you realize how many bills need to be voted on? Thousands! If you waited for all the legislators to be present for all those votes they would never get anything done around here so I help out.

F&H: So what political philosophy guides your voting practices?

GHOST: Political philosophy? Please. Liberal or conservative doesn’t matter to me. What matters is an unguarded vote button I can push. Sometimes I vote the opposite way the member would vote just to have fun.

F&H: You mean like last month when Assemblywoman Hayashi’s vote on a housing bill was recorded the opposite way she would have voted?

GHOST: Great fun. Just great fun! It’s just the poltergeist in me. The Assemblywoman wasn’t there but I was, so I pushed the button.

F&H: But some people say it was Assemblyman Kevin de Leon who actually pushed the button. He sounded pretty guilty when he explained, "I don’t recall it, but I don’t deny it, either."

GHOST: No, no. Kevin was just covering for me. I am very helpful to the legislators you know. They like to have me around. Why I can vote even when they are on an airplane, like I did for Assemblywoman Bentley back in’92.

F&H: Aren’t you concerned that your mischief making will hurt the governance of this state.

GHOST: Come now. So I’m guessing when I vote Yes or No. That’s no different than what some legislators do. Do you remember Senator H.L Richardson? Maybe you’re too young, but I’ve been around a long time. He wrote a book that was titled: "What Makes You Think We Read the Bills."

F&H: Whose ghost are you anyway?

GHOST: Actually, I’m three ghosts rolled into one. I’m the ghost of legislatures past, the ghost of legislatures present and the ghost of legislatures future. You see nothing much changes around here. This practice has been going on a long time and every attempt to stop it has failed. And unlike my friends under the dome, I have no term limits.