Fracking Legalized in North Carolina After Rep Who Was Against Bill Accidentally Voted For It
All Rep. Becky Carney (D-Mecklenburg) had to do was press the red button and North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue's veto of a bill legalizing fracking in the state would have remained in place.
She had already voted against Senate Bill 820, which allows energy company to proceed with the controversial natural gas extraction process, and she "spent the day [yesterday] lobbying other Democrats to uphold the veto," according to WRAL.
But Carney accidentally pressed the green button giving the anti-veto block its decisive 72nd vote, and allowing the bill to become law.
"It is late," Carney said after the vote, which took place at 11:30 PM. "Here we are rushing to make these kind of decisions this time of night."
Her efforts to change the vote were rebuffed by Republican House Speaker Thom Tillis, who pointed out that North Carolina's House does not allow members to switch their vote if such an action "would affect the bill's passage."
"In other words," writes The Atlantic Wire's Dashiell Bennett, "you can change your vote on a bill, but only if won't make any difference."
"I feel rotten, and I feel tired," the 67-year-old told reporters at a midnight press conference. "And I feel that mistakes are made constantly when people are tired. And I feel rotten about it, but I take responsibility for my vote." The Senate approved an override of Gov. Perdue's earlier in the day.
