Button Pusher

A button pusher ( uk, кнопкодав, ''Knopkodav'') is a term in Ukrainian politics and society related to a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (the parliament of Ukraine) who votes on a motion by using their own identity card as well as ones belonging to other deputies.

This voting is done either with or without the consent of the absent deputies.

On 2 March 2021, sensor technologies were installed in the Ukrainian parliament that were designed to make it impossible for members of parliament (MPs) to vote on behalf of absent colleagues (since they need now to use both their hands for a single vote).

Etymology

The term "button pusher" emerged in the early 2000s in a journalistic environment for designating MPs who vote on behalf of their colleagues.

Other names for this phenomenon are "vote in the dark", "truant voting", "multiple voting", "vote for himself and for the other guy", " piano voting", "pianism".

The participants of "button pushing" are MPs"button pushers" who vote with another's card, as well as those that provide their voting card or a duplicate card to a "button pusher".

Description

If unable to attend the legislature personally, a deputy might give his or her personal voting card to a fellow deputy. Alternately, duplicate cards might be issued without the knowledge of their supposed "owner".

If voting for a neighbor, the "button pusher" inserts the missing deputy's card for the e-voting system "Rada," preferably not getting up, and openly or secretly (with a hand covered by newspapers, magazines, or the like) pushes the button to vote for or against the measure.

If voting for several deputies, the pusher moves from one seat to the next with multiple voting cards and pushes the buttons the same way. One such button pusher was found to have voted on average for 9.8 missing persons. Often when an absolute majority of 226 deputies was required, the button pushers were responsible for 35-40 votes.

Before the start of every session of the parliament, deputies have to register personally with their ''people's deputy cards'' and personal signatures. The deputies should also register via the parliamentary electronic system at the session hall, and thus other people will be unable to register in place of deputies.Tiahnybok proposes blocking voting cards of unregistered MPs
Kyiv Post (9 January 2013)

History

"Button pushing" reached its peak in the 6th convocation (2007–2012) at the initiative and with the organizational support of leadership factions among the ruling majority - Party of Regions and Communist Party of Ukraine. According to NGO Chesno, only one lawmaker during this convocation of the Verkhovna Rada never resorted to piano voting — the other 449 all did. Tactics were quick voting when the current favorable government decisions were to be taken quickly, without discussion or almost without discussion, often in the evening or at night by pressing of the team of "button pushers", about 35-40 MPs. The Party of Regions faction leadership would commit MPs to vote for other members. Before the vote, the responsible persons of the faction of the Party of Regions deputies dealt another card. Defending the practice of non personal voting, representatives of the ruling majority called it "delegation of authority". Party of Regions and the Communist Party of Ukraine together against criminal liability for "button pushing".

In 2008 sensor technologies were installed (through an initiative by then Parliamentary Speaker Arseniy Yatsenyuk) in the Ukrainian parliament that were designed to make it impossible for MP's to vote on behalf of absent colleagues.Ukrainian parliament finally moves to end multi-voting
/UkraineAlert by Peter Dickinson, Atlantic Council (2 March 2021) However, the proposed format was found to be technically flawed and vulnerable to abuses and the technologies were not put to use.

A bill introducing voting by lawmakers with the help of a touch-sensitive key was not passed in mid-March 2011.

On 6 December 2012 the Parliament of Ukraine amended the Regulation (Article 37), which required MPs to register in person to attend meetings of Parliament, to vote and to do it in person. According to the law, before the opening of each session of Parliament shall be registered MPs' personally based identification and handwritten signatures. In the boardroom the deputy would be recorded through the e-voting system "Rada", so that would rule out the registration of another person in lieu of the deputy.

From the earliest days of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine at the 7th convocation (2012–2014), the opposition faction in the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine — " Batkivshchyna", the Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR), VO "Svoboda", made a series of coordinated measures to cease "button pushing" by the faction of the Party of Regions.

On February 5, 2013, deputies from the opposition blocked the rostrum. A representative of the "UDAR" came to the session in a red sweater with the words "Vote personally"."UDAR" would "strike" to require MPs to vote personally at all levels
(10 February 2013) Simultaneously the faction VO "Svoboda" filed a bill criminalizing voting on behalf of others in the legislature. This document provided penalties for deputies who vote this way of imprisonment from 5 to 8 years.

MP, member of the " Batkivshchyna" Yuriy Odarchenko sued suit against Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine with the requirement to enter personal vote and cancel resolutions passed in violation of the regulations. MP calls implement electronic voting, which makes it impossible to register and vote one deputy instead of another, and to recognize the illegal and cancel the acts of the Verkhovna Rada, which were adopted in the period from December 13, 2012, to January 11, 2013, Lawsuit filed to the Supreme Administrative Court of Ukraine

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