Only Republican to vote on police reform bill ‘accidentally pressed the wrong … button’

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GOP representative Lance GoodenLance GoodenSole GOP Vote on House Police Reform Act Says He ‘Accidentally Pressed Wrong Vote Button’ House Approves George Floyd Justice in Policing Act House Republicans Ask Republicans For Briefing On Threats Keeping National Guard In DC MORE (Texas), the only Republican representative to vote in favor of the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, reportedly said in a now-deleted post on Twitter that he accidentally pressed the wrong button.

“I accidentally hit the wrong vote button and realized it was too late,” Gooden wrote in the tweet, according to The Washington Post. “I changed the official record to reflect my opposition to the partisan George Floyd Policing Act.”

The measure would ban rifts, seek to end religious and racial profiling, and rule out certain no-knock orders, among other changes to police policy.

“I may have the most Conservative / America First vote record in Congress!” Gooden said in another tweet.

“Of course I wouldn’t support the radical left’s anti-police law,” he added. “I changed the official record to reflect my opposition!”

The legislation was passed late on Wednesday with a vote of 220-112.

The Post notes that accidental votes are not uncommon in the legislature at both the state and federal levels, although the consequences have had more of an impact.

For example, Democratic state representative Becky Carney in North Carolina inadvertently helped legalize fracking in her state after she voted yes to the bill she lobbied against, the paper said. Since changing her vote would change the outcome, Carney was not allowed to reverse her vote according to the rules of the room, it added.

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