www.washingtonvotes.org, a website that aims to render the sausage-making of legislation more accessible to everyday citizens, is a worthwhile visit for anyone who reads this blog (or the printed version in each Sunday's paper).

Its list of most-viewed bills, for example, includes SB 5079 (calling a runoff election for governor), SB 5475 (a state ban on assault weapons) and SJR 8201 (eliminating citizens initiatives).

(Before Democrats, gun owners and Tim Eyman panic, we should mention that all those bills are unlikely to pass.)

But our favorite part of washingtonvotes.org is a small section entitled "Missed Votes Report." This catalogs every time a lawmaker misses a vote.

So far, there have been too few votes for the results to be revealing. But after a few more weeks -- and a few hundred votes on various bills -- it will be worth checking back.

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