Voting on a noncontroversial house bill on the consent calendar, HB1089, was just interrupted by a spate of voting machine problems. When a legislator is unable to vote by the machine, he or she calls out his or her vote and the clerk enters it in manually. For every vote there's usually one or two legislators calling out their votes. This time, though, there was a chorus.

Speaker Tim Rave, a Republican, interrupted the voting and asked all members whose voting machines weren't working to raise their hands. It turned out to be everyone sitting in the far left side of the chamber (facing front), aside from the first couple of rows.

It's also a part of the legislature that's filled entirely by Democrats.

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"I don't see a problem at all," Rave quipped, to general laughter.

Until they get the problem fixed, all votes will proceed by roll call for fairness, Rave just declared.

Being the chamber's presiding officer may be a largely "ceremonial" role in the South Dakota legislature, but that's not to say it's always an easy role.