Check, uncheck

IN CASE you missed the front-page headline in the Sunday paper and the two stories that followed it, we’ll sum up the news by telling you that 20 different state representatives corrected themselves in letters written to the House chief clerk on how they “intended” to vote on 26 bills that were heard in the House this past session.

That’s more than one voting mess-up in one session for a few of them. And you may think 26 is a big number, but it pales in comparison to the 39 mistakes registered with the clerk during the 2013 session. Progress!

Here are some of the reasons for the corrections:

■ Maybe somebody “inadvertently” voted this way, but “meant” to vote that way.

■ Some were “away from their desk” and didn’t vote.

■ At least two were “away from the House chamber” and didn’t vote.

■ A few “asked their seat mate to vote for them,” but the seat mate forgot.

■ One “hit the button too late.”

For Democrats and Republicans to feel so differently about the issues, at least we can take some solace that they’ve found common ground on mistakes.

However, the one that takes the cake is a representative who, after four years of hard work on her bill, was so gleeful that it was about to pass that she took a picture of the vote count and—you guessed it—forgot to vote.

Which goes to show that lawmakers are indeed human. And can be so overwhelmed with joy and pride in success that they misstep. But what better reason to have for a misstep?

And we say that with a smile. Better to correct mistakes than to allow them to continue, forever scarring the record and having people misunderstand your positions.

Trust us, Mr. and Mrs. Lawmaker. We know from corrections. Ask us about the time that we kept trying to correct our spelling of the German word for rabbit stew in this very column. Nope, we aren’t going to try to spell it again here, lest we issue our own correction tomorrow.

Mistakes will happen in this world— as long as people are around.

To quote our friend Paul Greenberg, who we miss more each day, never be afraid to run a correction. It’ll be the best-read thing on the page!