FIVE AND A HALF hours into a tedious rules debate at the Massachusetts State House in January 2019, acting Speaker Tom Petrolati ordered a roll call vote on a noncontroversial amendment, and voted no. Within seconds, red lights, representing “no” votes, lit up the electronic vote-tally board in the House chamber as dozens of rank-and-file members followed his lead. Then, realizing he had made a mistake (but not realizing his mic was still on), Petrolati stammered: “It’s a yes?… Switch ’em.