Straight Ticket Voting Is Here to Stay

Liz Gullett

Aug 03, 2018

In 2015, the Michigan legislature passed, and Governor Rick Snyder signed, legislation ending straight ticket voting in Michigan. “Almost immediately after being signed into law, challengers took their objections to the court. They were partially successfully when an injunction was put on the law stopping it from being implemented,” explained Rudy Hobbs of MLC.

Following years of court action, on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain ruled against the ban on straight ticket voting. As his reasoning, he stated the 2015 law violated the Equal Protection Clause because it disproportionally effects African-Americans who are the largest demographic of straight-ticket voting. Furthermore, the Judge cited potential increased wait times at polling locations, which may discourage voters from participating.

Currently there are nine states that have some form of straight ticket voting. One of those states, Texas, voted to eliminate it in 2017, but it doesn’t go into effect until 2020.

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