Straight Ticket Voting Injunction Issued

Liz Gullett

Jul 22, 2016

On Thursday, U.S. District Court Judge Gershwin Drain issued an order halting Michigan’s new straight ticket voting law. The law was passed by the legislature last December, following weeks of contentious debate and negotiations. Despite the many concerns voiced at the time, Governor Rick Snyder signed the bill into law in January. November’s General Election would have been the first ballot at which a voter could no longer vote straight-ticket.

In his order, the Judge cited concerns over African-American voters being harmed by the new law, citing a study conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau, finding a correlation amongst straight-ticket voting and African-American communities. During arguments, attorneys for the plaintiff cited not only the disproportionate harm the law causes to minority voters, but also stated that the additional time needed to vote for each race would cause longer lines, possibly disenfranchising voters. While an Assistant Attorney General, representing the Secretary of State, attempted to make the case that the law doesn’t stop anyone from voting, it only causes a voter to have to cast a vote in each race independently. Additionally, forty other states have stopped using straight-ticket voting. It is unknown at this time if the Attorney General’s office will appeal the decision.

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