MICHIGAN Straight-ticket voting ......LIVES! (Supreme Court)

[underpants]

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Friday refused to revive a Michigan law that barred straight-ticket voting.

The court’s brief order gave no reasons. Two justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., said they would have granted a request from state officials to allow them to enforce the law in the coming election.

Straight-ticket voting, in which voters may choose a party’s entire slate with a single notation, had been available as an option in Michigan since 1891. The new law, signed in January by Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, required voters to cast votes for individual candidates — but it was blocked in July by a federal judge who ruled that the law created a burden on minority voters.

“Because African-American majority districts in Michigan such as Detroit have also historically faced some of the longest wait times in the state,” Judge Moore wrote, “the increase in long lines occasioned by the elimination of straight-party voting will impact these voters to an even more significant degree.”


NY TIMES

[yeoman6987]

1. I think straight line should be allowed. Why not.

I never would because of local offices being non party affiliated. But if others want to why not?

[chillfactor]

2. hallelujah!

New Mexico where I live has straight party voting AND paper ballots...love it!

[MichMan]

3. Only allowed in 10 other states

While I expected the SC decision, I thought the original judges reasoning to be very strange since only 10 states allow it in the first place. If indeed the issue is long lines, why not sue for remedies about that?

I do have a concern that many voting straight ticket may inadvertently skip the non partisan races and ballot proposals.

[Wednesdays]

5. I'd have thought it'd have the opposite effect

Once you punch your card the single time for the partisan portion, you can devote more time to the other parts of the ballot.
(Michigan uses punch cards, IIRC.)

[MichMan]

6. Not around here; we use optical scanner sheets

Last edited Sat Sep 10, 2016, 01:19 AM - Edit history (1)

I was thinking some might just have a tendency to fill out the straight ticket part and figure they were done without looking at the rest

[underpants]

7. Really? 10 other states? I'd never heard of it

I saw the headline and wasn't sure if it was good or bad for us.

I like this idea. I vote in suburban Virginia so there are NO lines but even this would save some time. We don't register by party here so it's unlikely to be implemented here. One of the first things Gov McAuliffe did when he got in office was get rid of the touch screens.