Saturday, December 19, 2015

Michigan Legislature Repeals Straight-Ticket Device


On December 16, the Michigan Legislature passed SB 13, which eliminates the straight-ticket device.

The Michigan Legislature had repealed the device in late 2001, but then the Democratic Party put a referendum on the ballot, and in November 2002 the voters voted to keep the device.

That bill, SB 173, also made changes to the law concerning provisional ballots and voter registration. The voters had to either reject the entire bill or approve of it, so it is not clear that a majority of the 2002 voters really liked the device, or whether they voted against the bill because of its other provisions.

Straight-ticket devices are very harmful to independent candidates.

The bill hasn’t been signed yet, but Governor Rick Snyder is a Republican, so he will probably sign it.

The other states with the device are:

Alabama
Indiana
Iowa
Kentucky
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
Texas
Utah

Please let me know if this list has changed.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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