No straight-ticket voting for Texas' 2020 election, federal appeals court says

[RandySF]

Texas voters will not be able to select every candidate of a major political party with one punch, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday, upholding a 2017 state law that ends the popular practice of straight-ticket voting for this year’s general election.

The Texas Legislature acted years ago to end straight-ticket voting in time for the 2020 presidential contest, but a federal judge reinstated the practice earlier this month, citing complications to the voting process caused by the pandemic.

A three-judge panel on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned that decision Wednesday, ruling that the law ending the one-punch option should go into effect even as voters and election administrators contend with the coronavirus pandemic, citing the U.S. Supreme Court’s “emphasis that courts should not alter election rules on the eve of an election.”

“The Texas Legislature passed HB 25 in 2017, and state election officials have planned for this election accordingly. The state election machinery is already well in motion,” the judges wrote. Upholding the law and eliminating straight-ticket voting, they wrote, “will minimize confusion among both voters and trained election officials.”





https://www.texastribune.org/2020/09/30/texas-2020-election-staight-ticket-voting/

[StClone]

1. I don't get why that Judge can do that.

Legally how can they stop people from voting straight ticket. Really begs an outlandish interpretation of voting rights.

[kcr]

2. It's that they can't do it with one action

People can still vote straight ticket, they just have to manually go down the ballot and tick off every candidate in the party of their choice.

[StClone]

7. Yeah they want you too take the time and maybe make a mistake and

If you don't know all the candidates that you accidentally become confused and voted for an R.

Of course the Rs can accidentally vote D, but mostly it is they want people to vote whose name appears in "attack ads" they spend big money to construct negative for the Dems name in the minds of the electorate.

[OneBro]

5. They argued that it causes confusion.

It’s a BS argument made in bad faith, but it serves its purpose, which is to give right-wing judges a reason to uphold a statute which clearly makes it more time consuming and tedious to complete the ballot compared to straight party voting via one button, click or an “X”

[StClone]

8. I used to have that option in Wisconsin

Do you know how fulfilling it was to stick it the eye of the Cons to, in one quick dot fill, shout DEMOCRATIC! Then exit. But they took it way so it must shown in some testing and investigation by one of the sick Right wing think tanks that it hurt them.

[Retrograde]

10. Never had it in CA in the time I voted here

going back to 1976. Heck, we don't even list candidates in standard alphabetical order, which make the jungle primaries a mini-literacy test.

[StClone]

12. Hope you are safer now

Haven't looked but are the fires lessening?


California is the greatest state in the Union, bar none. I have been to all but a couple of of states and can say from the beaches, the deserts, the mountains, forests and all, it is my favorite (not to mention the big cities, Hollywood the San Fran). Great roads and nice people.

For disclosure in the East I used to find N.Carolina a great place but in the last 25 years or more it has been over-developed.
Boston is one of the friendliest cities. End of memory lane aside, I am weary being trapped here and not traveling!

[Retrograde]

14. New fires in Napa County this week

I'm about 80 miles southwest, on the Peninsula, but we have smoky skies and unhealthy air right now. I expect this will keep up until the rains start, hopefully in early November.

[StClone]

15. Hoping,

But we are experiencing a cold wave here (Midwest) which often means the West will get hotter for awhile. Take care Friend. I wish there was better news and someone "in charge" would get it through their head to think hard about this.

[Hoyt]

3. Tap a few more boxes, we can handle it. Screw their stupid laws.

[BannonsLiver]

6. That's what I'm thinking

It’s not that fucking hard.

[StClone]

13. Yeah but why is it they get to call the shots!

It does make the electorate get more information and check out the sample ballot. BUT, why the hell should we always play by the rules Cons and they're army of lawyer's put before us. I capitulate but every little thing they do ends up to be a lot of steps which are unnecessary to divert voter's intentions.

[BannonsLiver]

16. Because the GOP controls most of Texas government

[MagickMuffin]

4. This is the very first time I would have voted straight ticket because of a deadly pandemic

But whatever, republicons you will never deter me from voting for every Democratic candidate on the ticket.

[Luz]

9. That's ok by me. I will take great pleasure in voting for

each dem individually.

[WyattKansas]

11. No problem... I've always rejected republicans anyway.

And when I see a republican running unopposed, then I write in 'Any Socialist' to object.

[tblue37]

17. I have read that straight ticket Dem votes are more likely to change to a Republican

vote than individual votes are. I don't know if that's true, but I would want to vote one by one just to be sure.