Governor Snyder Weighs Straight-Ticket Voting in Michigan

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UPDATE at 11:29am on 1/5/16 Breaking from Michigan Public Radio’s Rick Pluta: Governor Rick Snyder has signed a law that ends the straight-party voting option on election ballots. He called on Republicans in the Legislature to adopt a bill making it easier to vote using absentee ballots, but GOP leaders remain opposed to the legislation.

Before the state Legislature wrapped work for 2015, the Republican-led House and Senate approved a measure to eliminate straight-ticket voting. That would mean voters in Michigan could no longer fill in a single bubble at the top of the ballot for all Democratic or Republican candidates. Republicans point out Michigan is one of few states that have straight-ticket voting, and that the single-bubble method of voting is outdated. Democrats argue the GOP is looking for any opportunity to tip the odds in its favor in a state that votes Democratic in presidential election years. Governor Snyder is expected to decide today whether to sign the measure into law.

Detroit Today host Stephen Henderson is joined by Gongwer News publisher John Lindstrom and Detroit Free Press columnist Brian Dickerson to discuss the implications of the proposal.

“You have to ask the question; why would you want that lazy, that uninformed voter to vote?” says Dickerson, who continues, “It’s easy… when you participate in an election you legitimize a government… The more people you exclude from that community the more instability you create.”

Joanna comments on our Facebook page: “No one in the business community makes ANYTHING harder or more time consuming to do. Our car companies are working on self driving cars, you can download an app and order a pizza and you can scan your ticket via your phone to fly. So why would our govt. made it harder to vote straight ticket? You don’t have to vote straight ticket but if you choose to do so, why make it harder? Makes no business sense to me whatsoever.”