In a win for voting rights, federal court strikes down Michigan's ban on straight-ticket voting

A federal district court handed voting rights advocates a victory on Thursday when it blocked a new Michigan law eliminating straight-ticket voting, an option that lets voters check a single box to cast a ballot for every candidate the party of their choice has nominated. The court found that Michigan’s Republican-controlled state government had placed a disproportionate burden on African-American voters because they’re more likely to vote straight-ticket than white voters.

Because Michigan has no in-person early voting without an excuse, the straight-ticket voting option is a valuable tool for preventing long voter lines by cutting down the time it takes to fill out a ballot. It also reduces the problem of voters tending to under-vote (that is, skip) races for down-ballot offices. Michigan has permitted straight-ticket voting for over a century, and it’s extremely popular. At least 50 percent of all voters statewide and roughly 75 percent of voters in heavily minority cities like Detroit voted a straight ticket.

Republicans had argued that voters were still free to vote a straight ticket by manually filling in each race, but the law would have exacerbated long lines as a way to disproportionately burden Democrats. That very problem prompted the court to step in: Because many non-white voters are Democrats, the law had a disparate impact on them, running afoul of federal law.

The attempt to abolish straight-ticket voting was just one of many moves that Michigan Republicans have undertaken in their assault on voting rights, which includes relentless gerrymandering and the installation of unelected emergency city managers. They had even previously tried to end straight-ticket voting, only to be rebuked in a 2002 voter referendum. Republicans may still appeal, but this new ruling is an important win for ensuring voters can exercise their rights without undue burdens.