Michigan voters will continue to have the option of using one mark on the ballot to support a political party’s entire slate of candidates in November.
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette’s request to reverse two lower courts and allow a ban on straight-ticket voting to take effect.
Mark Brewer is one the attorneys who challenged Michigan’s ban on straight-ticket voting. He called it a victory for voters.
"Half of Michigan’s voters use this option, and had it been taken away, it would have added tremendously to long lines and confusion at the polls," he says, "particularly in heavy African-American communities, where this option is even more popular than it is with voters in general."
Republicans in the Legislature and Governor Rick Snyder adopted the ban, which offers a marginal benefit to Democrats in lower-ticket races.
Michigan has allowed straight-ticket voting for 125 years.
