Straus Introduces Measure to Ban Straight Ticket Voting

State Rep. Joe Straus (R-Alamo Heights) has filed a measure that would ban straight ticket voting in the state of Texas.  In the status quo it’s common for voters to pay little to no attention to down ballot races like judges, county commissioners, city commissioners, mayoral races and even state representatives!

Voters should be encouraged to learn about CANDIDATES not to vote straight ticket.

From WOAI:

"It only takes about two minutes to go race by race, I timed it in the voting booth myself," Straus said."If we don’t have two minutes one day every two years, then we have some fundamental problems that need to be addressed."

Straus’ measure comes as many local Republicans in down ballot races are complaining they lost their seats due to straight ticket votes cast by voters who had no knowledge of their qualifications or their accomplishments.

260,000 of the 530,000 votes cast in Bexar County in last week’s election were ‘straight party.’

"Voting is not only a right, it is a responsibility," Straus said."Votes need to take the time to consider each race on the ballot individually."

56% of the ‘straight ticket’ votes cast in Bexar County were for the Democratic Party.