Posted on 05/14/2002 4:50:48 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Measure to dump ban on straight-ticket voting to go on fall ballot
By KATHY BARKS HOFFMAN
The Associated Press
5/14/02 5:40 PM
LANSING, Mich. (AP) -- The Board of State Canvassers voted unanimously Tuesday to put a measure on the November ballot that would overturn a ban on straight-ticket voting.
That decision means a state law that took effect in March banning straight-ticket voting will be suspended until voters decide the matter for themselves on Nov. 5. Voters will be able to vote straight-ticket on that ballot.
The canvassers certified that the group PRO-VOTERS! had met the requirement of collecting 151,356 valid signatures. The group in March turned in 255,553 signatures; 195,877 were deemed valid by state elections officials.
The GOP-controlled Legislature last year voted to stop letting voters choose all the candidates from one political party by checking one box, an option most often used by Democrats. But straight-ticket voting advocates collected enough signatures to give voters a say in whether to keep the law.
They said straight-ticket voting is helpful because it shortens lines at polling places and is an option many voters statewide prefer.
The ban "really disenfranchises a lot of folks, whether you're Republican, Democrat or Libertarian," state Democratic Chairman Mark Brewer said Tuesday.
He added he was pleased the canvassers agreed the petitions met the necessary test to be on the ballot. When the petitions were filed, he said anger over the ban should encourage more Democrats to vote in November.
"We've taken a lemon and tried to make lemonade as far as what the Republicans tried to do to us," he said.
Michigan Republican Party spokesman Jason Brewer, no relation to Mark Brewer, said the party will oppose any efforts to keep the ban from being restored.
"The Democrats have spent a quarter of a million dollars to defeat election reform, but we think the voters of this state will ultimately shoot down their ballot initiative," Jason Brewer said.
Neither party has decided what campaign strategy it will follow to pass or defeat the measure.
If a majority of voters vote "yes" on the measure, straight-ticket voting will no longer be allowed after the Nov. 5 election. If a majority votes "no," the law will be struck down and straight-ticket voting will continue.
The exact language of the ballot proposal still must be decided.
I'm voting yes. Lower the Detroit voting numbers.
It will cost the democrat party 2 packs of smokes instead of one if their voters actually have to think first.
Just who is disenfranchised? You're already in the voting both, so no one is denied the right to vote.
That being said, I plan to vote straight ticket Republican for the first time in my life in November.
That's the ONLY POSSIBLE way to win, and there is no principle without winning.
It will cost the democrat party 4 packs of smokes instead of one if their voters actually have to be literate enough to read a ballot.
Straight ticket Republican voters dislodged every Democrat in Baldwin County, Alabama.
The same thing could happen here. Should be interesting
Yup, me too. My old high school buddy, Mobile county commissioner-D, was bounced out in the last election. We almost dumped all the Democrats in Mobile County also. Eight of the nine state Supreme Court Justices are now Republicans, the other is an Independent. Republicans in this state kicked butt in the last election, except for the governor who will go this next election.
Michigan is a swing state and Democrat vote fraud there could potentially determine who our next president will be. Therefore it is of national importance to combat the Dem's #1 fraud tool and make sure this thing passes.
This is ass-backwards and has been done with ballot language on some Houston referendums as well.
The language on the petition and the language on the ballot were swapped so that YES means "no more" or "don't adopt a practice" while NO means "yes, continue with it" or "no, I agree that the practice should be adopted" or even "I don't know what this means so don't change things!!!"
Europeans have coalition governments and I think that has led them into being more socialistic than our "duopoly" as you call it.
Our two major parties have to create our coalition governments before people vote, and so the trade-offs and the sell-outs are on the record before the election. In Europe, the people get to vote irresponsibly for whoever offers them the most goodies without consideration for the needs and views of other citizens. Then the winners of the free for all make the compromises behind closed doors so they can share in the power.
I think our way makes for more stable government, even though we may dislike the fact that lots of our fellow citizens do not agree with us on the role of government.
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