The way many of us vote would be outlawed in Texas, if a proposal from a power San Antonio lawmaker gains traction in the Legislature, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
State Rep. Joe Straus (R-Alamo Heights), the Speaker of the Texas House, is proposing getting rid of 'straight ticket voting.'
"Texas should join 40 other states and end straight ticket voting in all elections," Straus said.
Straight-ticket voting is when a person goes into the voting booth and votes simply for one party or the other. It is generally done because the voter has strong feelings about the candidate at the top of the ticket. Last fall, as many as 60% of Texas voters cast a 'straight ticket' ballot, largely because of their feelings about Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.
That means all of the Republicans or Democrats on the ballot got that person's vote, even though the voter generally didn't even know who those candidates were.
"Too often, good men and women are swept out of down-ballot offices due to the political winds at the moment," Straus said.
Straus says the change would 'also encourage voters to learn more about individual candidates.
The chance of losing their livelihood due to being rejected in a 'wave election' in which the candidate at the top of the ticket comes from the other party has surpassed the need to raise money as the number one reason why people decide not to run for public office.
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