The latest news on this front comes from a really interesting article at Ballot Access News written by the widely-respected election expert and advocate for third party/independent ballot access Richard Winger:
On June 28, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed SB 48, a budget bill that includes a provision abolishing the straight-ticket device. Now the only states that still have the device are Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah. Ironically, all seven have Republican majorities in both houses of the state legislature. Yet in recent years, it is mostly Republican legislators who have tried to repeal straight-ticket devices, and mostly Democrats who have supported the device.
Bills have been introduced recently in Indiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah to abolish the device, but they have not passed.
Straight-ticket devices are very harmful to independent and minor party candidates, especially if they are running for county or city partisan office that is near the bottom of the general election ballot. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the news about Pennsylvania.
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