Legislature ends use of Michigan straight-ticket device that disadvantaged independent candidates

From Ballot Access News:

On December 16, the Michigan legislature passed SB 13, which eliminates the straight-ticket device. See this story.

The Michigan legislature also repealed the device in late 2001, but then the Democratic Party put a referendum on the ballot, and in November 2002 the voters voted to keep the device. That bill, SB 173, also made changes to the law concerning provisional ballots and voter registration. The voters had to either reject the entire bill or approve of it, so it is not clear that a majority of the 2002 voters really liked the device, or whether they voted against the bill because of its other provisions.

Straight-ticket devices are very harmful to independent candidates. The bill hasn’t been signed yet, but Governor Rick Snyder is a Republican, so he will probably sign it. The other states with the device are Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah.