LANSING, MI (WTVB) – Michigan’s county clerks, including Branch County’s Terry Kubasiak, have come out against legislation that would eliminate straight ticket voting in the state. Two organizations representing the clerks say it will just create longer lines at the polls next November as it takes people longer to vote and slows down the count because there will be more spoiled ballots.
The Michigan Senate has approved the bill and it’s pending in the House. The clerks say the only way they would go along is if the Legislature packaged it with a bill that allowed everyone to vote absentee, whether they had a reason or not.
Michigan voters were asked this very question in 2002 and voted overwhelmingly to keep straight ticket voting. A study by Epic-MRA shows between 48% and 59% of all voters take advantage of the straight ticket vote given a chance.
