Democrats sue to try to halt the end of straight-ticket voting in Texas' general election - The Dallas Morning News

AUSTIN — In a new federal lawsuit, Democrats are pushing back against the end of straight-ticket voting in Texas, arguing the change is unconstitutional because it will disproportionately affect black and Hispanic voters.

The lawsuit against the Texas secretary of state was filed by the Texas Democratic Party, the Webb County Democratic Party and the Democratic campaign arms of the U.S. Senate and House on Thursday.

The Democratic groups argue the end of down-the-ballot voting scheduled for the November general election will mean voters will face longer poll lines and voting wait times. It comes days after Texans across the state had to wait up to six hours to vote in the Super Tuesday primaries.

“Texas decided voting had become too convenient for its citizens, and especially its minority citizens,” the lawsuit says. “In ending a century-old voting practice that Texans have relied on to exercise their most fundamental and sacred rights — the rights to political participation and association — Texas has recklessly created a recipe for disaster at the polls in 2020.”

Citing violations of the 14th Amendment and the federal Voting Rights Act, Democrats are asking for a federal judge to block the change.

Republican lawmakers pushed the measure through the Texas Legislature in 2017, but the implementation of the law was delayed until September 2020 through a last-minute amendment to the bill. Even with the end of straight-ticket voting, voters would still see candidates’ party affiliations on the November ballot, but they will no longer be able to automatically vote for all the candidates in one party in a single step.

At the time, Republicans said eliminating straight-ticket voting would encourage voters to educate themselves on the candidates. But Democrats said it was more aimed at diluting their strength in urban areas where there are more races, and down-ballot candidates benefited from straight-party tickets. And in those areas, which are more diverse, it would ultimately disenfranchise minorities, the elderly and voters who need assistance.

“The end of straight-ticket voting was yet another Republican attempt to suppress the vote, alter the electorate, and take away power from the rising Texas majority," Texas Democratic Party Chair Gilberto Hinojosa said in a prepared statement. “In minority-majority districts, lines to vote have already proven to be hours long.”

The lawsuit is the latest effort to curb long voting lines such as the ones some Texans faced on Super Tuesday, which local officials said were caused by a surge in turnout, understaffing and issues with voting machines.

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Houston Democrat who serves on the judiciary committee, blasted the assault on straight-ticket voting. In a phone interview on Wednesday about long poll lines in Harris County, she cited it as an example of election rules changes that until a 2013 Supreme Court ruling would have required approval from the U.S. Justice Department – and probably wouldn’t have received it.

“Who’s hurt by straight ticket voting? I mean, your vote is your vote, and you could be straight ticket Republican or a straight ticket Democrat. There’s no limitation of who can vote straight ticket.” But, she said, “Someone must have looked at 2018 and seen the enormous turnout in some minority communities… and said this is a good thing to get rid of.”

During Texas’s 2018 general election, approximately two-thirds of Texas voters cast their votes using straight-ticked-voting, according to the lawsuit.

In a Thursday email, the Mexican American Legislative Caucus also warned against the elimination of straight-ticket voting for the November election, when the group says turnout could be as high as 11 million voters.

The caucus announced it plans to hold a joint hearing with the Texas Legislative Black Caucus and the Legislative Study Group to look into the issues voters faced during the primary.

“We must do everything in our power to protect the right to vote and enhance access to the ballot box in Texas,” said Rafael Anchía, a Dallas Democrat and chairman of the Mexican American Legislative Caucus.

The Texas Civil Rights Project is also calling the secretary of state, Texas’ top election official, to work with local officials to resolve the voting issues Texans faced on Super Tuesday before the November general election.

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Democrats sue to try to halt the end of straight-ticket voting in Texas' general election - The Dallas Morning News
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