Straight Party Ballot Option

It is time to put an end to the option for voting by marking the 'Straight Party' option on the ballot. The option is grossly unfair to the candidates on the under card. Usually, the local candidates are not party centric and the Straight Party vote denies them the courtesy of a fair chance of receiving a vote based on their qualifications. Make no mistake, the Single Party vote is just that, a vote for a Party rather than the candidate. The Single Party vote option takes advantage of peoples natural tendencies to not want to look at the lower card races and mark the Party option with no further thought as to who actually makes up the under card.

Voting on under card races should be with deliberate action on the part of the voter and not as a residue from the main high-profile upper card.

The one-vote-for-all option unseats a lot of good candidates and prevents a lot of good candidates from winning an election. Utilizing the Single Party option on a ballot is another way of co-opting your vote. Personally, I don't consider Party when I vote for some of the under card races. Races such as the local Constable, Precinct Chairpersons, School Superintendents, and tax-assessor do not cross my radar as being politically partisan positions. Most of the local people who get on the ballot do so because they want to either improve a situation or get approval for the job they have done as an office holder.

Along comes a voter who is just interested in the main race, usually a state or national office, with no concern for the under card races. When he chooses the single party option, he has hurt the whole under card. It would be better for those voters to only vote the main races and leave the under card alone. It is very disconcerting to have people casting votes blindly for people in races that they know nothing about.

It only takes a minute to go through a ballot and vote for the races and propositions that you want. If you know nothing about a race then you should do the decent thing and leave it blank. Most local newspapers print a ballot days ahead of an election. Copies are available to most citizens at various places. This is the time to pick and choose for whom and what you want to vote. This is the time to learn about the races you don't understand, and the candidates you don't recognize. By arming yourself with a little information, you can make an informed decision about which races you want to support with your vote.

It is a matter of fairness to those candidates on the under card. Help promote abolishing the Straight Party choice on a ballot.

Cheers,

-Robert-