Federal Judge Blocks Michigan Ban on Straight-Party Voting

By ED WHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS DETROIT — Jul 21, 2016, 1:41 PM ET

 

A federal judge has blocked Michigan's new ban on straight-party voting, a law that was passed by Republicans but criticized by Democrats as a way to discourage turnout among minorities.

 

Judge Gershwin Drain signed an injunction Thursday, a week after hearing arguments. He says the law would place a "disproportionate burden" on the rights of blacks to vote in the fall election.

 

Lawyers say more than 70 percent of ballots in Detroit and Flint have been cast as straight-party — votes that go for all candidates of one party with just a single mark.

 

The state attorney general's office, which is defending the law in court, says Michigan joined 39 other states in banning straight-party voting. The judge says that's irrelevant.