Straight-ticket voting decision is put on hold

The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday temporarily blocked a federal district court judge’s ruling that reinstated straight-ticket voting for the November election.

The administrative stay puts the matter on hold while the appellate court considers whether one-punch voting indeed will be in place as early voting starts Oct. 13.

Straight-ticket voting allows voters to select candidates of one party across all races on the ballot by making a single selection.

The 2020 general election was to be the first in Texas in nearly a century with no straight-ticket option, after the Republican-led Legislature passed a 2017 law to phase it out.

That changed Friday when a U.S. district judge in Laredo ruled the law unconstitutional, largely because it would increase wait time at the polls during the pandemic.

The ruling had election officials across the state on tenterhooks over the possibility that they might have to restart the process of programming and testing voting machines with just about two weeks left before polling places open.

Though not final, the appellate court’s decision Mondaywas welcome news for at least one Texas election official.

“Thank God,” Bexar County elections administrator Jacque Callanen said. “It was a huge relief to hear this. You can’t in any way, shape or form make a change to the ballot, in any place, and not have to start testing (voting machines) all over again.”

Having to redo all that work could have caused at least a week’s delay to the county’s election preparation schedule, at a time when her staff already is working seven days a week, Callanen said.

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, whose office represents Secretary of State Ruth Hughs, commended the appellate court’s decision.

“I will not stand by when the integrity of our election process is threatened,” Paxton said. “The 2020 general election is already underway. Any changes to the process nowcould jeopardize the fair and accurate administration of the election.”

Bruce Van Spiva, who represents the plaintiffs, did not respond to a request for comment.

As Texas’ demographics have changed, Democrats have begun to benefit more from straightticket voting over the past decade.

In 2018, more than two-thirds of voters used straight-ticket voting statewide.

In her ruling Friday, U.S. Southern District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo agreed with the Democratic plaintiffs in their argument that the loss of the voting methodwould disproportionately harm minorities, who use it more than other groups.

Harris County officials and others across the state have warned a long ballot would cause voters to take 15 minutes or more to make their picks, extending wait times on Election Day.

“By creating mass lines at the polls and increasing the amount of time voters are exposed to COVID-19, HB 25 will cause irreparable injury to plaintiffs and ALL Texas voters in the general election,” wrote Marmolejo, who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2011.

Just six states continue to use one-punch voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Regardless, Marmolejo said Texas voters have come to rely on it as part of their voting experience and that eliminating the practice would cause more confusion, not less.

Joseph R. Fishkin, a University of Texas law professor who studies election law, said last week that the state is likely to cite in its appeal the “Purcell principle,” a Supreme Court precedent stating that courts shouldn’t change election rules too close to an election to avoid voter confusion and election administration problems.

The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit is widely regarded as one of the most conservative federal appellate courts in the nation, and several Texas Republicans have said they expect the appellate judges to overturn Marmolejo’s ruling.