By Alec Woolsey - Herald-Zeitung
The days of easily voting for a single party in Texas may be coming to an end.
Texas House Bill 25 passed through the 85th legislature and was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 1, 2017. The bill, now law, eliminates straight-ticket voting on ballots in Texas.
The bill passed largely along party lines, with Democrats opposed and Republicans in favor of eliminating the voting option. Belinda Frisk, vice chair for the Comal County Republican Party, said she does not see this change as having a significant impact on local voters.
Unlike major metropolitan areas like Houston or Dallas, Comal County has a more shallow pool of candidates. Frisk said the change may encourage voters to do more diligent homework on who they are electing.
“I think that’ s a good thing,” she said.
According to the Texas Tribune, 64 percent of ballots cast in the 10 largest Texas counties in 2016 used the straight-ticket option.
Robert Rogers, a candidate to take over the position of chair for the Comal County Democratic Party, said he attributes the partisan pattern of voting on the bill as Republicans worrying about their political futures in the state.
“The Republicans clearly seem to be making moves to try and improve the chances of maybe not having a landfall in 2018, as we expect,” Rogers said.
He said Democrats may have an issue with the change as it can be difficult to get voters out to the ballot boxes.
“We have more registered voters in Comal County that are Democrats than we have Republicans,” he said. “The problem is we have is getting them to turn out.”
The change may not alter campaign strategies for most candidates, but that’ s not to say there won’ t be those affected by it.
“It seems that the down-ballot candidates, like our judicial candidates, are the ones people are most unfamiliar with,” Frisk said.
She said these candidates are often the unknowns, so without the option to vote straight-ticket, they may receive fewer votes in the future.
“I have people who come to me, and I’ m sure come to a lot of folks who are active in the party, and say, ‘ I don’ t know much about these judges,’ particularly in a primary election where you have so many running,” Frisk said.
Navigating the field of candidates for positions further down in the ballots could cause headaches for voters, but Frisk said the internet is probably the best resource despite its many faults.
“Where do you begin to do your homework? That’ s a good question,” she said.
Rogers said the new law only adds another hurdle. The new law will not take effect until September 2020, which gives parties and candidates time to prepare and adjust their strategies.