Straight Party

As long as I have been voting, our state’s general elections offered the ability to vote “straight party.”[i] Straight party voting gives voters the option of completing their entire ballot with a single mark – a mark that votes for every candidate running for a specific party (e.g. Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Republican, etc.). This year we did not have that option. In 2017, the Texas state legislature passed HB25, ending the practice of straight party voting – beginning with the 2020 election. Governor Greg Abbott signed a bill into law June 2, 2017.

From the standpoint of politics, straight-party voting in Texas apparently favored the Democrats. At the least, both the Republican and Democratic parties thought so. First, the Republican Party is the majority in Congress and hold the governor’s seat, so they are most responsible for passing the bill. Second, since the Democratic sued over the change in March 2020, they must have thought straight-party voting helped their cause.[ii] In September 2020, with less than 3 weeks to the start of early voting, a federal judge blocked Texas from eliminating straight-party voting. Whatever the ins and outs of the suit and its outcome, we did not have straight-party voting on the ballot.

As a practical matter, straight-party voting helps “down-ballot” candidates – candidates whom voters often do not know and might not vote for otherwise. Ideally, the elimination of straight-party voting would force voters to make choices that are more informed on the down-ballot races. More likely, they will make ill-informed choices or just simply not vote for them at all. Straight-party voting may also expedite the voting process, making a quick one-stop experience rather than wading through each selection individually.

As a matter of principle, I do not like straight-party voting. A position is no better than the person who holds it. While party alignment reflects something about principles, voters should give serious thought to the beliefs, experience, and qualifications of each individual candidate. In practice, even if I knew ahead of time that I would be voting for candidates who all belonged to one party, I never chose to vote for the party, but selected each candidate individually.[iii]

Christians who are “all in” for a “straight party” probably are neither careful voters nor careful Christians. Christian culture is created in Christ and is prescribed in the New Testament. Though times change and cultures differ, the Christian culture is unique and exists independently of world cultures. Christian culture is neither Jewish nor Gentile (Romans 10:12, 1 Corinthians 10:32, Colossians 3:11). “Christian politics” is neither Democrat nor Republican, but seeks consistently to follow biblical principles, and will dissent from parties or candidates when they diverge from biblical principles. The culture of gathering believers – which exists outside of and independently from world governments, cultures, and standards – is universal and permanent, having neither command to change nor necessity to conform. We must be “all in” for Jesus Christ and his word.

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[i] Also known as “straight-ticket” voting. Apparently, most states don’t offer this option. According to one article I read, Texas was one of only eight states that still have straight-party voting. And then there were seven.

[ii] That they waited three years to sue seems suspiciously more like wanting to throw the November 2020 process into a kink.

[iii] Very seldom have I voted for all candidates of one party, and probably in most elections there has been some office for which I did not choose any of the candidates.