Straight ticket bill deserves a vote

In an era often marred by senseless legislation (allowing guns on school property) and ethical issues (former superintendent of public instruction Tony Bennett, Rep. Eric Turner), it’s nice to see a lawmaker propose a measure firmly grounded in logic.
It’s especially heartening when a legislator brings forth a common-sense bill despite the fact that it will likely have a negative impact on his own party.
House Bill 1008, authored by Rep. David Ober (R-Albion), would end straight ticket voting — selecting all the candidates from a single party with the push of one button — in Indiana.
What stands out about Ober’s bill, which was co-authored by fellow Republicans Kathy Richardson and Milo Smith, is that he proposed it despite the fact it is likely to have a greater impact on his party than the opposition.
The Hoosier State, after all, tends to lean to the right. Republicans account for seven of our nine U.S. Representatives, six of our seven state executive office holders, 37 of our 50 state senators and 69 out of our 100 state representatives.
And if more voters select Republicans, it’s likely they also receive more straight ticket votes. That was true in November in Jay County, which heavily favored the GOP in state and national races, when 457 straight ticket votes went to the Republican party compared to 219 for Democrats and just four for Libertarians.
To us, straight ticket voting has never made any sense. It allows a citizen to step into a voting booth and mindlessly select a slate of candidates, some of which he or she may not have even known were running for office.
That’s not the kind of voting we want to encourage.
Voting should be a thoughtful process in which citizens view campaign advertising, listen to what is said during debates, and, yes, read about candidates in their local newspapers. They should then make their choice based on information they’ve gathered rather than the R or D in front of the candidate’s name.
(Note that party designation will continue to be on the ballot, so if a voter wants to select everyone from the same party he or she easily can. It will just require pressing a few more buttons.)
Party designation shouldn’t be the sole deciding factor in the voting booth, especially in local elections. There are good and bad candidates from all parties, and the only goal of the voter should be to select those they feel will do the best job for their city, county, state or country.
Indiana is one of just 12 states — Michigan and Kentucky are two of the others — that offer the straight ticket option. It’s time to take our name off the list. —R.C.