DETROIT (AP) — The state of Michigan is urging an appeals court to restore the state’s ban on straight-party voting in the fall election.
A Detroit federal judge says the ban violates the rights of black voters. But in a court filing Wednesday, Attorney General Bill Schuette says the law is “rational” and “imposes a minimal burden” on voters.
Schuette wants a federal appeals court to quickly suspend an injunction issued by Judge Gershwin Drain. Ballots must be printed soon.
The fall election would be the first affected by a new law that ends straight-party voting, the ability to vote for candidates of one party with a single mark, from president to drain commissioner.
Straight-party voting is popular in Michigan cities with large black populations, which tend to vote for Democrats.
