The Chris Moeller Archives

Blind loyalty

There's a proposal at the Iowa Statehouse to rid our ballots of the straight-ticket voting option. The Des Moines Register has declared the issue a balanced one for Democrats and Republicans, even though Democrats, with a large advantage in the number of statewide registrations, largely support the straight-ticket option while Republicans oppose it and sponsored this legislation. This is another recent example of Republicans being in the right (along with their opposition to traffic cameras). The straight-ticket option is a backwards concept that reeks of tribalism and encourages the disengagement of voters, as Republicans are arguing.

The option has also not been employed democratically in this state. Thanks to a successful lawsuit brought by the Green and Libertarian parties, Iowans can declare themselves members of these two voting groups in their registration, yet there is not now, nor has there ever been, an option on any ballot anywhere in the state to vote a straight "Green" ticket or a straight "Libertarian" one. Do candidates appear in every race for these smaller parties? No they don't, but few, if any, ballots will have both a Republican and a Democrat in every race also. So there is a political advantage at play here-- the one enjoyed by the two dominant parties.  In 2008, I appeared on the local ballot as a candidate for the state legislature. I did so as a member of the Green Party in a two-person race against a Democrat. My opponent doubled my vote total on election day. He also had the advantage of having two ballot lines bestowed on him by the state to my one.

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In case you didn’t realize that this was the official week for having no sense of humor, here's more evidence: Morrissey is sad that Jimmy Kimmel teased him last night on TV.

posted by CM @ 9:01 PM