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Straight-ticket voting or straight-party voting is the practice of voting for every candidate that a political party has on a general election ballot. For example, if a member of the Democratic Party in the United States votes for every candidate for President, Senator, Representative, Governor, state legislators, and those running for local government who are Democratic, this is considered straight-ticket voting. In general, straight-ticket voting was a very common occurrence up until around the 1960s and 1970s. Since that time, straight-ticket voting has declined in the United States among the general voting population; however, strong partisans (that is strong party identifiers) have remained straight-ticket voters.
In the early days of the parties, it was nearly impossible not to vote on a straight-party line vote. Voters would receive a colored ballot with that party's nominees on it. A split-ticket vote would require two different colored ballots, which confused the voter. Often, the voter would choose a specific party, and vote for everyone from that party. Some states have had an option (sometimes known as a master lever) to select "vote straight-ticket Democrat" and "vote straight-ticket Republican" that voters can check instead of voting for each race; states that do so include Alabama, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia.
The straight-ticket voting option differs slightly from state to state.
General-election ballots in Michigan have three sections:
Voters in Michigan may vote a straight ticket, a split ticket (voting for individual candidates in individual offices), or a mixed-ticket vote. A mixed-ticket vote is cast when a voter chooses a party in the straight-ticket portion of the ballot, then votes for individual candidates for office. Votes for individual candidates for individual offices override a straight-ticket selection. For example, if a voter selects Party A under the straight-ticket portion, then proceeds to vote for the nominee of Party B for the United States Senate, a vote is counted for Party B's US Senate nominee while each of Party A's nominees for other offices in the partisan section each receive a vote in their races.
Straight-ticket voting only involves the partisan section of the ballot, meaning that if an individual wishes to vote in a non-partisan race, they must vote those offices individually. One area in which this issue receives attention is in races for the Michigan Supreme Court. The Democratic and Republican parties each nominate candidates for Justice of the Supreme Court at their party conventions 2–3 months before the election; however, the races appear on the ballot in the nonpartisan section, meaning that a straight-ticket vote for either of these parties will not include a vote for that party's candidates for Supreme Court.
North Carolina had an option for voting "straight party" (using the term from an NC ballot) that did not include a vote for the President and Vice President of the United States, through the 2012 elections. A voter ID law enacted in 2013 abolished all straight-ticket voting in the state, and was set to go into effect in 2014.
Under the former system, North Carolina made separate selections for the President/Vice President and the straight-party option. This idiosyncrasy on the North Carolina ballot was described by some as "a ballot flaw," potentially resulting in voters failing to cast a vote for President and Vice President when doing so was their intent. It was introduced in the 1960s to shore up Democrats at the state level as Republicans were gaining strength at the national level. In the 2000 presidential election, there was a 3.15% "undervote" (i.e. (total voter turnout - total votes for President and Vice President) / total voter turnout); in the 2004 presidential election, there was a 2.57% undervote. This means that in raw numbers, more than 92,000 North Carolina voters in the 2000 election turned out to vote but did not vote for president; similarly, in 2004, more than 75,000 North Carolina voters turned out to vote but not vote for president.
The straight ticket system was eliminated in voting reforms passed in the 2013 session.
In Texas, a vote for a straight-party ticket casts votes for all party candidates in all races where the party is fielding a candidate and the voter is eligible to cast a vote, from the President/Vice President (or Governor) to the county constable or justice of the peace.
A voter, however, may vote a straight-party ticket and subsequently cast an individual vote in a particular race. This may happen in cases where
Straight-party voting is only available in the general election for partisan elections. It is not available for:
In those cases where a partisan election is combined with a non-partisan election and/or ballot issues, the voter can vote straight-party in the partisan portion, but then must vote individually in the other portion(s).
In West Virginia, voting "straight party" includes a vote for all candidates of the party voters have selected, including the President and Vice President of the United States. Non-partisan candidates must be voted separately.