By John Sharp
When Alabama voters grab the ballot on Nov. 5, they will have a choice to make among several candidates for President led by Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris.
But if the voter so chooses, they don’t have to color in the oval next to a candidate’s name. Before they even get to the presidential decision, voters in Alabama will encounter “Straight Ticket Voting” with two choices and their respective logos next to them — “Alabama Democratic Party” or “Alabama Republican Party.”
As recent percentages show, an overwhelmingly majority of voters in Alabama will fill in the oval for one of those two choices and be done with the ballot. No further work is needed unless the voter wants to weigh in on down ballot referendums.
The process, in ruby red Alabama, has long benefitted Republicans. But the script could flip next month in the competitive 2nd district congressional race between Democrat Shomari Figures and Republican Caroleene Dobson.
Of the 13 counties that make up all or portions of the newly drawn 2nd district, 53.7% or 149,497 of the 278,460 straight-ticket ballots were Democratic during the last presidential contest in 2020. Republicans within those counties returned 46.3% or 128,963 of the straight-ticket ballots.
Straight-ticket voting – often called straight party voting — played a dominant role in the 2020 contest. Of the 397,837 ballots cast within those 13 counties, 278,460 were straight-ticket or a whopping 70%. Statewide four years ago, 1.5 million of the 2.3 million ballots cast, or 66%, were straight ticket.
The Dobson campaign is defending the impact of straight ticket voting that has a presence on ballots in only six states including Alabama. The Figures campaign is shrugging off its impact.
“My focus is making sure people get to the polls and vote,” said Figures. “Alabama has seen low turnout in the past. Whether straight ticket or not, our campaign along with several organizations are working to make sure voters are making a plan to vote.”
Drew Dickson, a campaign spokesperson for Dobson, said the process will help voters avoid long lines on Election Day.
“Including a straight ticket voting option on the ballot is convenient and easy for voters who are firm in their partisan beliefs, and more importantly, it speeds up the voting process so people can move through polling states quicker and avoid long waits and lines,” Dickson said.
Soaring popularity
Straight ticket voting’s popularity is soaring in Alabama, despite criticism that it leads to a lack of voter awareness about the candidates and that political party affiliation is the only quality that matters.
“Some scholars argue that advantages are making it easier for less-informed voters to pick candidates for lower, less talked about offices,” said Regina Wagner, political science professor at the University of Alabama. “Most voters are committed partisans, (and) the argument would be that they want to vote straight ticket anyway and this just makes it easier for them to do that.”
During the 2022 midterm election, two-thirds of voters used the straight ticket option, or 66.6% of the 947,387 of the 1.4 million cast in Alabama. Of those, 68.5% were Republican voters. The party swept every statewide constitutional office two years ago.
The recent trend represents a startling increase from past elections. Though the Secretary of State’s Office doesn’t have straight ticket data readily available of past elections, news articles show that 52.3% of ballots during the 2012 presidential election were straight ticket. Four years later, during the 2016 presidential contest, the percentage rose to 54.8%.
The percentages shot up to 65% in the 2018 midterm election and have remained in that range since then.
Megan Remmel, a political science professor at Bradley University in Peoria, Ill., and an expert in political psychology and ballot design, said in an era of hyper partisanship – where negative views about the opposition party is rising – the increase in straight ticket voting in states where it is offered, “makes sense.”
“If you’re high in negative partisanship, why would you invest the time and energy into investigating candidates of the other party?” Remmel said. “You don’t like the other party. It doesn’t really matter who the individual running is. You’re not going to split your ticket so why not just use the easy option available to you when you know you’ll vote for whoever the opponent of the party you dislike is?”
Some battleground states are likely to see split ticket voting this year. In Arizona, where polls show Trump with a slight lead over Harris, Republican Kari Lake is consistently trailing Democratic U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego in the polling for a U.S. Senate seat. Arizona does not have straight ticket voting.
In Nevada, which also does not have straight ticket voting, Republican Sam Brown is trailing incumbent U.S. Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen. Polls show Trump and Harris tied in that state.
Remmel said it’s difficult to determine why split ticket voting is occurring, and whether it’s used more during a presidential contest. But she noted that in the few states with straight ticket voting, the possibilities of voters backing candidates of different parties is lessened.
“Certainly, the use of straight ticket voting prohibits the ability of an individual to split their ticket,” she said. “As a voter, straight ticket voting has a strong appeal. The number one determinant of how a person votes is that person’s party identification. In fact, it’s reasonable to call party identification a social identity akin to gender identity, racial/ethnic identification, etc. So, the straight-ticket option allows voters to employ that number one determinant in the simplest and most convenient way possible.”
Reform measures
In Nevada, where Democrats control the House and the Senate, straight ticket voting was under consideration in 2021. But Republicans opposed the proposal out of concerns that it enabled partisanship, and a straight ticket voting option was stripped out of legislation during the final day of that year’s session, according to media reports.
In Alabama, legislation backed by Democratic lawmakers, would have ended straight ticket voting in 2021. But the bill, sponsored by Rep. Jeremy Gray, D-Opelika, was never considered before a legislative committee and died that year. No other similar bill has surfaced since then.
Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, who has long backed election reform measures, said there are bigger issues to address such as focusing on ways to increase voter participation by implementing early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, and same-day voter registration. Alabama is one of three states that does not allow for any in-person early voting.
“We need to put practices in place to encourage citizens to exercise their right to vote rather than discouraging them by creating laws that amount to voter suppression,” Clarke said.
She added, “I believe many of my constituents appreciate having the option of straight ticket voting. It has its advantages and disadvantages.”
Zac McCrary, a Democratic pollster based in Montgomery, said he can see the advantages of straight ticket voting encouraging higher turnouts.
“I am a believer in the two-party system and do think straight ticket voting has some benefits in ensuring more people’s voices are heard on lower profile, down ballot races by voting a straight ticket option who might otherwise not make it all the way down the ballot,” he said. “So, in some way, straight ticket voting allows for greater participation.”
The Alabama Secretary of State’s Office is not likely to pitch any changes to the status quo of straight ticket voting anytime soon. Wes Allen, the current Republican officeholder, said any action to overturn straight party voting would come from the Legislature and not his office.
“I don’t recall one voter mentioning to me a desire to abolish straight ticket voting in Alabama,” Allen said.
McCrary said the current system favors the GOP because of the political realities of Alabama, and he doubts there will be much motivation to change the status quo – even if it might work against them in races like the 2nd congressional district contest.
“While perhaps the straight ticket option works against Republicans in races like the 2nd Congressional District, the Republican legislators who would have to pass a new law, and the Republican governor who would have to sign it, benefit from the current straight ticket system,” McCrary said. “Given that, I strongly doubt there will be much appetite for Republicans to reform the current system.”
Jon Gray, a longtime Republican party strategist based in Mobile, agrees.
“Alabama is not known for leading the way on any type of policy change,” he said. “I think you could consider straight ticket voting changes as soon as Alabama is the next state to adopt a lottery.”
