Today a federal judge struck down a 2015 bill passed by the Michigan legislature and signed by Governor Snyder to ban straight-ticket voting. Common Cause joined the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Democratic Party of Michigan, and Michigan voters challenging the case in court.
In his 103 page opinion, U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain found the legislature “intentionally discriminated against African Americans” by trying to eliminate straight-ticket voting.
From the opinion:
There is no evidence of racial animus. It is unmistakable, however, that Michigan’s Republican-dominated legislature enacted PA 268 to win elections—especially down-the-ticket contests—through suppressing African-Americans’ reliably Democratic votes. Accordingly, the Court concludes that the Plaintiffs have prevailed on their intentional discrimination claim under the Equal Protection Clause.