The effort to kill straight-ticket voting in Alabama has the support of former U.S. Senator Doug Jones.
Jones released a statement on Tuesday announcing his support for Democratic-sponsored legislation in the Alabama House that would end the state’s practice of allowing voters to check a single box at the top of a ballot to cast a vote for every candidate from a particular political party.
“Alabama has far too few contested races,” Jones said in the statement. “Democracy is as much the competition of ideas during a campaign as it is the ultimate rule of the majority. Our state could greatly benefit from these discussions and debates during campaigns. On the other hand, having a single box at the top of the ballot greatly harms down-ballot competition and further deepens our partisan divide.”
Jones’ statement came on the heels of Alabama Democratic Conference chairman Joe Reed issuing a rebuke to party members who supported the idea of ending straight-ticket voting. Reed went so far as to say anyone who pushed the idea should be “excommunicated” from the party and claiming that eliminating straight-ticket voting would end the Democratic Party in Alabama.
Jones, though, said the elimination of the option would not prevent any voter from selecting the entire slate of candidates from a particular party. It would just mean that a voter would have to do so by physically voting for each candidate—the way it is done in 45 other states.
Studies have consistently shown that when presented with the task of physically filling out a ballot from top to bottom, even voters who are registered members of a specific party often choose candidates from other parties in down-ballot races or decide not to vote in a race. Most political experts have long held that a single-box, straight-ticket option protects down-ballot incumbents who are often susceptible to local issues and disputes.
“Alabama is one of only five states that allows such an antiquated voting system with the check of a single box,” Jones said. “We are still relying on language from the Alabama Code of 1896 to govern this part of modern day elections. The latest states to abolish the procedure were Texas, Pennsylvania, and Utah. Given the political diversity of those states, and for that matter the remaining 42 states, it is hard to see the validity of the argument that abolishing single box straight ticket voting would damage any one political party.”
Jones also took issue with Reed’s call to excommunicate those who support the idea of ending straight-ticket voting.
“The Democratic Party has been a ‘Big Tent’ party for decades,” Jones said. “There is power in a coalition that has shared basic values and different ideas on achieving those. A coalition by its very nature also suggests that there are differing views within the broader group. Suggesting that anyone be ‘excommunicated’ for expressing their beliefs on a topic such as this is not in keeping with the basic values of democracy or the Democratic Party.”
This is not the first issue that the two powerful political rivals have disagreed on in recent years, but it is perhaps the most cordial disagreement between them in recent times. Continuing a trend in which the two factions of ADP have sought to remain at least agreeable with each other, neither Jones nor Reed used hyperbolic language targeted at the other and avoided the insults that have appeared in previous disagreements.
It’s also notable that longtime and highly respected Representative Mary Moore is the sponsor of the legislation, which has 10 Democratic co-sponsors.
