Federal judge blocks Texas Republicans' ban on straight-ticket voting in November election

In a late Friday ruling, a U.S. district judge blocked Texas from eliminating the practice of straight-ticket voting in November's general election.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo ruled that removing the option amid the pandemic would put voters at risk “by creating mass lines at the polls and increasing the amount of time voters are exposed to COVID-19,” the Texas Tribune reports.

Further, Marmolejo ruled that the straight-ticket ban, adopted by the Republican-controlled Texas Legislature, would put an unfair burden on Black and Latinx voters.

The suit to overturn the prohibition was filed by the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans.

The day after the ruling, Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton issued a statement saying he'd filed motion to stop the order and that an immediate appeal of the ruling would follow.

About two-thirds of people who voted in Texas in the 2018 general election did so using the straight-ticket option, according to the Texas Tribune.

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