Texas GOP Hopes to Benefit From Straight-Ticket Voting
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Texas Republicans are hoping the party's candidates will ride out momentum from a re-energized Democratic Party with the help of straight-ticket voters.
Texas is among eight states that offer "straight-ticket" voting, a shortcut that allows residents to automatically register votes for a single party's candidates in every race. The ballot option will be phased out after November, the Houston Chronicle reported.
Nearly two-thirds of voters in Texas' most populous counties automatically voted the full Democrat or Republican ticket in the last two major elections, according to Center for Public Policy and Political Studies research at Austin Community College.
Political analysts predict the practice will create a safety net this year for Republican candidates. Straight-ticket voting has proven to help Texas Republicans sweep elections over the past two decades.
Republican Sen. Ted Cruz is counting on straight-ticket voters in the highly anticipated race against Democratic Rep. Beto O'Rourke, said Peck Young, director of Center for Public Policy and Political Studies
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/texas/articles/2018-10-01/texas-gop-hopes-to-benefit-from-straight-ticket-voting.
