There's irony here.
In July, Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law legislation to block the straight party ticket vote. But in an appeal, U.S. District Judge Gershwin A. Drain in Detroit issued a preliminary injunction rejecting the state’s straight-ticket ban, concluding that it would create longer lines and disproportionately affect black voters' right to vote.
Republicans disingenuously argued that voters should have to pay attention to each candidate. Conversely, Democrats, who normally vote straight party ticket more often than Republicans, argued against it.
Now, Chad Livengood of The Detroit News writes this:
Michigan Republicans are convinced they ended up benefiting immensely in Tuesday’s election from the straight-ticket voting policy that they have been determined to eliminate.
They credit presidential candidate Donald Trump’s strength in Macomb County and the preservation of straight-ticket voting for helping them capture three countywide posts held by Democrats. The straight-ticket effect is a twist of irony after a prominent Macomb County Democrat waged a legal battle to keep the voting option on the ballot.
A Republican-backed state law banning straight-ticket voting was suspended by a federal judge for this election because it likely would cause voter confusion, but the fight to protect it was seen as a maneuver to help Trump’s rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
"The Republicans (repealed) straight ticket voting, the Democrats fought it and got it held, and then we ended being the benefactors of straight-ticket voting,” said state Rep. Lisa Posthumus Lyons, R-Alto, chair of the House Elections Committee.
