Are you a straight ticket voter? If so why?

You may not be able to vote the straight ticket with a single click, but you can still go through every race looking not at the candidates' names but at the R's and D's, voting in each case for your favorite letter. Not quite as easy, but still intellectually lazy.

 

I don't think I ever have.

I voted for two Republicans (one in a local race who I know and like, another in a judge race) one libertarian (protest vote against a democrat) and the rest Democrats.

Anbother question for SportsJournalists.com voters: what do you do on way down ticket races that you know little or nothing about? As involved as I am, every year there is at least one race I don't have a clue on.

Sometimes, I vote for a random D. Some times I leave it blank. Wondering what others do...

 

Downballot races are when I tend to lean heavy on newspaper endorsements. Even if I disagree with the editorial, I can usually glean enough pertinent facts to make an intelligent choice.

And whenever I find an unopposed Dem, it's friends-and-family write-in time.

 

Never voted a straight ticket. Believe it or not, there are a couple of Republicans out there I like. Not many, but a couple.

 

I actually voted for two Dems this year. (In local races, both people I like.)

 

You see, Lyman, we're all just fellow travelers on this crazy, mixed-up rock.

Feel the love...

 

I usually vote for a Dem or two, almost always on the local level. Where I live, there isn't a heck of a lot of difference between the Dems and the GOP. (Unfortunately.)

But with all due respect, zeke, let's not break out the acoustic guitars for a round of "Kumbaya." Never could stand that song ...

 

For the first time in my life, I voted for more Republicans than Democrats. But then again, being a liberal in Rhode Island often requires you to vote for Republicans, especially when the good 'ol boy Democrats offer an empty suit for Senate and a mobster for secretary of state.
We didn't get a tax cut for the rich because we have a Republican governor. We got it because of the Democratic leadership in the state legislature. These same goofballs will be eager to do the bidding of the governor's wife (a real life version of Mrs. Phil Leotardo) when she nags her husband to impose stiffer measures against abortion and gay marriage (although the House majority leader is gay - wonder if he keeps that post when a Defense of Marriage Act or constituional amendment hits the floor?).

 

I've voted for as many Republicans (Pete Wilson on Term 1) for governor of our fair state as Democrats (Gray Davis on Term 1). Most of the time, I've voted third, fourth or fifth-party for governor. Haven't voted for the same governor the second time round.

I can't remember the last time I voted a straight ticket. Probably 1992, when I was in New Mexico, Bill Richardson was my congressman and the Republicans on my ballot were all rabid social conservatives who I simply didn't agree with. That's probably the only time I've ever voted straight ticket.

Even though I agreed with him on most issues, I didn't vote for my Democratic congressman on the first election I voted in (1984), because when he came and spoke to my high school, he talked to us like we were infants and none of us could get past his arrogance. My Democratic dad couldn't believe it until I told him why I did it. Then, he understood.

 

I've never voted straight ticket, either. There's always been one or two Dems (in the past) or one or two GOP'ers (as there were this year) that earned my vote.

The day that one party has all the strongest candidates is the day I don't want to vote.

 

Why would I want to vote for an uptight, blue-collar-worker hating, Creationist corporate stooge when I could vote for a spend-til-it hurts, tax-raising, drug taking, soldier-hating socialist?

Really. The straight ticket saves so much time.