Straight-ticket Voting

I am a new voter. So it is very appealing to me to walk into the booth and vote on the grounds of party. Even if I don’t know the candidates or the issues, at least I will be flying my flag. After searching for a while on a topic I felt passionate enough to write on, I found an editorial in The Dallas Morning News. The points raised in the article are so logical that I am ashamed to have ever considered straight-ticket voting. By voting just on party I may have voted for a candidate in some obscure office that may negatively affected me in some way. I could essentially be shooting myself in the foot. Issues are more important than parties. Many candidates only subscribe to a party to get the parties nomination. On one issue a candidate may be on the right and on another the left. Upon examining my own standing on issues it became evident that I, and I assume many others, are like that as well. Sometimes it is just better to go with the lesser of two evils, “Democratic voters might reflexively reject state Sen. Chris Harris, an irascible Republican who sometimes struggles to work with others in his own party. But a closer look at Melvin Willms, the unprepared Democratic challenger who could not name his state representative, should convince even left-leaning voters that they would be better represented by Mr. Harris.” For some offices it seems like party shouldn’t even matter at all. Judges for example should not have to run with parties. A judge’s personal beliefs on issues should not be able to affect whether the best judge wins. What is wrong and what is right by the law of the land is what a judge is supposed to know, and we should choose the Judge that is most fair and honest. “Voters who fall back on the straight-party option also will bypass legal heavyweights seeking judicial posts – jobs that have little to do with partisan politics.” The best thing a voter can do is to know who they are voting for before they enter the booth, no more or less. Don’t vote for someone just because you recognize the name or the party. If you don’t have an opinion on who should run an office, don’t make one up without knowing the issues.