Dems dominate straight-ticket voting in Clark County

An interesting article and analysis from Larry Thomas in the Jeff/NA News-Tribune on local straight-ticket voting.

An analysis of Tuesday’s voting patterns in Jeffersonville indicates that Republicans have at least three major barriers to overcome before breaking Democrats’ stronghold on politics, particularly in city-wide races.

Data from Tuesday’s election totals indicate that Democrats in city-wide races have as much as an 850-vote advantage due to straight-ticket voting and that Republican candidates suffer from their party’s failure to offer candidates in some races....

During Tuesday’s election, 1,473 people voted straight Democratic tickets in Jeffersonville, while 624 voted straight Republican tickets.

From there, Thomas continues by breaking down the numbers in greater detail. (If you're interested in our local politics, I'd encourage you to check out the entire article.) Thomas also quotes the Democratic chairman, Rod Pate, who makes an interesting argument:

Pate said he is not convinced that all of the straight-ticket voters from either party were actually regular members of their traditional bases. “Very few people vote for anyone anymore,” he said. “They vote against someone.”

Straight-ticket against one party or straight-ticket in favor of another party? Interesting...

You'd hope that people would be more informed about the candidates. But it's not worth it for most people to get more educated-- in order to cast a single vote.

In any case, I hope Pate is correct. That would make it relatively easier for Libertarian candidates to attract voters.