Straight ticket voting in Texas is no longer available. The option was repealed by House Bill 25 in 2017 and ended for all elections on and after September 1, 2020.1Texas Secretary of State. Election Advisory No. 2020-29: Elimination of Straight-Party Voting If you vote in Texas today, you select a candidate in every race you want to weigh in on, one at a time.
How Voting Works Now
There is no party square at the top of a Texas ballot anymore. Every partisan race, from U.S. Senate and governor down to county commissioner and district judge, requires its own mark. Whether you plan to vote for all Republicans, all Democrats, or a mix, the process is the same: work through the full ballot and choose in each contest.
The practical effect is that voting takes longer. Ballots in large Texas counties can run to dozens of races, especially in years with judicial elections. Looking up your sample ballot through your county elections office before you go to the polls is the simplest way to move through it quickly.
Why the Change Matters for Your Ballot
One well-documented consequence of ending straight-ticket voting is that more voters skip races at the bottom of the ballot. Political scientists call this “roll-off,” and it tends to hit judicial races and local offices hardest, where voters have little name recognition to work with. Without a party selection populating those choices automatically, some voters stop marking contests before they reach the end.
Research on the size of the effect is mixed. Some studies have found aggregate differences of 6 to 12 percentage points in roll-off rates for nonpartisan contests when comparing elections with and without a straight-ticket option. Before-and-after comparisons within the same state have found smaller gaps of roughly 2 points. The effect tends to be larger in races with low campaign spending and in contests buried deep in a long ballot. Researchers have also found that most voters who skip these races do so intentionally rather than by accident, because they don’t have enough information and move on.
If you care about judicial and county-level offices, prepare before election day. Reviewing candidate information in advance is the most reliable way to avoid leaving races blank that you actually have an opinion on.
How Texas Got Here
During its 85th Regular Session in 2017, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 25, repealing Section 52.071 and related provisions of the Election Code. Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill on June 1, 2017, with a delayed effective date of September 1, 2020.1Texas Secretary of State. Election Advisory No. 2020-29: Elimination of Straight-Party Voting Supporters argued the change would push voters to learn about individual candidates. Opponents warned it would lengthen wait times, reduce participation in down-ballot races, and disproportionately burden minority voters.
The repeal was challenged in federal court. In 2020, the Texas Alliance for Retired Americans, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and other plaintiffs sued the Texas Secretary of State, arguing that eliminating straight-ticket voting placed an unconstitutional burden on the right to vote. On September 25, 2020, a federal district judge in the Southern District of Texas agreed and issued a preliminary injunction that would have restored the option for the November election. Five days later, on September 30, 2020, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and vacated the injunction, and the repeal stayed in effect.2Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Texas Alliance for Retired Americans v. Scott, No. 20-40643
Could Straight Ticket Voting Come Back
Not likely in the near term. The legislature that passed HB 25 was controlled by the same party that continues to hold supermajorities, and no serious legislative effort to restore straight-ticket voting has gained traction. For Texas voters, race-by-race selection is the current reality, and knowing your ballot before you walk in is the best preparation.