By Robert Laurie ——Bio and Archives--July 21, 2016
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A judge on Thursday blocked Michigan's new ban on straight-party voting, saying it's a direct strike on the rights of blacks in big cities who tend to vote for Democrats with a single mark on the ballot. U.S. District Judge Gershwin Drain signed an injunction, a week after hearing arguments. He says the law would place a "disproportionate burden" on blacks in the fall election, the first election that would be affected. "African-Americans are much more likely to vote Democrat than other ethnic groups, and many feel this is largely due to racially charged political stances taken by Republicans on the local, state and national level since the post-World War II era," the judge said.
The state attorney general's office, which is defending the law in court, said there's nothing illegal because no one would be denied access to voting. Michigan joined 40 other states with bans. "The behaviors of other states are irrelevant to the question of constitutionality," Drain said.
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