An editorial from The Times West Virginian
FAIRMONT, W.Va. — There are a great deal of bills that are being moved through committees in Charleston and that are being approved on the floors of the state Senate or the House of Delegates that deserve a lot of discussion.
There are issues that directly affect workers and union members and average people who may have been wronged by multi-million dollar companies that deserve attention.
There are bills that while advertised as “pro-business” have a sinking feeling of “anti-worker,” and we certainly hope that it’s just a feeling. But we all should talk about it.
No matter what side of the issue you’re on, you should contact local representatives and have your voice heard.
But there’s one bill, passed just Tuesday in the Senate, that deserves no consideration at all. It’s a ridiculous bill, in fact, and we question why it’s even an issue.
And then we recall the very major shift in power in Charleston for the first time in nearly a century, and then we remember why “straight-ticket” voting ever ended up on the agenda.
On Tuesday, the Republican-led Senate voted 25-8 to end straight-ticket voting, meaning that if passed in the House and signed into law, voters would no longer be able to go into the booth and mark one box to vote for all candidates in a particular party.