Lawsuit challenges ban on straight-party voting

DETROIT (AP) — The former chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party has filed a lawsuit to try to overturn a law that bans straight-party voting.

Mark Brewer, a lawyer, is representing three people and a union-affiliated group. The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Detroit federal court, claims the new Michigan law violates the U.S. Constitution and laws protecting minorities and the disabled.

In January, Gov. Rick Snyder signed a law that prohibits voters from using a single mark to vote for all candidates from one party. The bill was passed by Republicans who control the House and Senate.

Snyder said 40 other states have similar bans. Straight-party voting is popular in the Michigan’s largest counties, Wayne and Oakland. Democrats in the Legislature opposed the law.