Who benefits from end to straight-ticket voting?

CONCORD, N.H.—Both Republicans and Democrats claim New Hampshire's decision to end straight-ticket voting will benefit their party in November.

Those who pushed to end the practice said it had been confusing, with some voters selecting a box on the ballot that indicates they are voting for all candidates of one party, then voting for individual candidates from the other party. Democrats led the fight to end straight-ticket voting, though some credited it with helping them take control of the Statehouse in the 2006 elections.

David Scannell, executive director of the state Democratic Party, said he believes the change will help Democrats in certain pockets of the state.

"Most people would think that straight-ticket voting would benefit the party in the majority," he said. "But there are a number of races out there, particularly in the southern part of the state, where people are still going to be used to looking for the opportunity to vote straight Republican. Not having straight-ticket there, having candidates run on their own merits, is going to help us enormously."

But Fergus Cullen, chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, argues the change will help Republicans regain ground lost two years ago. He believes straight-ticket voting led directly to Republican Jeb Bradley's loss in the 1st Congressional District to Democrat Carol Shea-Porter as well as the Democratic takeover of the state House of Representatives and the Executive Council.

"Candidates will not be swept in or swept out of office the same we saw happen in 2006. I expect this means that New Hampshire will be ready for an equilibrium election, where things come back into balance," he said. "That probably means Republicans end up with a net gain of seats held, especially at the legislative level."

The 2006 election saw the Republican ranks in the Statehouse thinned by about 90 seats lost to Democrats. The state Senate went from a 16-8 Republican majority to a 14-10 Democratic majority. Those changes didn't just reflect the national backlash against Republicans and the war in Iraq, but also a state ticket topped by a popular incumbent, Democratic Gov. John Lynch.

Michael Dupre, a senior fellow at Saint Anselm College's New Hampshire Institute of Politics, said aside from 2006, straight-ticket voting had diminishing influence in recent elections. In past decades, political parties were the primary source of information for many voters, he said, but with the expansion of radio, television and the Internet, voters were able to learn about candidates through other avenues, lessening the level of influence parties have at the polls.

According to the secretary of state's office, about a third of New Hampshire voters cast straight ticket ballots in 2006.

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Information from: The Keene Sentinel, http://www.keenesentinel.com