The Washington Post reports that North Carolina Republicans ended a practice that Democrats used for decades to try to influence elections and preserve one-party rule with state and local races.  Ending straight party ticket voting has been a national reform that now has only three states continuing the practice. Where was the outrage at the Democrats blatant attempt to influence electoral outcomes?  None from any of the so-called voter advocacy groups.  Media silence. The only outrage is when Republicans try to reform the electoral system and level the playing field. 

North Carolina was one of just four states remaining that allowed a voter to check a single box to count a vote for every candidate of one party. Check the Democratic box and you cast a ballot for every Democrat from U.S. Senate to city council member or sanitation commissioner. The new law ends that option, which some Republicans think will remove a big hurdle they had in winning down-ballot races. Democrats have pointed out that African American voters disproportionately use straight-ticket voting. (It’s not like Democrats have always been purely altruistic on the straight-ticket option; after 1972, when Richard Nixon thumped George McGovern by 40 points in North Carolina, Democrats exempted the presidential race from the straight-ticket box. And not all Democrats oppose ending straight-ticket voting: New Hampshire Democrats abolished straight-ticket voting after they took over in 2007.)