HOUSTON — When you head to the polls this election cycle, you'll find that some things have changed over the years -- including straight-ticket voting.
Straight-ticket voting was actually voted out in 2017 but didn't take effect until 2020.
It's also called down-ballot voting and enabled voters to select one political party's slate of candidates by making a single mark on the ballot.
In 2017, one of the authors of the bill that ended straight-ticket voting said he filed the measure to foster more educated voters because they would have to go down the ballot and make a decision on every race.
Straight-ticket voting has hurt parties in the past. In 2018, former Harris County Judge Ed Emmett blamed down-ballot voting for his loss to Judge Lina Hidalgo.
Political experts say straight-ticket voting tends to favor Democrats, whose voters usually live in large metro areas with longer ballots and more races.
The difference you'll notice this year is it might take you longer to complete your ballot because you'll have to select each race individually.
One thing you can do to make the process easier is to print out a sample ballot at home and fill out your selections there. That way, once you make it to the polling location with the sample ballot in hand, you can just copy the choices you've already made.