The option to vote a straight party ticket is disappearing in New Mexico and won't be available when people head to the polls in November.
Voters historically could support a party's entire slate of candidates by making just one mark on the ballot or pressing a single button or level on a machine. But Secretary of State Dianna Duran has decided not to allow that in this year's general election because there's no provision in state law specifically authorizing it.
Straight party votes accounted for 41 percent of ballots cast statewide in the 2010 general election. About 23 percent were Democratic straight-ticket ballots and 18 percent were Republican.
State Democratic Party executive director Scott Forrester says the party is considering a lawsuit to try to preserve the straight-ticket option.