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Top Stories: The Future Of Straight-Ticket Voting In Texas; Cliburn's Russian Adventure

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The top local stories this afternoon from KERA News:

More Texas lawmakers are calling for the state to end straight-ticket voting. That’s when a person can vote for one political party down the ballot. Most states do not allow straight-ticket voting.

State Rep. Ron Simmons, a Carrollton Republican, has filed legislation to end this type of voting in Texas. State House Speaker Joe Straus says ending straight-ticket voting would encourage voters to learn more about candidates, instead of voting by party.

Ross Ramsey is executive editor of the Texas Tribune. He talked with David Brown, host of public radio’s Texas Standard.

Other stories this afternoon:

  • The Declaration of Independence says that “all men are created equal.” Since those words were written, white Americans have enjoyed clear advantages. Today on “Think,” Krys Boyd talked with Eddie S. Glaude Jr., chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University, about what he calls America’s “value gap.”

  • In May, 30 of the world’s best younger pianists will travel to Fort Worth for the next Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. It’s considered one of the world’s top classical music contests. Last month, audition judges heard contest hopefuls in the Russian capital of Moscow. Cliburn won a big competition there 59 years ago. KERA’s Bill Zeeble traveled to Moscow and talked with some of the pianists hoping for their big break that could change their careers forever.

You can listen to North Texas stories weekdays at 8:22 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KERA 90.1 FM.

Eric Aasen is KERA’s managing editor. He helps lead the station's news department, including radio and digital reporters, producers and newscasters. He also oversees keranews.org, the station’s news website, and manages the station's digital news projects. He reports and writes stories for the website and contributes pieces to KERA radio. He's discussed breaking news live on various public radio programs, including The Takeaway, Here & Now and Texas Standard, as well as radio and TV programs in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
Rachel Osier Lindley is Statewide Senior Editor for The Texas Newsroom.