The process of voting for all party candidates with the simple pull of a lever might soon be abolished in Pennsylvania.

In an attempt by state legislators to eliminate the one-party voting lever, legislation proposed in the state House of Representatives might alter the current election code to eliminate straight party voting in Pennsylvania elections.

Rep. Jeff Habay (R-Allegheny) began drafting legislation supporting this proposal in early September.

"This is an arcane system that has been around since the beginning of voting booths," Habay said in a statement released early this fall.

"We are now in the 21st century, and we should have voting booths that reflect that."

The bill encourages voters to select each candidate individually by eliminating the lever option from voting booths.

This makes voters more aware of their choices, Habay said in the statement.

State law currently mandates straight party voting requirements for election ballots.

It also requires labels on voting machines, electronic voting systems and on their correlating forms.

The legislation would remove all of these features from the election code, the statement said.

However, a straight-line ticket is often more attractive to voters, said Michael Berkman, associate professor of political science at Penn State.

This is namely because it is quicker.

"Straight line tickets are easier for people with less information, because then you don't have to vote for each candidate," he said.

The legislation is currently on its way to the house, said Karen Hockley, secretary to Habay.

Hockley said the legislation has not been introduced on the floor.

Habay's office is not sure when it will be presented.

The bill does have a number, however.

This means it should be brought to the floor in the near future, she added.

Currently in Centre County, voters have the option of punching the straight party option on their ballot, said Centre County Office of Elections Director Joyce McKinley.

Though this is not literally a "lever," it would be abolished in accordance with Habay's legislation.

"No matter what (voting) system you have in Pennsylvania, you always have a straight party voting option," McKinley said.

The legislation will not be passed in time to have an affect on the November elections.

However, it will probably have an affect on the party's successes in future elections, said James Eisenstein, Penn State political science professor.

"Usually the stands of the parties depend on whether or not they think the proposed rule change will help them," Eisenstein said.

He added, for example, there might be more straight-party voters in Pennsylvania Democrats than Republicans.

This would be a reason for the Republican-backed legislation.

"Whenever you have a change in the rules, they affect the outcome," Eisenstein said.