AUSTIN — Texas House Speaker Joe Straus wants to end straight-ticket voting in all elections, he said Wednesday after Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht's State of the Judiciary address.

"I agree with Chief Justice Hecht that we should end straight-ticket voting in judicial elections, but we shouldn't stop there," Straus said in a prepared statement calling for Texas to join the other 40 states that do not allow the practice.

Straight-ticket voting was one of many topics Hecht discussed Wednesday during his wide-ranging address.

"Such partisan sweeps are demoralizing to judges and disruptive to the legal system," Hecht said.

Straus said that ending straight-ticket voting would encourage voters to learn about individual candidates' qualifications and that he looks forward to working with the Legislature on the issue.

"Too often, good men and women are swept out of down-ballot offices due to the political winds at the moment," he said.

Rep. Ron Simmons, R-Carrollton, filed House Bill 433 to end straight-party voting in November of last year. Straus and Simmons affirmed their support for the bill Wednesday afternoon on Twitter following Hecht's speech.