The October 1 New York Times has this editorial, suggesting that the New York legislature abolish fusion. The editorial does not mention that in 1912, the state’s highest court, the State Court of Appeals, ruled that the state constitution prevents the state from abolishing fusion. The State Constitution has been replaced since 1912 with a newer Constitution, and it is not known if the same provisions in the 1912 Constitution relevant to this are still in today’s Constitution.
Ballot Access News
Edited By Richard Winger
Abolishing “fusion” is just a back door effort by the major parties to eventually abolish all 3rd parties.
Democrats in New York State apparently have forgotten that had it not been for the Liberal Party in 1960, John F. Kennedy might not have gotten enough votes to carry the state and win the Presidency.
All states should have “fusion” options. This way a 3rd party can have a stake in the outcome, which can lead to a “seat at the table” in developing policy with the winning candidate or party.
next con con vote is 2017
Regarding what Alabama Independent said, fusion is a good idea in theory, but it has the potential to, and most certainly is in New York, be flagrantly abused so as to trick voters into supporting/adding to the vote total of a party that they might not have otherwise supported.
I don’t think fusion should be abolished, but I think there needs to be some regulations in place so the Democrats and Republicans can’t use their mass quantities of money to poof a “third party” like the Women’s Equality Party out of nowhere and capture 50,000+ more votes that way. There needs to be some signs BEFORE the election that the political parties involved in fusion are actually political parties, with all of the organization and effort that such typically entails (which is what separates the likes of WEP from third parties such as the New York Green Party).
It might be a good idea to limit the number of minor parties that can fuse with a major party. I think in New York (Richard, correct me if I am wrong.) a major party can fuse with 3 or 4 minor parties. This can be confusing.