http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/fusion.html
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Fusion Voting - Our (not so) Secret Weapon
NEW! Click here to download a PowerPoint presentation describing fusion and the WFP strategy.
Our democracy is in trouble. Voter participation rates are reaching all time lows. The vast majority of us support more affordable health care, a higher minimum wage, better schools and the like, but real change is hard to come by. And most New Yorkers - like most Americans - are fed up with the narrow choices offered by the Democrats and Republicans.
Polls show that 60% of voters would like to have a new political party of just the sort we're building - a party for working people and their children. But many also think that building a new party is too hard - that their only real choice is for "the lesser of two evils."
If you ask people to vote for candidates with no change of winning - and by definition third party candidates have almost no chance of winning - they will wonder if if you think they are stupid. "You mean you want me to waste my vote on someone who, if they're lucky will get 2 or 3 percent just to make a point?" (That's the "Wasted Vote" problem). Or, "won't voting for that third party candidate, who is the best of the bunch, end up helping the candidate who is the worst of the bunch?" (That's the "Spoiler" problem).
Those concerns are right on target. Except in New York.
New York is one of the only states in the nation in which minor parties play a major role. That's because it is one of two states in which "fusion" voting is both legal and common.
Fusion Explained
Fusion - also called "cross-endorsement" - allows two or more parties to nominate the same candidate on separate ballot lines. Candidates' votes on each ballot line are added together to determine the overall winner. Fusion is our secret weapon - a key part of our strategy.
When we have a chance to run our own person and win, we'll do so. In races where we're not strong enough to run our own person, we'll look to support a good candidate of another party. We tend toward the Democrats, but have sometimes "fused" with the Republicans - it keeps both parties on their toes. (Nationally, the Republicans may be frightening, but New York State still has a few decent ones). That candidate will run on more than one ballot line and voters can choose to vote on the line that best represents their views. Think of it as a "protest vote that counts." If the WFP gets a good percentage of votes on its line, that's a strong message about the importance of our issues.
Take a look at this sample ballot: