Most Americans are frustrated with the existing political parties and the country\u2019s two-party system. Re-legalizing fusion voting\u2014the electoral practice of allowing minor parties to cross-nominate major party candidates on their ballot line\u2014promises to mitigate some of the problems plaguing American politics. Fusion voting was widely used in the United States before the twentieth century when minor parties played an active role in politics as part of coalitions. The hope is that expanding fusion voting beyond New York and Connecticut\u2014the two states where it is currently actively used\u2014will give minor parties a meaningful way to participate in politics and voters more viable party options on the ballot.<\/p>
This report provides an overview of the theory and evidence of how fusion voting affects various outcomes of interest, including voter turnout, electoral competition, minor party development, and the ability of minor parties to influence policy and polarization. Broadly, existing evidence suggests that fusion ballots are not more confusing for voters than regular ballots and can provide more information to voters and politicians. Fusion voting also incentivizes minor parties to emerge and develop their organizational infrastructure, even as their growth is constrained by single-member districts. There are several mechanisms through which fusion voting helps minor parties influence the policymaking process, but rigorous research is needed to determine if these mechanisms work in practice. Fusion voting also has the potential to reduce polarization and extremism, but because fusion voting has not been widely used across the country, these arguments remain untested. The report concludes by outlining various promising research avenues and suggesting strategies to improve our understanding of how fusion voting would work in contemporary American politics.<\/p>","":null,"drop_cap":false,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_heading","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_heading":{"text":"Acknowledgments","level":"h3","":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_wysiwyg","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_wysiwyg":{"add_background_color":false,"content":"
Thank you to the individuals who shared their time and insights during the interviews. We thank Lee Drutman and Mark Schmitt for their helpful comments and editing support. Thank you also to Kelley Gardner and Jodi Narde for their communications support.<\/p>
We are grateful to Additional Ventures for its support of the Political Reform program\u2019s research on multiparty democracy.<\/p>
Editorial disclosure: The views expressed in this report are solely those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of New America, its staff, fellows, funders, or board of directors.<\/i><\/p>","":null,"drop_cap":false,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_boxed_links","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_boxed_links":{"heading":"Downloads","links":[{"title":"","description":"","link":{"title":"What We Know About Fusion Voting","url":"https:\/\/d1y8sb8igg2f8e.cloudfront.net\/documents\/What_We_Know_About_Fusion_Voting_2024-07-15_173255_dOLDptU.pdf","target":"_blank"}}],"":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_add_component","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_authors","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_authors":{"":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_taxonomies","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_taxonomies":{"":null,"anchor_id":""}},{"acf_fc_layout":"layout_related","_acfe_flexible_toggle":null,"component_related":{"":null,"anchor_id":""}}]},"yoast_head":"\n