Fusion Voting: A Simple but Powerful Reform
or "How to be true to our politics and still win"
Fusion voting is a simple democratic reform that gives minor parties the option to cross-nominate a candidate from another party if that candidate supports their issues. The votes on each party line are tallied separately and then added together for that candidate's total. This way, voters can vote for their party and their issues on their ballot line without worrying about spoiling or wasting their vote.
Using fusion, voters can hold candidates accountable on issues after the election. Minor parties can demonstrate in clear and unequivocal terms how much support they can deliver to a candidate by highlighting the number of votes a candidate receives on each party’s line. This gives greater influence with candidates and elected officials, especially when a minor party provides the margin of victory.
Fusion encourages voter participation. In Oregon although we have high voter turnout due to Vote by Mail, we have relatively low levels of voter registration, especially among young people. Fusion increases the interest of disaffected voters because they learn more about a candidate's positions, and are able to express their views on issues through their vote.
Fusion helps break legislative logjams and leads to more issue-based politics. In New York State, where fusion is still used, some of the biggest legislative breakthroughs have come on issues championed by a minor party. By basing their appeal on specific issues, minor parties can build a base of support that bridges partisan divides, and reward elected officials who deliver results.
Fusion is not new. Up until the early 20th century, fusion voting was legal throughout the United States, including in Oregon, and strong third parties were common. Fusion was associated with the Democratic-Populist/farmer-worker alliances of that era. But after the election of 1896 and the rise to dominance of the modern Republican Party, many state legislatures eliminated fusion voting, precisely because it encouraged electoral coalition-building among the less powerful. Today fusion voting is still legal in seven states.
In Oregon, fusion voting requires only a simple statutory change allowing a candidate to appear on the ballot as the nominee of more than one party. This seemingly small reform fundamentally changes the way the political system works, because it gives a voice – and real power – to minor parties and their supporters who are currently excluded from effective political participation.
Oregon Working Families Party
info@oregonwfp.org - 503-841-7161
Additional Information about the Policy Idea
What is your current strategy for moving this idea forward? What is the general timeline?
A bill to legalize (actually to re-legalize) fusion voting in Oregon will be introduced by Senator Brad Avakian in the 2008 Legislative Supplemental Session. An identical bill moved through the 2007 Legislature with fifteen co-sponsors from both parties, was passed by the House Rules, Elections and Ethics Committee with a do-pass recommendation, and had a hearing but no vote in the Ways and Means Committee. The only opposition came from the County Clerks who felt it was too complicated for Oregon voters to understand, and that it would cost too much to implement. We do not believe that either is the case. We have talked to many Legislators and believe we have enough support to move the Bill in this session, in time for the '08 election.
Based on the list of prizes that are available for the winner of this contest, what prizes would you select and how would you put them to use?
What we need most from volunteers is canvassing and phone-banking in particular legislative districts where legislators are unsure whether their constituents either understand or want fusion voting reinstated in Oregon. We have a short timeline for the 2008 session, so those volunteer hours are needed in the next month. We could also use as much press exposure as possible; the Mercury ad, the time on the Hartmann show, would both be great. Blogtown PDX, Loaded Orygun and Blue Oregon exposure would be a big help, as would an email blast from Onward Oregon.
Voters in the Progressive Policy Battle Royale commit either money or volunteer time to whichever ideas they support. To which 501c3 organization will such monetary donations go and how will they be used? How will you be able to put volunteers to use and what kinds of tasks will they perform?
The Ballot Freedom Project is a 501© (4), so we would partner with the Bus Project Foundation in order to collect and spend funds donated at Rebooting Democracy. Volunteers would canvass and phone-bank in strategically selected legislative districts.
Information about the Presenter
The Ballot Freedom Project was established specifically to promote the reintroduction of fusion voting in Oregon. Barbara Dudley, the presenter, is on the Board of the BFP, and is also the past Executive Director of Greenpeace and the National Lawyers Guild, Co-Chair of the Oregon Working Families Party and an adjunct professor at PSU.