From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties support a common candidate, pooling the votes for all those parties. By holding out on endorsing a major party's candidate, minor parties can influence the candidate's platform.

Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 External links 4 Articles

Electoral fusion was once widespread in the United States, and never elsewhere. In the late 19th century, however, as minor political parties such as the People's Party became increasingly successful in using fusion, Republican-dominated state legislatures enacted bans against it. One Republican Minnesota state legislator was clear about what his party was trying to do: "We don't propose to allow the Democrats to make allies of the Populists, Prohibitionists, or any other party, and get up combination tickets against us. We can whip them single-handed, but don't intend to fight all creation." (Spoiling for a Fight, 227-228). By 1907 the practice had been banned in 18 states; today, fusion as conventionally practiced remains legal in only seven states, namely:

• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Idaho
• Mississippi
• New York
• South Carolina
• Vermont

In several other states, notably Pennsylvania, fusion is legal when primary elections are won by write-in candidates.

Fusion has the highest profile in New York; small parties significant in large part for their fused ballot lines include the Working Families Party, Right to Life Party, Liberal Party, Independence Party, and Conservative Party.

The cause of electoral fusion suffered a major setback in 1997, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided by 6-3 in Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party that fusion is not a constitutionally protected civil right.

Fusion has sometimes been used by other third parties. For example, the Libertarian Party used fusion to elect four members of the New Hampshire state legislature during the early 1990s.

Occasionally, popular candidates for local office have succeeded in being nominated by both Republican and Democratic Parties. In 1946, prior to the current ban on fusion being enacted in that state, Republican California Governor Earl Warren (a future Chief Justice of the United States) managed to win the nominations of the Republican, Democratic, and Progressive Parties.

In the 1991 Louisiana gubernatorial election, controversial white supremacist David Duke, running as a Republican, unexpectedly made his way to second place in the state's infamous jungle primary. Many prominent Republicans endorsed his Democratic opponent Edwin Edwards. While not a de jure example of electoral fusion, it was an unusual example of both major parties joining against a candidate.

• This entry is related to, but not included in the elections and voting series. Other related articles can be found at the Politics Portal.
• Tactical voting

• The Power of Fusion Politics
• History of Fusion Politics in 1890s North Carolina
• A website seeking to inform and promote electoral fusion

• (March 1932) "Political Combinations in Elections". Harvard Law Review, 45 (5): pp. 906-912. ISSN 0017-811X. Retrieved on 2006-10-25.