{"id":26011,"date":"2011-02-11T08:11:10","date_gmt":"2011-02-11T15:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=26011"},"modified":"2011-02-11T08:11:14","modified_gmt":"2011-02-11T15:11:14","slug":"%e2%80%98fusion-voting%e2%80%99-bill-could-be-heard-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/02\/%e2%80%98fusion-voting%e2%80%99-bill-could-be-heard-today\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Fusion voting\u2019 bill could be heard today"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Eric Griego<\/p><\/div>\n

Legislation that would allow multiple parties to place the same candidate on the ballot may be considered today by the Senate Rules Committee.<\/p>\n

The bill<\/a> that would allow so-called \u201cfusion voting\u201d is sponsored by Sen. Eric Griego<\/a>, D-Albuquerque. Here\u2019s what fusion voting is, from Wikipedia:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026 an arrangement where two or more\u00a0political parties\u00a0on a\u00a0ballot\u00a0list the same\u00a0candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. Distinct from the process of\u00a0electoral alliances\u00a0in that the political parties remain separately listed on the ballot, the practice of electoral fusion in\u00a0jurisdictions\u00a0where it exists allows minor parties to influence election results and policy by offering to endorse or nominate a major party\u2019s candidate.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Griego\u2019s legislation would accomplish this by allowing a candidate\u2019s name to appear more than once on a ballot. That allows multiple parties to nominate the same candidate \u2013 giving minority parties a voice in the process but allowing them, when they choose to back a major-party candidate, to avoid the criticism that they are spoilers for Democratic or Republican candidates.<\/p>\n

Supporters say fusion voting gives minor parties more influence, allowing them to organize alongside Democrats or Republicans while still retaining their distinct voice. And it gives activists options outside the two major parties, so it has the potential to increase their influence.<\/p>\n

Fusion voting exists in a handful of states including New York. Here\u2019s why the Working Families Party<\/a> of New York says fusion voting is important:<\/p>\n

\u201cThird parties aren\u2019t too common in America, and there\u2019s a reason why. Too often, voting for a third party candidate means casting your ballot for someone you know doesn\u2019t have much hope of winning or, even worse, will hand a victory to the candidate you like the least (think Ralph Nader in the 2000 election).<\/p>\n

\u201cNot in New York.\u00a0\u2026 when you go to vote, you\u2019ll see the same candidate listed under multiple parties on the ballot \u2014 say \u2018Democrat\u2019 and \u2018Working Families.\u2019 Voting for that candidate under Working Families counts the same as voting for them under the Democratic Party line \u2014 but it also lets them know that you expect them to fight for the\u00a0issues<\/a> we care about.<\/p>\n

\u201cCandidates know how many votes they got from Working Families voters, and when those votes help them win, we can expect that politician to fight for us, not special interests.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Griego said his goal is to \u201cmake sure that the full range of views are heard.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now only candidates who represent the moderate voices make it on the ballot,\u201d he said. \u201cFusion would provide for a more diverse set of choices for voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVoter participation is at an all-time low because people do not feel like they have any real choices,\u201d he said. \u201cThe two major parties are looking more and more like each other and seem to have the same agenda:\u00a0preserving their own power.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Legislation that would allow multiple parties to place the same candidate on the ballot may be considered today by the Senate Rules Committee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[107],"class_list":["post-26011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26011\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}