Center for Ballot Freedom

Today, fusion voting remains in only a handful of states—but it continues to spark conversations about voter choice, representation, and how elections work.

We're saying no more to these tricks 🪦

What would those policy levers look like? @awhf.bsky.social and @msifry.bsky.social discuss the expanded child tax credit, which sent families monthly payments for six months during COVID, as an example. He asks whether the law could or should also have helped those families organize themselves:

What if candidates had to build coalitions, listen beyond their base, & earn support from voters who don’t identify with either main party? @jefftimmer.bsky.social Fusion voting can help make that possible—giving voters more ways to support candidates & the parties that represent their values.

Wisconsin’s century-old ban on fusion voting protects the two-party duopoly at the expense of voter choice. Let parties cross-nominate candidates, build coalitions, and compete on ideas. It’s time to end the fusion ban. @wisconsinwatch.org wisconsinwatch.org/2026/10/wisc...

Alex Hertel-Fernandez borrows organizer Ai-jen Poo's image of three Earths: 🌍 🌎 🌏 @awhf.bsky.social @columbiasipa.bsky.social @aijenpoo.bsky.social @domesticworkers.bsky.social @careinaction.bsky.social @caringacross.org @msifry.bsky.social

Minor parties shouldn’t have to choose between being spoilers & being ignored. @jefftimmer.bsky.social Fusion voting changes the equation: smaller parties can become force multipliers, not spoilers, while voters support both the candidates who can win and the parties that best reflect their values.

California needs more political competition—not just more candidates from the same two parties. Fusion voting and proportional representation would help new parties grow, give voters more choices, and make elected officials more accountable. @stano.bsky.social sfstandard.com/2026/10/18/c...

Exactly. Actual fusion voting helps small parties build power.

24) United Kansas (1 race) And finally, we have United Kansas. They are a single-issue centrist party that wants Kansas to switch to fusion voting. This system is used in New York and allows multiple parties to endorse the same candidate and lists each party nomination separately on a ballot.

A Michigan Court of Claims judge could determine whether the state’s ban on fusion voting remains in place, in deciding a set of lawsuits filed earlier this year.

"Putting it plainly: The two-party duopoly hobbles our democracy but also risks short- and long-term harm to the state’s economy." Learn about fusion voting from Wisconsin Business Leaders for Democracy @wisconsinwatch.org. buff.ly/3jeCtFv

I've got a column in the @sfstandard.com today about how a lack of electoral competition leads to substandard outcomes here in California, plus what we can do to fix it.

End Wisconsin’s ban on fusion voting to expand political choice wisconsinwatch.org/2... #wipolitics

Wisconsin’s century-old ban on fusion voting limits political competition and voter choice, argue Anoop Prakash and Tom Florsheim Jr. They say ending the ban could make elected officials more accountable. Read the guest opinion: wisconsinwatch.org/2026/10/wisc...

Alex Hertel-Fernandez on labor, state power, and what happens after a policy victory substack.com/home/post/p-...

Fusion voting once offered voters a way to support candidates across party lines—until political machines began banning it. Today, it survives in New York, Connecticut, Oregon, and Vermont. Restoring it more widely could expand voter choice and give third parties a stronger voice. @stano.bsky.social

Fusion voting gives voters more choices without splitting support for a candidate. Parties can endorse a major-party candidate or run their own, with votes across ballot lines combined. Once used widely, fusion was banned in many states as third parties gained influence. It’s time to revisit it.

At least one-third of WI voters don’t identify with either major party. This case asks a question: Does the Constitution protect the right of minor parties to organize, build coalitions, and participate meaningfully in our democracy—or can laws designed to entrench a two-party duopoly stay forever?

Micah Sifry talks with Tom Asher, the director of research and global engagement at Columbia World Projects. Tom Asher is leading a university-wide working group that seeks to turn academic insights into pathways for action on challenging civic and social problems. substack.com/home/post/p-...

At a time when many Americans are frustrated by polarization, gridlock, and a lack of political choice, fusion voting offers a practical, time-tested alternative. It allows voters to support the candidates they prefer without being confined to a strict two-party framework. #FusionVoting

A noted civil rights lawyer and law professor makes the constitutional case for reviving fusion voting (and fusion parties) — and explains why he thinks the timing is right. @sbagen @Mlsif Read more: substack.com/home/post/p-...

The claim that fusion voting confuses voters doesn’t hold up. WI successfully used fusion voting for decades; voters in states where it remains legal navigate it fine, and research shows voters readily understand cross-nomination. Protecting a two-party monopoly is not the same as protecting voters.

Something is missing from American politics — and it’s not a policy position or a charismatic leader. It’s a structural connection between the people who hold office and the communities they claim to represent. Read more: substack.com/home/post/p-...

Wisconsin’s fusion voting ban wasn’t enacted as a good-government reform. It was passed in 1897 after decades of successful cross-party coalitions, when those in power sought to limit competition from emerging parties and fusion movements. The result? Minor parties were pushed toward irrelevance.

In the conversation with Micah Sifry, Heather McGhee connects the dots between the racial politics she chronicled in The Sum of Us and the authoritarian moment we’re living through right now — and she doesn’t let the two-party system off the hook. Read more: substack.com/home/post/p-...

"Fusion voting is the ability of political parties to cross endorse candidates in elections and voters to vote for the same candidate on the party line of their choosing. Once a commonplace part of the democratic process across the nation, it has a long history in New York..."

Fusion voting can help @workingfamilies.org win in November. Learn more: thechiefleader.com/stories/fusi...

Fusion voting is a promising reform in its own right—and a step toward a more representative democracy. By giving voters more choices and parties more room to grow, it can help lay the groundwork for proportional representation. @spencer-overton.bsky.social

The conversation ranges from the history of multiracial democracy, the weakening of the Voting Rights Act, money in politics, technology companies, party decline and the challenge of governing in an age of deep distrust. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxih...

No one knows exactly when such a window will open. If and when one does, reformers on Team Democracy should not squander it by then spending precious time debating among themselves. @spencer-overton.bsky.social @msifry.bsky.social

If the goal is a less polarized politics, primary reform may not be enough. More voices, more parties, and more pathways to representation matter too. That's why reforms like fusion voting deserve a place in the conversation about strengthening democracy. www.washingtonpost.com/ripple/2026/...

Great to see this in NY magazine 👍🏼

Appreciate your knowledge!

His current work has focused heavily on civil-rights groups and communities of color, in part because any large change to the electoral system has to be understood in terms of who gains power, who loses it and whether historically excluded communities have real agency in the process.

Fusion voting gives voters more choice without spoilers. Pair it with proportional representation, and you have a powerful formula for reducing polarization, weakening gerrymandering, and creating a more representative democracy. nymag.com/intelligence...

In a very real sense, fusion voting and proportional representation are two sides of the same coin. They each inject proportionality into the election results. And in doing so, they each incentivize inter-party bargaining and compromise. @msifry.bsky.social @spencer-overton.bsky.social

On this #IndigenousPeoplesDay, let’s remember: democracy is stronger when every voice matters. ✊ #FusionVoting—used by movements throughout history—empowers communities to be heard without being silenced by the two-party system. 🌎

Really enjoyed getting to talk with @spenceroverton.bsky.social, one of democracy’s long distance runners, about the challenges and opportunities of our current moment.

For @spencer-overton.bsky.social, one of the virtues of proportional representation is that it changes who gets to define a political community, solving concerns about politicians dictating race-based or partisan political lines.

Michigan's Republican-dominated legislature banned fusion voting in 1895. Two small political parties are suing to bring it back. www.mlive.com/politics/202...

Fusion voting is back in the conversation. It can expand voter choice, strengthen minor parties, and give voters a stronger voice in our democracy. www.wisbar.org/NewsPublicat...

More Americans are losing faith in both major parties. The growing prevalence of "double haters" is a clear sign voters want more choices—not just the same two options. Fusion voting gives voters a way to support new parties and new ideas without acting as spoilers. www.wsj.com/politics/ele...

A lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s 1897 fusion voting ban could restore cross-nominations, strengthen minor parties, and expand voter choice. The case is now putting fusion voting back in the spotlight. wisconsinexaminer.com/2026/04/13/l...

Scott Morgan of United Kansas wants to give a voice to disenfranchised voters @kansasreflector.com kansasreflector.com/2026/10/02/k...

We need reform that will give voters real choices.

The effort to restore fusion voting in Kansas is headed to the state Supreme Court, marking its final opportunity to secure full consideration of its legal arguments. The case could significantly affect ballot access, party competition, and voter choice in the state. @unitedkansas.bsky.social

Whether it's fusion voting in local races, fair redistricting, or proportional representation, lasting reform requires political support. Building a movement around these ideas is essential—because meaningful change happens when people have the power to make it a reality. @unitedkansas.bsky.social