In 2020, many people will be heading to the polls to help decide the direction of the United States. For people in Connecticut, and in seven other states, ballots may look a bit different, because these states use electoral fusion voting. This means that multiple political parties can run the same candidate for the same office on the same ballot. But, what is it? Why does it exist? How does it work?

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Citations:

#1: McNulty, Frederick. “What’s happening with New Haven’s 2019 mayoral election? | InterseCTion.” YouTube, Mieum Media, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dE6fAbky0Gg. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#2: McNulty, Frederick. “Would a radical rule change improve voting in Connecticut? | InterseCTion.” YouTube, Mieum Media, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEPAHUHr8x4. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#3: “How Fusion Voting Played a Role in American Politics.” MSNBC, 14 Apr. 2014, http://www.msnbc.com/the-daily-rundown/fusion-votings-role-american-politics. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#4: “Fusion Voting.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/Fusion_voting. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#5: “The Oregon Ballot Freedom Project.” Working Families Party, workingfamilies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Whatisfusion.pdf. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#6: McCarthy, Robert J. “Column: Fusion Voting’s Future is at Stake.” The Buffalo News, 14 Sept. 2019, buffalonews.com/2019/09/14/fusion-votings-future-is-at-stake/. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#7: “Donald Trump Will Be the Nominee of Two Parties on California’s November Ballot.” Los Angeles Times, 16 Aug. 2016, http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-ca-donald-trump-california-ballot-american-independent-party-20160815-snap-story.html. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#8: Sifry, Micah L. Spoiling for a Fight: Third-Party Politics in America. Routledge, 2013.

#9: “Old Saybrook – November 2018 Sample Ballot.” Connecticut’s Official State Website, portal.ct.gov/-/media/SOTS/ElectionServices/Town_Ballots/2018/Election/Old-Saybrook.pdf?la=en.

#10: “File:Independent Party of Connecticut Logo.” Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Independent_Party_of_Connecticut_logo.jpg. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#11: “File:Bob Stefanowski Headshot.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bob_Stefanowski_Headshot.png. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#12: “File:Republican Disc.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Republican_Disc.svg. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#13:”File:Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Official Portrait.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Governor_Ned_Lamont_of_Connecticut,_official_portrait. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#14: “File:American Independent Party Flag.” Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:American_Independent_Party_flag.jpg. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#15: “File:Working Families Party Logo.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Working_Families_Party_logo.svg. Accessed 16 Oct. 2019.

#16: “File:US Democratic Party Logo.svg.” Wikimedia Commons, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:US_Democratic_Party_Logo.svg. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#17: Sparks, Grace. “Almost 40% of Americans Want a Third Political Party, Even if They Don’t Like the Candidates.” CNN, 5 Mar. 2019, http://www.cnn.com/2019/03/04/politics/two-party-system-poll/index.html. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#18: “Elicker Defeats Harp in New Haven Mayoral Upset.” WFSB, 6 Nov. 2019, http://www.wfsb.com/news/elicker-defeats-harp-in-new-haven-mayoral-upset/article_c406c252-ffbc-11e9-960e-bb36e2ba9c51.html. Accessed 6 Nov. 2019.

#19: Shaw, Jason. “2 Above Zero.” audionautix.com. Accessed 25 Aug. 2019. File originally posted online under an applicable Creative Commons license.