What is Fusion Voting?

Fusion voting – once legal and widely used in nearly every state, including Montana – allows more than one political party to nominate the same candidate. Votes for a candidate are counted separately by each party’s ballot line, then added together, or “fused,” into one total. For example, a candidate who wins the nomination of a major party could also be nominated by a second party and appear on the ballot twice, once under each banner, with both sets of votes counting towards the same candidate.

Fusion lets Montanans vote for the candidate they prefer, on the party line that best reflects their values, without wasting their vote on a candidate with no chance to win, or worse, helping elect the candidate they like least (spoiling an election). Fusion provides voters with more choices and allows people with common interests to build political power and influence elections. With more constructive parties, there could be more political coalitions, and a reduction in hyper-partisanship. For more information, click here.