Fusion voting draws renewed attention from Wisconsin advocates

A La Crosse-based nonpartisan group called LeaderEthics is working to raise awareness about a concept called fusion voting. The idea is that political candidates can form coalitions of endorsements instead of relying solely on being the candidate of a single party.
Advocates say it could provide Wisconsin voters with more options outside the two major parties, WPR previously reported.

“That means we have different views — views that come from third parties — that are allowed to support like-minded candidates from other parties,” said Lee Rasch, executive director of LeaderEthics. “Essentially, it means that third parties don’t ‘take away’ votes from the major parties, but rather contribute to our involvement and thinking in the electoral process.”

Rasch is part of the group, United Wisconsin, which is suing the Wisconsin Elections Commission to reinstate the practice.

Critics of the practice have offered a different perspective. A Republican Party of Wisconsin spokesperson recently told The Associated Press that fusion voting could result in voters being “manipulated into voting for a major party candidate masquerading as an independent.”


https://www.wpr.org/news/fusion-voting-renewed-attention-wisconsin-advocates