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Talk about a subject line that I never thought I would write. Wow. Sen. Joe Balyeat (R-Gallatin County) has a bill worth supporting. SB 280 is a very simple concept: fusion voting. Alternately known as open ballot voting and as cross-endorsement, fusion allows for candidates to seek and publicly hold the endorsement of multiple political parties -- even appearing on the ballot multiple times.
It's already the law in several states and has a history in much of the U.S. (it's the reason why the Democrats in Minnesota are known as the Democratic Farm Labor Party -- they were three parties that merged following the repeal of fusion).
And here's why the concept makes so much sense. I'm a Democrat. But I'm not foolhardy to believe that Democrats are perfect. Here's the thing, though, the Democratic Party's core interest (just like the Republican Party's) is to elect its own -- leaving few purely electoral routes for accountability.
Fusion voting can easily provide independent checks while maintaining the basic structure of the two-party system.
The possible range of third party alternatives is virtually endless (although the actual number that will emerge is limited by the reality of ballot access laws). Third parties could include a sportsman's party, dedicated to protecting the environment and the Second Amendment; a party that focuses on working class economic issues, much like the Working Families Party of New York; or a rural populist party. Hell, there could even be an "integrity party" that would be essentially bipartisan, but dedicated to rooting out corruption (not that Montana has much need, frankly).
Curious how this helps the Democrats? Check out this backgrounder, complete with polling data, from the Working Families Party of New York. In that state, third parties have held Reagan Democrats who no longer want to vote D, but still prefer the D candidate. It's also allowed for better local outreach. And it's no secret to people who follow youth politics that young people like third parties. Third party endorsements could help mobilize young people -- the same young people who put Tester over the top.
So why is Balyeat sponsoring something that I think is good for Democrats and good for progressives? Probably because it's also healthy for little-d democracy. And folks of Balyeat's type tend to be ardent defenders of the initiative process and other little-d reforms. On top of that, Balyeat would probably like to run on a joint Republican/Constitutional line.
I've heard this concern from some folks -- won't Republicans use cross-endorsement to beat us? That's what I call a question motivated by fear rather than opportunity.
A fusion system, harnessed properly by Democrats and progressives, will result in more Democrats being elected and those Democrats being held more accountable. That sounds like a pretty good combo to me.
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