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1 Fusion in the United States

Electoral fusion was once widespread in the United States. "Most of the electoral victories normally attributed to the Grangers, Independents, or Greenbackers in the 1870s and 1880s were a result of fusion between those third party groups and the Democrats." In the late 1800s, however, as minor political parties like the populist People's Party became increasingly successful in using fusion to impact elections, Republican-dominated state legislatures enacted bans against it. One Republican Minnesota state legislator was clear about what his party was trying to do, "We don't propose to allow the Democrats to make allies of the Populists, Prohibitionists, or any other party, and get up combination tickets against us. We can whip them single-handed, but don't intend to fight all creation." (Spoiling for a Fight, 227-228)

Between 1896 and 1907 the practice was banned in eighteen states; today, fusion remains legal in only ten states, namely:

• Arkansas
• Connecticut
• Delaware
• Idaho
• Mississippi
• New York
• South Carolina
• South Dakota
• UtahUtah ( In Detail) (Full size) State nickname: Beehive State Other U. States Capital Salt Lake City Largest City Salt Lake City Governor Olene Walker Area Total Land Water % water Ranked 13th 220,080 km² 212,988 km² 7,092 km² 3. 2% Population Total ( 2000)
• VermontVermont is the 14th state of the United States, known for its beautiful scenery, dairy products, maple syrup and progressive politics. History Vermont was originally home to the tribes of the Iroquois, Algonquian and Abenaki nations. In 1609, French explo

Fusion has the highest profile in New York; small parties significant in large part for their fused ballot lines include the Working Families PartyThe Working Families Party is a minor political party in the United States. It was started in New York by a coalition of unions, community organizations (most notably ACORN), members of the now-inactive national New Party, and public interest groups to cr, Liberal PartyThe Liberal Party of New York is a minor political party active only in New York State. Its platform supports a standard set of center-left policies: it favors abortion rights, increased spending on education, and universal health care. The Liberal Party, Conservative Party of New York StateThe Conservative Party of New York is a minor political party active only in New York State. It was founded in 1962 by a group including J. Daniel Mahoney and Charles Edison, out of frustration with the perceived liberalism of the state's Republican Party and Independence Party .

One of the few current American parties advocating electoral fusion is the New Party (USA) , which suffered a defeat when the United States Supreme Court refused to recognize fusion as a constitutional right. Fusion has sometimes been used by other recent third parties: for example, the Libertarian Party used fusion to elect four members of the New HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the United States (U. postal abbreviation NH , named for the English county of Hampshire. New Hampshire is called the "Granite State" because it has numerous granite quarries, although that industry ha state legislature during the early 1990s.

Occasionally, popular candidates for local office have succeeded in being nominated by both Republican and Democratic Parties.