Why NYS must end cross endorsements and fusion candidates.

The recent scandal involving bribes, corruption and payoffs revolved around the concept of having the GOP “allow” a democrat to run for NYC mayor on their line.  This is known as a cross endorsement or fusion.  This process is bad for NY and I will explain why.

On Election Day, have you ever noticed that many times a candidate appears on more than one line, or they appear on all of the lines?  How does this happen?  Are they that good and that popular that political parties with such different values and principles feel they are the best candidate for the position, and will represent their views?

Candidates of the two major parties, rely on the third parties to help get them elected.  I am always puzzled as to how a candidate can represent both the working families and the conservative party when in fact those parties have almost nothing in common and are polar opposite. The fact is, most of the voting public usually votes the party line that they are affiliated with or that represent their views.  They rely on the party to handle the vetting process.

In actuality, it’s most likely that party bosses (the ones who can control and steer who the party nominates) have struck a deal.  The deal can be for jobs, favors, influence, etc.  Deals are struck so that there is little opposition within the party as to who is picked to represent them.  All of this is hidden from the general voting public.

How can we fix this?  First, eliminate cross endorsements, a candidate can only run for an office under the political party they are affiliated with. If a party can’t find their own candidate, then they don’t run a candidate for that office.  The petition process and primary process stay as is.

This would eliminate much of the back room dealings.  Take this a step further.  Have no party affiliations represented on the ballot in November.  Just have an office and the qualified candidate(s) name.  It would then be up to the voter to know who they want to vote for.  A voter would actually have to research and learn more about the candidate, as opposed to just voting the party line.  In this scenario, the political party then takes on the role of educating their party members and the general public as to why their candidate is the best one for the position. 

Candidates tend to run from their affiliation when interfacing with the general voting public.  Evidence of this, are the numerous political advertisements, palm cards, flyers and signs that do not list the candidates party affiliation, and if they do, it is not obvious.

It’s time for a change and time to cleanup the voting process so that these types of scandals are a thing of the past.  I urge our elected officials to embrace this and take a stand on banning cross endorsements.