Understanding Fusion Voting in New York: What Voters Need to Know

Wed Nov 05 2025 04:17:58 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

As New York City prepares for its highly publicized mayoral election, confusion surrounding fusion voting arises, leading to misconceptions about ballot integrity. This article clarifies the validity of the ballots and the practice of fusion voting.

New York voters are experiencing fusion voting where candidates appear multiple times on ballots due to nominations from various political parties. Despite claims of electoral fraud, experts confirm that this practice is legal in the state. Candidates like Zohran Mamdani and Curtis Sliwa appear on the ballot multiple times, while Andrew Cuomo's placement is attributed to his late independent nomination. This analysis provides clarity on election processes and the structure of New York ballots.

NEW YORK – As the latest mayoral election unfolds in New York City, confusion is swirling around the ballot format, particularly the phenomenon known as fusion voting, where candidates appear under multiple party lines.

This method isn't a mistake but a legal practice intended to offer voters more choices by pushing candidates across various political affiliations. However, this has led to accusations of electoral interference from prominent individuals like billionaire Elon Musk, who questioned the integrity of the ballot structure.

“The New York City ballot form is a scam!” Musk expressed on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting the duplicate listings of candidates, which some claim resemble fraud.

Experts clarify that the process is entirely legitimate. In New York, candidates can appear multiple times on the ballot when nominated by various parties. This has been standard practice in the state for decades,” said Richard Briffault, an election law professor at Columbia University.

This electoral season, both Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani and Republican Curtis Sliwa are listed multiple times due to their nominations from different parties. Mamdani is seen under both the Democratic and the Working Families Party line, while Sliwa has the backing of the Republican and a newly formed independent party focused on animal rights.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo also made headlines by running as an independent, which positioned him low on the ballot. This was due to the time of filing his independent candidacy. His campaign emphasizes that being placed lower is a result of the state’s election regulations, which dictate ballot order based on parties' voting strength.

It’s essential to note that fusion voting does not enable one candidate to accumulate more than one vote from the same individual, ensuring that voters still make distinct choices in their selections.

Overall, while confusion on ballot conventions can lead to allegations of impropriety, it’s water under the bridge for New York’s seasoned electoral process which, along with fusion voting, continues its tradition rooted in protecting voter choice and expression.