New Kansas political party aiming to introduce fusion voting in 2024

A new political party has emerged in Kansas.

The United Kansas Party filed more than 35,000 petition signatures Tuesday to qualify for the November 2024 general election ballot. According to a release, the party promises “a new era of collaborative politics that will transcend traditional party lines.” Party treasurer and former Manhattan City Commissioner Aaron Estabrook helped organize the new party, a decade after helping found the moderate party political action committee.

“I was brought into the fold to help them organize a new party, with Jack Curtis being our party chair and Sally Cauble, being our vice chair,” Estabrook said.

Curtis is a volunteer leader with the American Legion Boys State of Kansas and a health care policy professional. Cauble, a Republican, is a former member of the Kansas State Board of Education, from Liberal, Kansas.

The party’s primary focus is fusion voting — the process where more than one political party nominates the same candidate on the ballot, allowing voters to support their preferred candidate.

“That individual candidate — and I think this happens all the time, will resonate with somebody, but the party they’re aligned, those parties with don’t resonate with that voter. What this does is allows that candidate to align their values with another party as well, that minor party (United Kansas), and that way the voter can vote for that individual and not have to subscribe to the party values of the major party,” Estabrook said.

Fusion voting was once widespread in the U.S., but Estabrook says many legislatures have effectively banned fusion voting in recent years.

“But our Kansas Constitution is so strong in that political association that it protects, and we believe that if you’re a voter or candidate, you should have the right to associate with both parties,” Estabrook said.

The Secretary of State’s Office will inform United Kansas if they will be an official party within the next couple of weeks. In January, the No Labels Kansas party became an officially recognized party through a similar petition effort.