The backdrop to all this is New York's fusion law. A candidate may appear on more than one ballot line and add up all the votes cast for him or her on all lines.
The Working Families Party is a minor party that almost never runs its own candidates. Its normal approach is to cross-endorse the Democrat and to urge people to vote for that Democrat on the WFP line, to send a message of support for more progressive policies.
The WFP is completely controlled by the unions. Because Cuomo has been so far to the right on so many issues, the unions are pissed at him, and there was a serious movement within the WFP to deny him the party's nomination, though he ultimately received it.
Now comes the Women's Equality Party. It will presumably take the same tack as the WFP: "Vote for Cuomo, but do it on our line to send a message of support for these issues."
Of course, a voter can pick only one of the send-them-a-message minor parties. As the linked article notes, it's quite probable that one effect of the WEP would be to reduce the vote total of the WFP. One may cynically speculate that Cuomo is happy with that outcome (and the real hard-core cynics may add that the similarity in the initials is not an accident).
The new party might also help increase Cuomo's margin. He wants to win by a landslide, to burnish his Presidential credentials in case Clinton doesn't run. Suppose that, nearing Election Day, polls show Cuomo with a 20-point lead, which is not impossible. Some people might not bother voting, especially if there are no close downticket races where they are. (This would be a common situation in heavily Democratic districts in New York City.) Some of those people might nevertheless show up in response to the pitch that, although Cuomo is a shoo-in, we want a high vote total on the Women's Equality line.
Aside from payback to the uppity unions and self-aggrandizement for the ambitious Cuomo, will the new ballot line actually advance women's equality? It might do some good. Some of the people motivated to turn out to bolster the new party would be in districts with close races for Congress or the State Legislature. For that reason, they should have turned out anyway, but some wouldn't have. The WEP could have some GOTV benefits and help elect more Democrats.
ETA: Dear jurors, when I use the phrase "payback to the uppity unions" I'm characterizing Cuomo's implicit belief that the unions should be docile and back him even when he attacks public employee pensions, cuts taxes on the rich, etc. I am not criticizing the unions for being uppity. My actual criticism is that they haven't been uppity enough. I apologize for wasting your time explaining something so obvious, but my experience on DU is that juries do not always excel at reading comprehension.
= new reply since forum marked as read
