Right, so I asked a Dev about exactly that. I asked Steve. He indicated that, because the different threads might be slightly different and they didn't want to give one preference over another for which is the 1st post or headline (they just want the Voters to decide which thread rises up), therefore it wouldn't be practical to combine the threads by Dev/Mod action. Users would have to do it themselves, by cross-linking or asking the voters to subtract vote & re-add on the bigger thread. I responded saying that some of the threads are not merely slightly different, but are actually the exact same request in slightly different words (identical meaning). But it didn't fly. In conclusion the best current method is still for the actual Voters to subtract their duplicate thread themselves, and +1 the leading thread. As for Devs counting the votes from different threads --- theoretically they might notice and consider it, but this is not guaranteed. Speaking as someone who peruses and takes stock of the Suggestions board frequently, just because I like such polls to be organized, it's my distinct impression that it is difficult to recognize the connections of same-subjects across many pages. The only way I've been able to recognize and categorize them is by bookmarking, re-reading and close study of the actual content of the requests, not just the headline. For example I collected a list of all the Sound requests, and then compared the written requests to see what was Suggested, and found the matches. It would surely have greater impact and recognition if the Voters coalesce and combine so that the Vote number is the highest it can be. Having a linked topic --- same. It would help if/when a Dev actually reads through the thread. It will help the voters find the matching subjects. But it won't help with rising the thread up to Top so that the headline alone gets attention and priority.