FARMVILLE, Va. (WSET ) — Some say third party candidates should be in both the presidential and vice presidential debates. And a Longwood University student is working to try and make that happen.

Next week, both Mike Pence and Tim Kaine are expected to take the stage inside Blackwell Hall for a debate. It’s the first vice presidential debate being hosted at the school.

Now, Political Science major Kyle Dobry is using his First Amendment rights to help make a last minute adjustment. He’s started a petition to try and convince the commission on political debates to add one more podium on the stage come October 4. “If the Libertarian party is not on stage, you are stifling voices,” said Dobry.

Averaging at 9% in the polls, Libertarian Gary Johnson and his running mate failed to qualify for the first presidential debate and the VP debate at Longwood; 15% is the cutoff. “That still around 13 million voters about the size of the population of the entire state of Pennsylvania. You really think the CPD would tell Pennsylvania your opinion does not count?” Dobry asked.

Dobry’s petition has gained some traction on campus, last week he collected more than 200 signatures in two hours.

Junior Connor Webber was one of them; he signed off on including a third candidate.

Webber says debates allow undecided voters, like himself, to see what candidates are really about. “Candidates react under pressure and to see their true colors and what they want to do,” he said.

That’s also why freshman Harper Ward supports the petition. “A lot of kids that I am friends with don’t really know a lot of the issues that are going on and the issues that are going to be discussed,” Ward said.

Despite a looming deadline, Dobry remains hopeful. “We are asking Longwood to be heroes for the 76% of Americans who want to see Johnson, Gov. Bill Weld, or even Dr. Jill Stein on stage,”

Gary Johnson will not be attending Monday night’s Presidential debate at Hofstra University, but he will be using social media to take part in the conversation.

Texas billionaire Ross Perot is the only third party candidate CPD has allowed into the debates since 1992.

Source: Longwood student petitions to allow third party candidates into debates | WSET

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Protest at Dominican University to push the Commission on Presidential Debates to LET JILL DEBATE

Join us to tell the Commission on Presidential Debates to LET JILL DEBATE!

We will be protesting the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) at the location of Dominican University because the University has partnered with CPD to host a program on Sept. 6th & 7th.
Dominican University’s & CPD’s program collegedebate16.org claims to be a “non-partisan initiative to empower young voters” to engage in the election and identify issues for the presidential debates. Meanwhile the CPD is actually a corporation controlled by the Democratic and Republican National Committees and funded by big business donors, and acts to stifle real democracy by locking out independent candidates from the debates.

The college delegates for the CPD’s program should be informed about the CPD’s hypocrisy, corrupt history, and exclusionary practices.  The college delegates to the CPD are using #collegedebate16 as an identifying tag on social media platforms.  The delegates and their social media contact info is also listed at: http://collegedebate16.org/the_delegates/

The CPD sets arbitrary polling requirements to exclude candidates.  If Jill Stein were included in the debates the support for her in the polls could rise dramatically.  Already Jill Stein is polling over 15% among voters younger than 30.  The CPD is showing disregard to young voters by excluding Jill Stein from the debates.

On their collegedebate16.org website, Dominican University is identified as a “Voter Education Partner” for the CPD, yet Dominican University has refused to allow the Green Party to share voter education information on the campus and the University also has a history of locking the Green Party out of the political discourse.  In 2010, Dominican University held a debate with two of the candidates for Governor, and arrested the Green Party’s candidate Laura Wells to prevent her from entering the debate.

September 06, 2016 at 12:30pm – 3:30pm

Dominican University
(outside Angelico Hall)
50 Acacia Avenue
San Rafael, CA 94901
United States
Google map and directions

Greens of Northern California
415-425-3733

Source: Protest at Dominican University to push the Commission on Presidential Debates to LET JILL DEBATE

The post Release: Protest at Dominican University to push the Commission on Presidential Debates to LET JILL DEBATE appeared first on Fix the Debates.

Dear Mr. Trump and Secretary Clinton:

In the spirit of democracy, we are writing to ask that you support open debates in 2016 that include all of the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidates who are on enough ballots to win at least 270 electoral college votes.

There will only be four campaigns on enough state ballots to win the election: your campaigns, the Libertarians, and our Green Party campaign. All candidates should be included in the series of Presidential debates, so that voters can be informed about all of their choices. We propose four open debates, three for the Presidential candidates and one for the Vice Presidential candidates.

The US electorate is changing rapidly and is no longer limited to Republicans and Democrats. The number of eligible voters who identify as Republican or Democratic has steadily dropped from approximately 80% in 1958 to 50% today. A majority of US voters do not identify with either of your parties.

Open debate is essential for confronting the urgent issues our nation faces. The US economy is not serving the people of the United States, most of whom are struggling to survive and cope with massive debt; never-ending wars are sapping the strength of our nation and creating chaos around the world; we are threatened by mass extinction, climate change, and toxic pollution; health care costs take up nearly 20% of our GDP yet tens of millions go without necessary care; and racially-biased policies like the war on drugs, mass incarceration and police abuse continue to plague our society. These are just some of the crises we face, and in order to find solutions, more voices are needed in the political dialogue.

The presidential debates are the most important events in our election process. They should provide voters with multiple opportunities to see all the candidates on the ballot across the country, representing the diversity of American political thought, discussing important issues in an unscripted manner so that the people can make informed decisions about the direction of our country.

It is public knowledge that the debates are now controlled by a corporation calling itself the Commission on Presidential Debates in order to sound like an official body, when actually it is controlled by your two parties. This corporation has not served the US voting public well. The debates are choreographed in a highly controlled way, depriving voters of the honest debate they deserve. There is no significant participation by the public, moderators are chosen by the candidates, questions are vetted, and unscripted back-and-forth between candidates is minimal. This controlled format prevents spontaneity and ensures that real issues and innovative solutions are kept out of the public dialogue. Open debates will strengthen our nation, no matter who is the next president.

As the de facto leaders of the Republican and Democratic parties, you have the power to end this charade. You can stand with the people and be champions of open debates. We urge you to end the monopoly of the elitist corporation that prevents voters from hearing a full debate on the issues facing the nation. We urge you to demand four-way debates in 2016.

A foundational principle of our nation has been that a marketplace of ideas, where all views are discussed and the best ideas win out, is essential to our democracy. The country is crying out for real leadership. By standing with the majority of Americans who want open debates, you will show you are a friend of the transformation our democracy needs.

While only one of us will be elected to serve the nation, we will make great strides together in confronting our problems and defining new solutions if we come together in open debates.

Sincerely,

Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka

Source: Jill Stein and Ajamu Baraka Urge Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton to Widen Inclusion in Debates | Radio Free

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A former Green Party candidate and Occupy FCC activist is seeking to get third party candidates into the televised presidential debates and has called on the Republican and Democratic candidates to push for inclusion, suggesting there could be an “Occupy Debates” protest targeting media, sponsors and candidates if the criteria for participation are not changed.

The first of three presidential debates, organized by the Commission on Presidential Debates, is scheduled for Sept. 26, 2016, at Hoffstra University in Hempstead, New York. The second will be Oct. 9 at Washington University in St. Louis, and the third Oct. 19 at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

“The Campaign for Open Debates urges Republican candidate Donald Trump to follow the lead of President Ronald Reagan who in 1980 sought inclusion of third party candidate, John Anderson, in debates with President Jimmy Carter,” said Kevin Zeese, who is launching the campaign.

In an e-mail to journalists Monday (Aug. 22), Zeese took aim at the commission and its participation criterion of polling at least 15% to get a seat at the debates. “The Campaign for Open Debates will use a variety of tactics that target sponsors, venues, media outlets and the commission itself with protests, sit-ins, occupations and more,” said Zeese, who was involved in the Occupy Movement, including the Occupy FCC protest targeting FCC Chair Tom Wheeler and pushing for the Title II reclassification that eventually emerged.

Currently, the RealClear Politics Web site has Libertarian Gary Johnson polling at 8.9% in an average of seven national polls, compared to Hillary Clinton at 41.6% and Donald Trump at 37.1%. Green Party candidate Jill Stein has polled at as high as 6% nationally, according to Democracy Now.

He pointed out that GOP candidate Donald Trump had weighed in against the 15% participation cut-offwhen Reform Party candidate Jesse Ventura was running for president in 2000.

At the time, Trump said the 15% cut-off seemed “very, very unfair.”

“Carter refused and Reagan and Anderson debated without him and with an empty chair for Carter on-stage. We hope that Mr. Trump demands inclusive debates and Secretary Clinton decides to join the open debates,” he said. “Both candidates can show they are in favor of real democracy by supporting open debates.

Source: Potential ‘Occupy Debates’ Movement Threatened | Multichannel

In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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