We have updated our main petition to reflect the fact that there will be exactly 4 candidates for POTUS on enough state ballots to WIN.

It's time to #OpenTheDebates to @Jorgensen4POTUS & @HowieHawkins.

https://www.change.org/p/commission-on-presidential-debates-it-s-time-to-openthedebates-to-jo-jorgensen-howie-hawkins-letthemdebate 1/

While we appreciate everyone who is running a serious campaign for POTUS in order to fight for a more perfect union, we have always conceded that presidential debates can be narrowed to candidates who have a mathematical shot at winning the Electoral College (CPD criteria #2). 2/

Every 4 years, @debates trots out their tired excuse that there are 1000s of presidential contenders so they *must* come up with *some* form of threshold... to best SERVE the American electorate. 3/

But we have an inconvenient truth for @debates... something they studiously avoid & the #msm studiously lets them avoid...

That there are only 4 candidates on enough ballots to win, & overwhelmingly the American electorate they claim to serve wants them invited. 4/

The polling is crystal clear that #WeThePeople want more options, more voices, better choices, more pathways for third party & independent candidates to win office. We want to move beyond the divisiveness & hyperpartisan bullshit that dominates our discourse. 5/

One of the clearest barriers to getting what we want - something we call a "democracy gap" - is the duopoly's very own Commission on Presidential @Debates.

When 76% of the electorate wants #OpenDebates, compared to just 17% who prefer #ClosedDebates, we have a problem. 6/

When the 2 parties created @debates in 1987, it was a domestic attack on our democratic republic:

https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/19/us/democrats-and-republicans-form-panel-to-hold-presidential-debates.html 7/

The 2 parties took control away from @LWV, who sounded the alarm, saying the CPD would "perpetrate a fraud on the American voter." They courageously stated “The League has no intention of becoming an accessory to the hoodwinking of the American public.” https://openthedebates.org/2020/08/26/league-of-women-voters-refuses-to-help-perpetrate-a-fraud/ 8/

Here is the latest pathetic attempt by @Debates commissioners Frank Fahrenkopf, Dorothy Ridings, &
Kenneth Wollack, to contort reality to their anti-democratic crusade:

It's sad that they have the cover of a former @LWV president. 9/

Ridings boasts that the CPD & @LWV are great partners, & she's never questioned about the stormy beginnings of the CPD (despite the fact that we submitted just such a question).

It's sad that @PressClubDC helps @debates avoid real scrutiny here. 10/

Fahrenkopf mourns the end of comity in U.S. politics, & the demise of trust in institutions, bemoaning K-12 civics education as part of the major breakdown. Yet his consistent activity as one of the major cheerleaders of this FRAUD have brought us to where we are. 11/

It's hard to imagine a more fundamentally anti-democratic institution than the private, secretive, wheeling & dealing Commission on Presidential @Debates. They epitomize the corrupt & morally bankrupt #TwoPartyDuopoly. 12/

We recommend everyone reading this get their hands on 2 books - @FarahFindings's definitive book on the CPD, #NoDebate, & @katherinegehl & @MichaelEPorter's #ThePoliticsIndustry. 13/

#NoDebate exposes the CPD for precisely what it is - a scheming conspiracy by the two parties to control the single most important showcase to voters considering their choices for POTUS. 14/

#ThePoliticsIndustry exposes the structural madness of our #TwoPartySystem. It's not a neutral system. It's a classic business duopoly, except in this case, the two players happen to write the laws, appoint the judges, & distort the rules of the game to their advantage. 15/

Now in 2020, voters have FOUR options for POTUS with any shot at winning. 3 will be on the ballot in all 50 states & DC, 1 more will be on enough state ballots to win.

We KNOW that if we #OpenTheDebates beyond the duopoly, our political discourse can vastly improve. 16/

We KNOW this because we did it in March. @Jorgensen4POTUS & @HowieHawkins appeared in the first-ever #OpenPresidentialDebate during the primary process, thanks to @FreeandEqual: https://freeandequal.org/presidential-debate-2020/ 17

We had 18 candidates, split into two segments of 9 candidates each, & it was a mind-opening conversation representing 10 different political affiliations from across the political spectrum.

It was respectful, constructive, & solution-oriented. We CAN do this. /18

The single-biggest reason our politics is so toxic is because the #TwoPartyDuopoly & its associated #PoliticsIndustry has been able to oversimplify EVERYTHING into false binary choices & shut out any outside competition, against the will of the voters & the public interest. 19/

We desperately need to open up our conversation to better reflect the immense diversity of this nation. We can do this most easily by opening up the political debates of our nation. We don't need to pass a single law. We just need to raise this issue up the flagpole. 20/

We are committed to winning this fight by our nation's 250th anniversary in 2026. But there is no good reason why we can't make 2020 the year we #OpenTheDebates once and for all. And there's every reason to try. 21/

If you want to join the fight to #OpenTheDebates & #OpenThePoliticalSystem to #MoreVoicesBetterChoices, sign up at http://openthedebates.org .

Donate. Volunteer. Get involved. Together, but only together, we can do this. 22/22