When former Sen. Olympia J. Snowe retired from the U.S. Senate, she accepted an appointment to the 17-member Board of Directors of the Commission on Presidential Debates (“CPD”).
The CPD makes all the rules for who gets to participate in the general election debates every four years. Former Sen. Snowe has an opportunity to impact and influence the country with her voice and her unique brand of leadership.
She can make a commitment to persuade Mike McCurry and Frank Fahrenkopf, and the 14 other directors of the CPD, to reform the flawed status quo and create a new, more democratic 2016 election that breaks free of our current tired and failing politics.
She can join Sen. Angus S. King Jr., former Sen. William S. Cohen, Eliot R. Cutler, and a growing list of other current and former elected officials, four-star generals, admirals, federal judges, leading academics, and Americans just like you who support the efforts of “Change the Rule” to open up the general election presidential debates to allow a third or fourth participant on the stage.
Currently, the commission will only invite candidates to participate in the debates if they poll at 15 percent or higher in mid-September.
This rule dissuades men and women with extraordinary records of service from running for President. This rule relies on polls that are biased against third party and independent candidates and are grossly inaccurate in predicting a three-way race. Furthermore, the selection and timing of each poll used in calculating the average is easily subject to manipulation. The rule requires a non-major party candidate to spend an incremental amount of money that no independent candidate has ever raised nor any billionaire has ever spent.
Change the Rule was formed to urge the 17-member Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to change the rule they established that requires any candidate who is running for President to average 15% in five polls taken just days before the presidential debates in order to participate in those debates.
The Change the Rule Initiative reflects and responds to the views of a growing majority of Americans, who believe that with greater choice and competition in our politics we can move beyond the gridlock that’s paralyzing our political system, weakening our governance and diminishing our country’s prosperity and strength.
Recent national polls have found that 86 percent feel the political system is broken and does not serve the interests of the American people. 81 percent believe that it is important to have independent candidates run for office, and 65 percent say they wish they had the option to vote for an independent candidate in a U.S. presidential election. At the same time, more than two-thirds of Americans do not believe that the independent candidate they would prefer can ever emerge because our election system is rigged to favor Democratic and Republican incumbents, and unfortunately, they are right.
There is nothing in the constitution of the United States, or in American law or history that requires that our President be from one of two parties.
By changing this rule, the playing field would be leveled, giving the American people a broader choice in their selection of our President, and enable more great Americans to run for president.
The proposal would add an additional rule which I think is a far better indicator of national support and demonstrates the grassroots organization necessary to mount a legitimate presidential bid.
The new rule would work as follows: On April 30 any candidate, party, or nominating process with ballot access in states that collectively have at least 270 electoral college votes would notify the CPD of that access. If there is more than one, then whoever has gathered the most signatures as part of the ballot access process will participate in the debates with the Democratic and Republican nominees. Under this new rule an independent can be designated to be in the debates at least six months before the election.
A signature drive competition provides an objective, fair, and measurable way to gain access to the presidential debates.
I would add to the one independent, the minor party candidate with the most votes in their primary or other selection process.
This would then have four candidates in the debates.
How do you think the debates should be run?
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NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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