This post is from Time magazine article by Zeke J Miller, entitled "Third-Party Advocates File Lawsuit Over Presidential Debates".
A coalition of advocates for third parties in presidential elections is filing a lawsuit today against barriers to entry in presidential debates.
Alleging that the Federal Election Commission and the Commission on Presidential Debates have fostered a duopoly in American politics that has made it impossible for a third-party candidate to win the White House, the suit seeks to upend a decades-old debate system, while striking a blow against the 150-year Democrat-Republican regime.
Organized by the group Level the Playing Field, which sprung out of the failed 2012 third party effort “Americans Elect” and backed by multi-millionaire financier Peter Ackerman, the lawsuit includes both the Green Party and Libertarian National Committee. It comes as the American public is more dissatisfied with the traditional party system than ever before, and the prospects for fixing it are especially dim.
Level the Playing Field contends that the 15-percent threshold is too high, and that reducing it alone would not make it any easier for a third party to participate. It proposes a playoff six months before election to allow a third-party contender with the highest poll numbers or most public signatures collected to participate in the debates. Critics argue that the run-off would become a de-facto election, artificially boosting a also-ran on one or the other side of the aisle and weakening one credible candidate over the other.
CLICK HERE to read the article.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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