Canada's Greens fail to qualify for leaders' debate

Canada's Green Party failed to nominate enough candidates to qualify for the national leaders' debates, but were invited anyway - until the Commission reversed itself and disinvited them on the day of the first debate.

Party leaders invited to debate: (l to r) Yves-Francois Blanchet, Bloc Quebecois; Jagmeet Singh, New Democratic; 

Mark Carney, Liberal; Pierre Poilievre, Conservative. Jonathan Pedneault, Green. Yahoo News.

What’s the Controversy About Debates Commission Inviting Green Party? | Epoch Times | Lee Harding: 

April, 15, 2025 - "The leader of the Bloc Québécois is questioning why the Green Party can participate in a national televised debate even though the party falls short of qualifying criteria set by Canada’s Leaders’ Debates Commission. 'I have nothing against the Green Party, but if the rules disqualify it, how can we explain why it’s invited to the debate? The main effect is to reduce the speaking time of others,' Yves-François Blanchet wrote in a social media post in French on April 13.

"The commission did not respond to a request for comment from The Epoch Times. A spokesperson for the commission told the CBC it had 'made its decision with respect to which political parties met the debate participation criteria 27 days before election day'....

"Parties must meet two of three criteria to be invited to the debates: Having a sitting MP who’s been elected as a member of that party; having at least four percent national support in opinion polls; and running candidates in at least 90 per cent of all 343 ridings, which amount to 309.

"The commission, an independent body, invited the Greens to participate in the debate, saying the party had met the first and third criteria. However, that invitation was sent a week before the April 7 deadline for parties to submit their final list of candidates. The Green Party had submitted names for candidates in all ridings, on which the commission based its decision.... However, Elections Canada only lists 232 Green candidates, for just 68 percent of all ridings. 

"Nevertheless, Green Party co-leader Jonathan Pedneault will participate in the French debate on April 16 and the English debate on April 17. At a press conference on April 14, Pedneault said, 'it simply benefits Canadian democracy to have the Greens at the table and have as many voices to debate the future of our country.' Pedneault also said People’s Party of Canada [PPC] Leader Maxime Bernier should be included. 'The PPC should be at the table because those are issues and views that Canadians actually hold,' Pedneault said. The Green Party is polling around two percent and the PPC one percent.

"Bernier said on social media that he received his first indication that he would not participate in the debate when Radio Canada TV host Celine Galipeau called Bernier in French 'a leader who will not be at the debate.' In a March 25 press release, Bernier said, 'How is it possible that Ms. Galipeau know[s] this already? I think I have the answer. Radio-Canada/CBC will produce the debates, so they’re talking to the Commission, and I presume everybody there already knows that I won’t be invited'....

"Bernier added that under the 2021 rules he would automatically have been invited because the PPC received almost 5 percent of the vote in the last election, alleging the commission 'changed the rules only to exclude us.' In 2021, the commission decided a party could participate in debates if it met one of three criteria: a sitting MP in the House elected as a member of that party, candidates in the previous election received at least four percent of total valid votes cast, and polls taken five days after the election is called found the party had a national support level of at least four percent.... The PPC was left out of the 2021 debates, as it had earned just 1.62 per cent of the popular vote in 2019, did not elect an MP, and had an average level of 3.27 percent support in polls prior to the 2021 election. However, the party earned 840,993 votes for 4.94 per cent support in the 2021 election....

"The inclusion of the Greens in the French debate ensures Liberal Leader Mark Carney will be involved. Carney announced March 25 he would not participate in an additional French debate, to be broadcast on TVA, because of the Green Party’s absence. As a result, the TVA debate was cancelled."

Read more: https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/whats-the-controversy-about-debates-commission-inviting-green-party-5842129

Update: Green Party booted from leaders' debates due to lack of candidates | National Post | Rahim  Mohammed:

April 16, 2025 - "The commission overseeing the federal leaders’ debates has disinvited the Green party from the proceedings in a surprise last-minute ruling. The Leaders’ Debates Commission said in a Wednesday morning press release explaining the decision that the Greens aren’t running enough candidates to be a factor in the election.... The Green Party hadn’t named candidates in more than 100 of the 343 federal ridings in play, as of this week, putting it well below the 90 per cent threshold.... 

"Pedneault said last week that the candidate shortfall was due, in part, to a 'strategic decision' not to run Green candidates in ridings where the Conservatives were running strong, so as not to split the progressive vote. Green party officials had alternatively pointed the finger at Elections Canada, accusing returning officers of being slow to verify nomination signatures submitted by local candidates."

Read more: https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/green-party-booted-from-leaders-debate

Debates Commission moves goalposts on Bernier

In Canada's 2021 election, Maxime Bernier didn't qualify for the Leaders' debate, but his People's Party still received 4.9% of the vote  — enough to qualify him for the next election. So the Leaders' Debates Commission changed the rules. 

The Leaders’ Debates Commission is again trying to exclude Maxime Bernier | People's Party of Canada (news release): 

January 15, 2025 — "The Leaders’ Debates Commission has once again changed its criteria so they can easily exclude the leader of the People’s Party on the basis of dubious polls, as they did in 2021. 

"In 2021, parties needed to meet one of three criteria to qualify: 1) have at least one MP; 2) have had at least 4% of the total vote in the previous election; or 3) have at least 4% on average in polls at the beginning of the campaign. The PPC did not meet 1) and 2), and its leader was disqualified on 3) by using dubious polling results in which the PPC barely registered, which gave the party an average of only 3.27%, even though its support was clearly much higher and it ended up scoring 4.9% on election day. 

Maxime Bernier in 2023. Photo by Yan Parisien. 

CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.

"Mr. Bernier would automatically qualify to take part in this year’s debates on the basis of criterion 2) if the Commission had kept the same criteria. However, yesterday, the Commission announced a key change, dropping that criterion and requiring that parties must now meet not one, but two of these three criteria: 1) have at least one MP; 2) have at least 4% on average in the polls at the beginning of the campaign; or 3) run candidates in at least 90% of ridings....

"[T]he Commission states in its document that when consulting the parties about the new rules last year, 'The Commission received submissions from the Bloc Quebecois, the Conservative Party of Canada, the Green Party of Canada, the Liberal Party of Canada, and the New Democratic Party of Canada.' This is not true. A PPC staffer sent a submission to Michel Cormier, the Commission’s Executive Director, on July 3 2024, two days before the deadline, in which it was argued that the Commission should keep the same criteria as in 2021.

"Not only is the Commission trying to exclude Mr. Bernier from the debates, but it seems like it did not take the PPC submission into account.

"Maxime Bernier commented:

This change only has one obvious purpose, one that unites the whole political establishment in Ottawa: Making it easier to exclude the PPC. These new rules only affect me, the leader of the only new party to emerge forcefully on the federal political scene in decades, and none of the other leaders expected to participate. They want to deny a voice to 840,000 Canadian voters who supported the PPC in 2021.

It’s still possible for the PPC to qualify of course, but we are again at the mercy of dubious polls, some of which we know deliberately exclude the PPC from the list of potential responses, which inevitably understates our level of support.

Instead of using the hard data that are the results of the last election, which prove without doubt that the PPC is one of the major parties whose voice is essential in Canadian policy debates, and, the Commission has chosen to rely on fleeting data that can easily be manipulated and will be obsolete a few weeks later.

Why does the Commission need to change its criteria every electoral cycle? Isn’t it weird that a Commission is kept alive, and public funds are spent to carry consultations with experts and parties, only to come up every few years with new rules that make the participation of the PPC more difficult? Does it exist to facilitate democratic debates or to censor a populist voice?”

Read more: https://www.peoplespartyofcanada.ca/news/press-release-the-leaders-debates-commission-is-again-trying-to-exclude-maxime-bernier

3rd-party POTUS candidates debate in L.A.

The top third-party candidates for POTUS held their final debate this week in Los Angeles.

Third-party candidates Jill Stein (Green), Chase Oliver (Libertarian), Randall Terry (Constitution) at October 23 debate. Courtesy C-SPAN.

Last Night's Presidential Debate Was Refreshingly Strange and Earnest | Reason | Christian Britschgi:

October 24, 2024 - "Last night, three people who know they're not going to be president but are running for the office anyway took the stage in Los Angeles for a spirited third-party debate. At the debate hosted by Free and Equal, Libertarian Party nominee Chase Oliver, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, and Randal Terry of the Constitution Party argued about whether the government should get much smaller, much larger, or be totally reoriented toward Judeo-Christian values....

"Oliver did an admirable job laying out the basics of libertarianism and then applying them to individual cases. 'If you're not harming other people with your behavior, your behavior is perfectly acceptable and should not be regulated by the government or any other entity,' he said last night, arguing that we should eliminate zoning laws to make housing affordable, cut spending, sell federal land to bring down the debt, and stay out of foreign wars.

"The other two candidates offered some fresh perspectives that were at least interesting to hear, even if they are not all necessarily advisable. Terry argued we should build a wall on the northern border to keep the Canadians out, drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska to pay off the national debt, and eat raw broccoli to cure cancer. 

"Stein said building a wall on the southern border wouldn't stop drugs getting in ... but would devastate wildlife and natural ecosystems along the U.S.–Mexico border. She also perceptively argued we're stumbling into a wider war in the Middle East without any real acknowledgment or discussion.... The Libertarian nominee actively agreed with Stein that we should cut off foreign aid to Israel and nodded along to Terry's stirring anti–property tax rants....

"With all that said, there were plenty of boring, awful, and false mainstream ideas that did get thrown around too. Stein repeatedly argued that we could balance the federal budget by taxing the rich, cutting military spending, and passing Medicare for All. She called for emergency rent control and vacancy taxes to bring down the costs of housing. She said we could end mass illegal immigration by lifting sanctions on the socialist economies of Venezuela and Cuba.... Terry dusted off the old Mitt Romney idea that millions of illegal immigrants could be made to 'self-deport' if we made life miserable enough for them. His closing statement also ended with a call for the total destruction of the Democratic Party.... 

"The silver lining of Terry and Stein aping Republican and Democratic talking points is it reinforced the notion that the Libertarian Party is the only real third party. Oliver wasn't representing a more extreme version of either mainstream party. He was presenting a unique message and a unique vision of government. It's a shame more mainstream audiences likely won't hear it."

Read more: https://reason.com/2024/10/24/last-nights-presidential-debate-was-refreshingly-strange-and-earnest/

RFK Jr. asks Trump to debate him at Libertarian National Convention

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy has (1) confirmed that he will be attending the Libertarian National Convention and (2) challenged Donald Trump, who will also be attending, to debate him there.

RFK Jr. Challenges Trump: Libertarian Debate Showdown? | X | Grok:

(l tor) Donald J. Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Fox News.

May 8, 2024 - "In a surprising turn of events, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has thrown down the gauntlet, challenging former President Donald Trump to a formal debate at the upcoming Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C. This bold move comes amidst a flurry of speculation and uncertainty surrounding the 2024 presidential election landscape.... As the political world holds its breath, one can't help but wonder if this high-stakes debate will indeed come to fruition, and what impact it could have on the race for the White House."

This story is a summary of posts on X and may evolve over time. Grok can make mistakes, verify its outputs.

Read more: https://twitter.com/i/trending/1787886662652936278

Robert F. Kennedy Jr | X | May 7, 2024: 

Dear President Trump,

I’m grateful to you for calling attention to the rigged polling methodologies that biased DNC-influenced media have used against you. We have this concern too, and I’m happy to show you the deceptive methodologies used by DNC-allied pollsters who pretend that I’m in single digits. You have correctly characterized these as “fake polls.”

This is why we did our own poll with Zogby — the largest and most accurate poll of this election cycle. We had Zogby ask about head-to-head matchups. (1) You versus President Biden. (2) Me versus President Biden. (3) Me versus you. The results? You beat President Biden handily. I crush him as well, by even more. And against each other, I beat you in a nail-biter.

In a three-way, you are ahead but I’m coming up strong. Two new polls (CNN and Quinnipiac) have me above the 15% debate threshold. Another (Activote) has me at 26% among young voters. And you and I are tied among America’s 70 million Independents.

I’m also drawing a lot of voters from your former supporters. They are upset that you blew up the deficit, shut down their businesses during Covid, and filled your administration with swamp creatures.

So I’d like to make you an offer. We’re both going to be speaking at the upcoming Libertarian convention on May 24 and 25. It’s perfect neutral territory for you and me to have a debate where you can defend your record for your wavering supporters.

You yourself have said you’re not afraid to debate me as long as my poll numbers are decent. Well, they are. In fact, I’m the only presidential candidate in history who has polled ahead of both major party candidates in head-to-head races.

So let’s meet at the Libertarian convention and show the American public that at least two of the major candidates aren’t afraid to debate each other. I asked the convention organizers and they are game for us to use our time there to bring the American people the debate they deserve!

Sincerely,
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.

https://twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1787876409177735639

Ontario 3rd parties protest ACM debate exclusion

Libertarian Party, New Blue Party and Ontario Party get chance to meet public | North Bay Nugget - Jennifer Hamilton-McCharles:

Michelle Lashbrook. 

May 9, 2022 - "Michelle Lashbrook, Nipissing candidate for the Libertarian Party, was joined by candidates representing the New Blue Party and the Ontario Party Saturday afternoon at the 406 Squadron RCAF Alliance. All three candidates spoke about their party's positions and goals, however they expressed frustration and disappointment in the fact they haven't been invited to election debates being held throughout Nipissing.

"Ontario Libertarian Party leader Mark Snow asked Nipissing candidates from the three parties how many local debates they’ve been invited to.... Lashbrook .. was only invited to the candidates’ debate hosted by North Bay Pride. Other candidates weren’t invited to any. 

"'They are using community organizations to set the rules which are private venues to say who and what person is allowed on stage,' Snow told about 75 people Saturday at the 406 Squadron RCAF Alliance. 'This is the suppression that is happening.' Lashbrook agreed....

"'I decided to run for the Libertarian Party. As much reach as we’ve had with Northern Freedom Alliance, our voices need to reach further out,” Lashbrook said. 'I encourage everyone to look at municipal elections, run for council, board, committees, use our tactics to get involved. I don’t want this to be our world. We need to reduce government.'

"Action4Canada hosted the session, giving each candidate a chance to speak to the crowd to outline their party’s position and goals.

"Joe Jobin, Nipissing candidate for the Ontario Party, thanked the other parties – the New Blue Party and the Libertarian Party – for standing up for Canada. He said he hopes all three will come together as one party.... 'Don’t be discouraged, we will have victory. It may not happen overnight. Good things take time and it’s going to take time, step-by-step, brick-by-brick and legislation-by-legislation we will restore what we lost.'

"The businessman and ordained minister said he sat back in hopes the leaders of the province would 'straighten things out'.... 'I kept thinking maybe things will [get] straightened out and let someone else take care of it, but then when they weren’t getting straightened out I couldn’t remain silent any longer,' Jobin said Saturday. 'For a number of years I’ve started to realize something is wrong and the rules aren’t making any sense. We’re in a changing world and it’s not changing for the better. We can’t vote for self-serving politicians.'"

Read more: https://www.nugget.ca/news/libertarian-party-new-blue-party-and-ontario-party-want-to-be-included-in-local-debates

Bernier makes it into leaders' debates

Maxime Bernier invited to participate in official commission debates | CBC News - Aaron Wherry:

September 16, 2019 - "The official Leaders' Debates Commission has decided to invite Maxime Bernier, leader of the People's Party of Canada, to participate in the English and French debates that will be televised next month. 'You have satisfied me that you intend to field candidates in 90 per cent of ridings and, based on recent political context, public opinion polls and previous general election results, I consider that more than one candidate of your party has a legitimate chance to be elected,' David Johnston, the former governor general who leads the commission, wrote to Bernier on Monday.

"Bernier was not initially included among the leaders invited to participate in the debates. Instead, he was asked to provide more information as the commission considered his case.

"'Canadians will be able to see all the options before voting the 21st of October. And it is important,' Bernier told supporters at a meeting in Saint John, N.B. 'I must say to Mr. Johnston that he took the right decision for the future of our country....'

"'I think it's wrong to give Mr. Bernier the platform to spread his hateful and divisive message," NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said during a campaign stop in Montreal....

"'It's no big surprise that Justin Trudeau's hand-picked debate panel used a Liberal-friendly pollster who attacks Andrew Scheer to ultimately justify Mr. Bernier's attendance at the debate,' said Daniel Schow, press secretary to the Conservative leader — apparently referring to Frank Graves of Ekos....

"The commission was charged with considering three criteria as it decided on a final list of debate participants: whether a party is represented in the House of Commons by an MP who was elected as a member of that party; whether a party is planning to run candidates in at least 90 per cent of ridings; and whether a party has a "legitimate chance" of electing more than one MP. To be included in the debates, a party must satisfy at least two of those criteria.

"Bernier and the People's Party have nominated candidates for more than 90 per cent of the country's 338 ridings, but the party has not yet elected an MP under its banner (Bernier was elected as a Conservative MP in 2015). That left the commission to decide whether the People's Party had a 'legitimate chance' of electing multiple MPs this fall....

"In addition to Bernier's riding of Beauce, the commission reviewed opinion polling results for the Ontario ridings of Nipissing-Timiskaming, Etobicoke North and Pickering-Uxbridge, and the Manitoba riding of Charleswood-St.-James-Assiniboia-Headingley. The results of those riding-level polls, conducted for the commission by Ekos, showed that between 24.5 per cent and 34.1 per cent of respondents said it was 'possible' that they would vote for the People's Party candidate."

Read more: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/maxime-bernier-debates-commission-election-1.5285162
'via Blog this'

LP POTUS candidates go negative on Amash

Libertarian Presidential Candidates Prefer Each Other Over Justin Amash – Reason.com - Matt Welch:

July 15, 2019 "Saturday night just outside of Boston, at one of the first L.P. presidential debates this cycle, ... I was moderating, and had just asked the assembled candidates — [Kim] Ruff, Arvin Vohra, Adam Kokesh, New Hampshire State Rep. Max Abramson, and Dan 'Taxation Is Theft' Behrman — whether they would support Amash.... Vohra, then Kokesh, then Behrman, each said that they would support everyone on stage before the newly independent libertarian congressman. And even the two other comparative moderates were critical of his potential candidacy.

"'We aren't Republican light; we're not Democrat light,' said Ruff, an Arizona-based manufacturer.... 'We're advocates of full, unencumbered liberty. And that means taking positions that make the public squeamish.... I don't see somebody who is personally conservative being comfortable saying, "Yeah, I think we should legalize all narcotics. I think sex work is work. I think that you should have body autonomy. And if that means you want to end your life or ask a friend to do it for you, you should have that right." So no, I don't think he would be a great candidate for us. He's got a lot to learn.'

"Vohra ... dismissed the idea that Amash's defection from the GOP represents any kind of bravery. 'It does not take courage to speak out against a president that is unpopular with more than half the population,' said Vohra.... 'We don't need somebody who's ... just pandering to a large group of people who believe that the orange man is bad.... I would support any of the people sitting here in a second — in a second — over Justin Amash, because they have shown real boldness, not just pandering. They have been willing to say things that are true, honest, and unpopular, and that to me is the true measure of leadership.'

"Kokesh ... portrayed it as a referendum on institutional self-confidence. 'We cannot elect or nominate a former Republican…for the fourth cycle in a row. I just think that would set the party back so far,' Kokesh said.... 'Gary Johnson was better than [2008 nominee] Bob Barr, and Justin Amash might be that much better than Gary Johnson even. It's the worst temptation we've ever seen from this vector. But it's the most important time to resist it'....

"Even Abramson, the only elected official of the bunch (and he was elected as a Republican ... before ... switching back to the party he ran for governor in 2016 with), lamented the 'Republican savior' complex..... 'We have our own message. We're a different party. We're not Republican light, we're not cheap Democrats, we're something completely different. We want a free society'....

"'We need to be doing this now,' said Behrman.... 'And if Justin Amash is busy doing something else that he can't commit to this.... Let him stay where he is, do what he's doing; let him choose his own path. But we need to put our support behind myself and these other great candidates so we can start getting this message out and start getting people to see our faces'....

"The decision by potential contenders to go negative on Amash ... makes all the sense in the world from an incentives point of view. They're running to win, and there is pent-up grassroots Libertarian frustration at the tendency for their presidential nominations to be handed to temporary Libertarians like Bob Barr rather than longtime activists such as Mary Ruwart. (Indeed, Ruwart was singled out for praise by three of the five candidates on stage.)

"As for Amash, he has little incentive to make any premature declaration about running for president. The first major-party primaries are seven months away, and God only knows what American politics will look like then."

Read more: https://reason.com/2019/07/15/libertarian-presidential-candidates-prefer-each-other-over-justin-amash/
'via Blog this'

U.S. third parties marginalized in midterms

How Third Parties Are Getting Screwed This Election Season - Reason.com Matt Walsh & Alexis Garcia:

October 26, 2018 - "The 2018 midterms have been chock full of two-party shenanigans, all too often aided and abetted by journalists, pollsters, and the voters themselves.

"It all starts with ballot access. If a state government considers you a 'major party,' getting on the ballot is a snap. Worst-case scenario, you need to collect signatures from a tiny fraction of your own registered voter base. Best case, you just show up.

"Third-party and independent candidates, on the other hand, have to collect tens of thousands of signatures in some states – 15,000 to run for governor in New York, for example, including at least 100 in each congressional district. Arizona Republicans ... changed the law to say that Libertarians need to collect signatures not just from their own members but from registered independents as well. And by the way, the Green Party is subject to a less stringent set of rules.... Some states push their filing deadlines all the way back to a year before the election....

"New Hampshire this year herded all third parties under the same ballot line, confusingly titled 'Libertarians and Other Candidates.' New Mexico tried — and thankfully failed — to institute a 'straight party' ballot, meaning voters in this 3:2 Democratic state could automatically vote for all the candidates in one party by checking off just one box....

"Getting your name on the ballot doesn't mean it will be included in the polls. The Nevada race for U.S. Senate is universally rated a tossup, and yet the first three independent polls released this October failed to include Libertarian Tim Hagan...

"How about debates? Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dale Kerns was assured of a spot on stage, then uninvited. Texas gubernatorial candidate Mark Tippets was told he didn't have enough qualifying press, in part because his coverage in the Spanish-language media didn't count.... Iowa governor candidate Jake Porter, who's polling higher than any other L.P. statehouse contender, says his debate invitations were rescinded, in part because he refused to buy commercials.

"'The freer and more general the competition,' Adam Smith wrote in 1776, the more 'advantageous' it will be to the public. Competitors, he warned, will 'always' try 'to widen the market and to narrow the competition.' For too long we have allowed our system of government, that other glorious achievement from 1776, to be controlled by the market-rigging forces Smith warned us about. It's about time to make American politics competitive again."

Read more: https://reason.com/reasontv/2018/10/26/how-third-parties-being-screwed-this-ele
'via Blog this'

Libertarian Metz gets into GA governor debate

Predicting a runoff, Libertarian wants protest vote - Jill Nolin, CHNI - WALB 10 News:

October 25, 2018 - "Tired of two-party politics? The lesser-known third-party candidate in the closely watched Georgia gubernatorial race says he wants your 'protest' vote.

"'This is going to be a runoff anyway,' Ted Metz, who is running as a Libertarian, said during the first televised debate. 'If you’re tired of the two-party system and the two-party tyranny of the oligarchs running the planet, then a vote for me is a protest vote to show them that you are sick and tired of the same ol’ stuff.'

"Metz, a Mableton retiree who worked in the insurance industry, used candidate-to-candidate questions during Tuesday night’s Atlanta Press Club debate to highlight the flaws of both Republican Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams. The debate aired live on Georgia Public Broadcasting.

"Abrams and Kemp are running neck and neck with just a couple weeks left before the Nov. 6 election, according to recent polls.... Metz has lagged far behind ... mustering just 1 or 2 percent of support from likely voters in recent polls. And he’s raised just $6,000 in a race that has smashed state fundraising records.

"But if Metz cobbles together enough votes to deny Abrams and Kemp the votes needed for a majority, the race to name Georgia’s next governor could run into December....

"Metz used his time on screen to laud the usefulness of industrial hemp, call for smaller government and decry the two-party political system.

"He said lower voter turnout – which he attributed to disinterested independent voters – is a bigger issue than voter suppression, which has become a major election issue in the homestretch of the race.

"'They’re trying to pull us apart [to] vote for one of the two teams,' Metz said. 'There are more people that are more interested in hearing a third voice than voting for team red or team blue.'"

Read more: https://www.walb.com/2018/10/25/predicting-runoff-libertarian-wants-protest-vote/
'via Blog this'

Larry Sharpe excluded from NY governor debate

Larry Sharpe Excluded from NY Gubernatorial Debate · 71 Republic - Ryan Lau:

October 22, 2018 - "The New York race for governor has been a vicious battle thus far. Democrat incumbent Andrew Cuomo ... faces off against a number of opponents: Republican Marc Molinaro, Libertarian Larry Sharpe, Independent Stephanie Miner, and the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins. However, only Molinaro will get to debate live with Cuomo.

"The Monday night move comes after a number of polls showed that the third-party candidates have very low name recognition. Specifically, a whopping 84 percent of voters had not heard of Larry Sharpe. Figures were similar for Miner and Hawkins, at 77 and 86 percent, respectively. Of the voters who had heard of Sharpe, one-third of them had a positive opinion....

"Most of the polls excluded the third-party candidates entirely.... Sharpe’s performance in a Gravis Marketing poll was the highest of the three candidates: even so, he received only 13% in this poll.

"Third parties, such as the Libertarian Party, have faced exclusion from debates in the past. Most notably, the 2016 Presidential debates did not feature Gary Johnson, who then launched a major lawsuit against the Commission on Presidential Debates.... Johnson now is running for New Mexico Senate.

"Sharpe took to Twitter Monday, condemning the media’s decision to exclude the third-party candidates. He strongly believes that with fair coverage, he could win the race.

(1) My poll numbers prove that I could easily walk away with 30% of the vote and win if my name recognition were equal to that of Cuomo. That tells you that people want change, but they are kept in the dark by the media that is paying to play with Cuomo.

"Monday night’s debate, which will be live on Tuesday night at 7 P.M. EST, is the only scheduled discourse between the two candidates before the election. Thus, Sharpe and the other third-party candidates have lost a key opportunity to increase their low name recognition."

Read more: https://71republic.com/2018/10/22/larry-sharpe-excluded-debate/
'via Blog this'

League of Women Voters drops Senate debate in Pennsylvania over 3rd-party exclusion

Televised U.S. Senate debate loses co-sponsor over exclusion of Green, Libertarian candidates - Reading Eagle:

October 16, 2018 - "The League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania withdrew as co-sponsor of a televised debate this weekend between candidates in Pennsylvania's U.S. Senate race because the Green and Libertarian party nominees were not invited to participate.

"Democratic U.S. Sen. Robert Casey Jr. and his Republican challenger, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, are to debate Saturday at the studios of WPVI-TV, the ABC affiliate in Philadelphia....

"Reason magazine cited a WPVI-TV spokeswoman as explaining that only Casey and Barletta were invited because no other candidates reached the station's criterion of showing at least 10 percent support in 'multiple reputable statewide polls'....

"In a news release late Monday, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania explained that it wants any candidate who makes the ballot to be included in the debates it sponsors."

Read more:  https://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/televised-us-senate-debate-loses-co-sponsor-over-exclusion-of-green-libertarian-candidates
'via Blog this'

PA Libertarian's debate invitation revoked

Pennsylvania's Libertarian Senate Candidate Gets Invited, Then Snubbed From Televised Debate - Hit & Run : Reason.com - Eric Boehm:

October 9, 2018 - "Dale Kerns says he was promised a spot in an October 20 senatorial debate in the Philadelphia media market — only to have the invitation rescinded as the debate neared.... Kerns, an electrical contractor from the Philadelphia suburbs, is the Libertarian candidate in a four-way Senate race that also includes incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-Penn.), Rep. Lou Barletta (R-Hazleton), and Green Party candidate Neal Gale. All four candidates have qualified for the ballot in Pennsylvania.

"Emails obtained by Reason show that Kerns' campaign was twice assured of a spot in a televised debate by executives at the state's chapter of the League of Women Voters, which typically plays a role in organizing debates. In March, Suzanne Almeida, the then-executive director of the group, told Kerns' campaign manager that Kerns would 'certainly' be invited to 'participate in candidate forums after the primary.'

"In late August, the campaign again contacted the League of Women Voters seeking information about planned debates. Jill Greene, who had taken over as executive director in July, responded on August 29 to say that she was currently trying to plan a Senate debate with the League's media partners and that she would 'be sure to include Mr. Kerns and Mr. Gale.'

"Six weeks later, after the debate had been scheduled for October 20 on Philadelphia's ABC affiliate, WPVI-TV, Greene emailed Kerns' campaign manager John Odermatt to deliver the bad news. The League had asked to include Kerns and Gale in the debate, she said, but 'other organizers' did not 'feel as if current polling warranted an invitation'.... On Tuesday, Greene told Reason that any questions regarding the decision not to invite Kerns or Gale to the debate 'should be referred to WPVI, as it was their decision.'

"Niki Hawkins, director of community affairs for WPVI-TV, ... defended the station's decision on the grounds that Kerns had failed to meet eligibility criteria including 'significant voter support for the candidacy as reflected in polling numbers'.... It's true that Kerns has fallen short of the 10 percent threshold that serves as the only objective standard in WPVI's criteria.... But it's also true that Kerns wasn't officially on the ballot until August, so WPVI's decision to rely on polls conducted earlier in the campaign skews against the inclusion of third party candidates....

"'Make no mistake, this is cronyism: big media corporations colluding with big government political parties to keep out competition,' says Kerns. 'The mainstream media screams about Russia stealing elections, but behind the scenes they pull the strings to keep the duopoly in control.'"

Read more: https://reason.com/blog/2018/10/09/pennsylvanias-libertarian-senate-candida
'via Blog this'

Debate exclusion hits NH Libertarians too

NH Libertarian Party Candidates Excluded from WMUR’s Debates via Insurmountable Rules? | Free Keene - Ian Freeman [NH Senate district 10 Libertarian candidate]:

October 7, 2018 "Despite attaining major party ballot access in New Hampshire for the first time in twenty years, the Libertarian Party of NH has been unfairly excluded from the biggest debates – those hosted by WMUR-TV. How? According to the rules the ABC affiliate announced last month, in order to be invited to their debates, the candidate must be polling at over 12%.... There have been no polls that have included the libertarian candidates.... Oh yeah, and they want the candidate to have $25,000 in the bank....

"Thankfully, many of NH’s local media like newspapers and radio have been fair to the libertarian candidates, like the Keene Sentinel, whose editorial board recently interviewed [Libertarian candidate for governor] Jilletta Jarvis.

"According to Jarvis, if she’s invited to a debate, the other candidates will protest. She told me that North Country Community Radio recently invited all three gubernatorial candidates to debate. Incumbent republican Chris Sununu responded and declined the station’s invitation and democrat Molly Kelly ignored their invite entirely. Instead of the planned debate, the station gave a two hour interview to Jarvis and reminded their audience of the major candidates’ conspicuous absence.

"Though Jarvis was told personally by WMUR’s Political Director Adam Sexton that the Libertarian candidate for governor WOULD be invited to debate, News Director Alisha McDevitt later told Jarvis that Sexton was not authorized to make that promise on behalf of WMUR. Sexton by the way, HAS been fair to the Libertarians in his various coverage – kudos to him for that.

"If you’re upset by these blatantly biased rules, please reach out to the debate organizers at WMUR and the Union Leader and let them know how you feel.... Jarvis ... has set up a page from which you can send an email to ... Alisha McDevitt.....

"Jarvis’ campaign has raised more than any other LP candidate for governor since 1994, but she’s still $16,000 short of WMUR’s $25,000 campaign finance goal. [Americans] can donate to her campaign here."

Read more: https://freekeene.com/2018/10/07/nh-libertarian-party-candidates-excluded-from-wmurs-debates-via-insurmountable-rules/
'via Blog this'

Exclusive debates are campaign contributions, Ohio Libertarians ask Election Commission to rule

Libertarians file complaint over three Ohio gubernatorial debates :: WRAL.com - Cox newspapers:

September 25, 2018 - "The Libertarian Party of Ohio has filed a complaint with the Ohio Elections Commission over being excluded from three gubernatorial debates, including the first one held last week at the University of Dayton [UD] between Democrat Richard Cordray and Republican Mike DeWine.

"The 23-page complaint alleges that the university and the DeWine and Cordray campaigns excluded other qualified gubernatorial candidates from planning and participating in the debate.

"'No pre-existing objective criteria -- other than the participants being Richard Cordray and Mike DeWine -- were published, documented or in any way made available to the public, the press, the two minor political parties, or the two minor political parties' qualified gubernatorial candidates,' the complaint says.

"Libertarian Party of Ohio nominee Travis Irvine and Ohio Green Party nominee Constance Gadell Newton will also appear on the statewide ballot as candidates for governor.

"Two other debates between Cordray and DeWine [were held] Oct. 1 at Marietta College and Oct. 7 at Cleveland State University.

"The Libertarian Party's complaint alleges that hosting the Sept. 19 debate amounted to an illegal campaign contribution to DeWine and Cordray from UD.

"A university spokesperson said the week before the debate that it had set a 10-percent polling requirement for candidates to participate in the debate. The Libertarian complaint said there is no evidence they have seen that the criteria was set before the debate was announced....

"The Ohio Elections Commission is expected to give the complaint a preliminary review at its Nov. 1 meeting."

Read more: https://www.wral.com/libertarians-file-complaint-over-three-ohio-gubernatorial-debates/17872675/
'via Blog this'

Debate exclusion jeopardizes Iowa LP's status

Without media attention, Libertarians might lose status as official political party – The Daily Iowan:

September 25, 2018 - "As three debates between Iowa’s gubernatorial candidates fell into place this month, members of the Libertarian Party fear their candidate’s absence could derail a quest to renew their recently acquired status as an official political party in Iowa.

""The first of three gubernatorial debates will occur on Oct. 10.... Libertarian candidate Jake Porter will not be included in this debate nor in the following two.... The second debate will be broadcast ... Oct. 17, and the third debate will take place on Oct. 21....

"Porter said his biggest concern was earning enough votes in November to remain a state political party, a status that he believes could become precarious if voters are not exposed to Libertarian candidates and their platforms.

"'That is a big media opportunity to be in the debates; it gives a lot of credibility,' Porter said. 'Obviously, if we’re shut out of that, we’re probably not going to get a lot of coverage from that debate, and [we’re] not going to be able to share our views with a lot of Iowans.'

"This is the first election cycle since the Libertarian Party gained ballot-eligible status in 2016, following Gary Johnson’s presidential campaign. Iowa law states that to be considered a political party, an organization must have had a gubernatorial or presidential candidate who received at least 2 percent of votes cast in the preceding general election. The last time a third party became viable as a major party was in 2000, when Green Party candidate Ralph Nader garnered 2.2 percent of the vote....

"The first debate will be cosponsored by KCCI, a Des Moines television station, and the Des Moines Register.... Porter said he was expecting treatment of this kind from his opponents rather than members of the press....

"Joseph Howe, the state chair of the Libertarian Party of Iowa, said Porter’s absence from the debates could make the Libertarians’ position as a ballot-eligible party more precarious by limiting total audience exposure to candidates. If turnout for Porter fails to meet the required 2 percent threshold, then Libertarians will be relegated back to minor- or non-party status, as the Iowa Green Party was after a lackluster performance in 2002....

"There is a peaceful protest being organized for debate night at KCCI by Porter and others to draw attention to what they perceive to be unfair and damaging practices on the part of the sponsors. Simultaneously, a volunteer viewing list is being circulated among supporters to collect advertising data on KCCI. Libertarians are also taking to various social-media platforms to express their distaste for the exclusion."

Read more: http://dailyiowan.com/2018/09/25/libertarians-feeling-left-out-in-media-cold/#photo
'via Blog this'

PA Libertarian happy to be seen as spoiler

Libertarian Candidate Embraces His Role As Spoiler In Pennsylvania Election - Daniel Marans, Huffington Post:

March 14, 2018 - "Until Tuesday night, Drew Gray Miller, the Libertarian candidate for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District, was treated like an afterthought by Democrats, Republicans and most news outlets.

"Miller jumped through numerous bureaucratic hoops just to get his name on the ballot. His $2,000 campaign haul was below the threshold requiring him to report it to the Federal Election Commission but just enough for some social media outreach to his target demographic of high school seniors and college students....

"He was not invited to the televised candidate debates, and on Election Day he was still publicly pestering CNN, which he had provided with a photo of himself, to mention him as one of the choices on the ballot.

"Then the election results came in. Miller had received 0.6 percent of the vote ― accounting for far more than the 0.2 percentage point lead Democrat Conor Lamb ended up holding over Republican Rick Saccone.... Suddenly Miller was the man of the hour, as pundits discovered that [he] might have cost Saccone the race. When CNN finally flashed Miller’s photo on screen, his 20-person election watch party at Fat Head’s Saloon erupted in cheers ... high-fived one another and took selfies in front of the TV.....

Miller embraced the 'spoiler' moniker on Twitter, gleefully predicting late Tuesday that he would soon be the 'most hated man in America.' But he rejects the ... premise that any one candidate can be an actual spoiler.

"'No candidate is entitled to somebody’s vote. You have to earn somebody’s vote,' he said. 'If you have to silence a third-party candidate because your candidate cannot win otherwise, that tells me that you either have a crappy candidate or a crappy message. And in the case of Lamb and Saccone, it’s probably both.'

"For now, though, Miller appreciates the 'notoriety' that comes with the label, he said..... It’s attention that he hopes to use to spread the Libertarian gospel of individual liberty in all facets of life, including freedom from high taxes, marijuana prohibition and an overbearing surveillance state."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/drew-miller-libertarian-spoiler-special-election_us_5aa98129e4b0600b82ffaa03
'via Blog this'

Cliff Hyra condemns opponents' name-calling

Calling himself the 'grown-up in the room,' Libertarian Cliff Hyra bashes Gillespie and Northam over harsh attack ads | Virginia Politics | richmond.com - Graham Moomaw, Richmond Times-Dispatch:

November 2, 2017 - "Libertarian Cliff Hyra wants Virginians to ignore the attack ads in the governor’s race featuring MS-13 gang members, pedophiles and neo-Nazis.... On Thursday, less than a week before Tuesday’s election, Hyra held a news conference at the state Capitol to emphasize his dismay over the 'wild-eyed accusations and divisive rhetoric' flying between Republican Ed Gillespie and Democrat Ralph Northam and their supporters.

"'I fear for the future of our commonwealth and of our nation [when] even the most staid candidates feel that they have to descend to this level of discourse ...' said Hyra, a 35-year-old Mechanicsville patent attorney who will appear on the ballot ... as the only third-party candidate for governor.... '“It’s unbelievable to me that I had to be the grown-up in the room, because these 60-year-old men, these establishment politicians, a sitting lieutenant governor and a (former) chairman of the Republican National Committee apparently think that the best strategy (for) getting elected to the highest position of the state is name-calling'.....

"Gillespie has invested heavily in ads attacking Northam as soft on the Latino street gang MS-13 because Northam voted against a ban on sanctuary cities earlier this year, even though no sanctuary cities exist in Virginia. Gillespie has also used the case of a convicted sex offender to bash Northam for supporting Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s expansive approach to restoring felons’ voting rights.

"Northam and the rest of the Democratic ticket put out a mailer linking Gillespie and President Donald Trump to the Tiki torch-carrying white supremacists who have rallied in Charlottesville, despite Gillespie’s repeated denunciations of the group. An outside group, the Latino Victory Fund, put out a video ad showing a pickup truck with a Confederate flag and Gillespie bumper sticker chasing down minority children....

"All of it, Hyra said, has distracted from real policy discussions that could better serve voters. He ticked off several of his own policy positions, which include legalizing marijuana and other criminal justice reforms, scrapping SOL testing, protecting property owners from eminent domain 'abuse,' opposing proposed pipelines, and cutting taxes and regulation.

"Hyra was not invited to participate in any of the three gubernatorial debates, and his poll numbers have reflected the limited ability of third-party candidates to break through.... He said he’d like to hit 10 percentage points, which would make it easier for Libertarians to get on the ballot in future elections."

Read more: http://www.richmond.com/news/virginia/government-politics/calling-himself-the-grown-up-in-the-room-libertarian-cliff/article_a40aae45-648b-56ae-99e2-943c37e6be31.html
'via Blog this'

Hyra excluded from 1st Virginia governor's debate

First Gubernatorial Debate Does Not Include Libertarian Candidate | WVTF - Michael Pope, Virginia Public Radio:

July 24, 2017 - "The first of three debates for governor is scheduled for this weekend, when Democrat Ralph Northam will square off with Republican Ed Gillespie at the Homestead Resort in Hot Springs. But there’s one candidate who’s not invited to the party.

"Libertarian candidate Cliff Hyra spent months collecting signatures of voters to get on the ballot statewide. Last month, the Virginia Department of Elections said he qualified to be on the ballot in every jurisdiction in Virginia. But when voters are confronted with his name they might not know anything about him. That’s because debate organizers of the three debates for governor have not invited him to participate....

"The last Libertarian candidate for governor, Robert Sarvis, says that’s not fair to voters. 'It’s basically undermining the ability of the people to hear different ideas and to see everybody who’s going to be on their ballot. When there’s only three people who are going to be on the ballot, there’s no argument for keeping people out.'

"The bar association policy for who gets to be part of the debate says candidates must be 'significant' to participate, which they define as someone who does well in polling, has raised a significant amount of money and attracted a fair amount of media coverage. The policy doesn’t include any specific numbers for polling or fundraising, leaving it to the judgment of the organizers....

Read more: http://wvtf.org/post/first-gubernatorial-debate-does-not-include-libertarian-candidate
'via Blog this'

Libertarian Wicks impresses In Montana debate

Libertarian Candidate Mark Wicks Impresses Panelists In Montana Congressional Debate - Being Libertarian:

May 2, 2017 - "Libertarian Party candidate Mark Wicks appeared in a televised debate with Republican Greg Gianforte and Democrat Rob Quist Saturday for Montana’s at-large congressional district election occurring May 25th.

"Wicks has been a virtual unknown in the race, with the media focusing almost entirely on the major party candidates. News coverage of the race has mentioned the libertarian as an afterthought, or not at all. Wicks would have been excluded from Saturday’s debate as well were it not for the committed work of libertarian activists and the national Libertarian Party.

"On Monday, April 24, Wicks received an email from Jon Stepanek, the News Director of KTVQ (Q2 News). Stepanek and other MTN News Directors had decided that “the one hour timeframe allotted for the debate will best be used between [Quist and Gianforte],” and that Wicks would not be invited to participate. Soon after, Wicks posted the email to his Facebook page.

"Responding to an action alert from The Feldman Foundation, Libertarian activists from Montana and across the country began commenting on KTVQ and other MTN stations’ social media pages. After being asked what criteria had been used to exclude Wicks, Q2 News responded via Facebook, 'When choosing candidates for the debate, we applied the same news standards we have used in the past for other political debates. Those standards include polling at 5% and actively campaigning.'

"However, of the very few polls for this race, one poll by Emerson College showed that Wicks had indeed attained 5%. Another poll by Gravis Marketing had Wicks at 3%, but with a margin of error of ±2.9%. Several Google Consumer Surveys polls showed Wicks receiving as much as 11% of the vote. And Wicks was indeed actively campaigning.

"The Feldman Foundation prepared to file a complaint with the FEC, on the grounds that MTN’s exclusion of Wicks constituted unreported campaign contributions to the Democratic and Republican candidates. The New Libertarian put out a call to action: members were asked to publicize MTN’s exclusion of Wicks, to contact Q2 News and other MTN affiliates, and to “make the voice of liberty heard.” At the same time, national Libertarian Party chair Nicholas Sarwark sent in the artillery – the party’s legal counsel....

"On Saturday, ... Wicks impressed the debate panelists, and many Montanans learned for the first time that they have an authentic alternative to the major parties.

"When asked who was the winner of the debate, Mike Dennison, MTN’s Chief Political Reporter, responded, 'I think a clear winner had to be Mark Wicks, the Libertarian. Not only because he got some great exposure statewide, probably for the first time in the campaign, but also because he answered the questions really well and directly. He was articulate, he was funny, he didn’t dodge anything; he did a great job of differentiating himself from the other two candidates throughout the entire debate.'

"Tim McGonigal, MTN Anchor/Producer said of Wicks, 'He was refreshing, he had the sound bites of the night.'"

Read more: https://beinglibertarian.com/libertarian-candidate-mark-wicks-impresses-panelists-montana-congressional-debate/
'via Blog this'

FEC won't appeal presidential debates ruling

FEC Won't Appeal Ruling against Debate Commission - IVN.us - Shawn M. Griffiths:

March 8, 2017 - "The FEC [Federal Elections Commission] released a press release Wednesday that it will not appeal a federal judge’s decision against current rules governing the Commission on Presidential Debates in Level the Playing Field v. FEC:

"'On February 1, the District Court ordered the Commission to reconsider Plaintiffs’ allegations and evidence, issue a new decision on the two administrative complaints and issue a new decision on the rulemaking petition. The Commission voted on February 22 not to appeal the District Court’s decision.'

"The FEC has chosen to comply with Judge Tanya S. Chutkan’s order and must issue three new decisions related to the administrative complaints that were previously dismissed by the FEC by April 3."

Read more: https://ivn.us/2017/03/08/breaking-fec-wont-appeal-ruling-debate-commission/
'via Blog this'