Commission on Presidential Debates Announces Sites and Dates for 2020 General Election Debates and 2020 Nonpartisan Candidate Selection Criteria 

First presidential debate:
Tuesday, September 29, 2020
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN

Vice presidential debate:
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
The University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT

Second presidential debate:
Thursday, October 15, 2020
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI

Third presidential debate:
Thursday, October 22, 2020
Belmont University, Nashville, TN

The CPD will announce additional details about the 2020 general election debates, including format and moderators, in 2020. All debates will start at 9:00pm ET and will run for 90 minutes without commercial interruption.
 
The CPD was established in 1987 and has sponsored and produced all general election presidential and vice presidential debates since then. The CPD receives no funding from the government or any political party or campaign.
 
More information can be found at www.debates.org or @debates.

 
Each election cycle, hundreds of individuals declare their candidacy for the Office of President of the United States, including many who do not seek the nomination of a major political party. Federal Election Commission (FEC) regulations require a debate sponsor to make its candidate selection decisions on the basis of “pre-established, objective” criteria.

Under the 2020 criteria, in addition to being Constitutionally eligible, candidates must appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to have a mathematical chance of winning a majority vote in the Electoral College, and have a level of support of at least 15% of the national electorate as determined by five selected national public opinion polling organizations, using the average of those organizations’ most recently publicly-reported results at the time of the determination. The polls to be relied upon will be selected based on the quality of the methodology employed, the reputation of the polling organizations and the frequency of the polling conducted. The CPD will identify the selected polling organizations well in advance of the time the criteria are applied.
 
The CPD’s determination with respect to participation in the CPD’s first-scheduled debate will be made after Labor Day 2020, but sufficiently in advance of the first-scheduled debate to allow for orderly planning. Invitations to participate in the vice presidential debate will be extended to the running mate of each of the presidential candidates qualifying for participation in the CPD’s first presidential debate. Invitations to participate in the second and third of the CPD’s scheduled presidential debates will be based upon satisfaction of the same multiple criteria prior to each debate.
 
The CPD adopted its 2020 criteria based on the recommendations of a working group of its Board chaired by former League of Women Voters President Dorothy Ridings, who serves as a Co-Chair of the CPD.  Ms. Ridings explained: "We concluded that the CPD serves its voter education mission best when, in the final weeks of the campaign, based on pre-established, published, objective and transparent criteria, it identifies those individuals whose public support places them among the leading candidates and invites them to debate the issues of the day.  We also concluded that the best available measure of public support is high-quality public opinion polling conducted near the time of the debates." 
 
The criteria for 2020 were adopted unanimously by the CPD Board.
 

COMMISSION ON PRESIDENTIAL DEBATES’ NONPARTISAN CANDIDATE SELECTION CRITERIA FOR 2020 GENERAL ELECTION DEBATE PARTICIPATION

 
A.        INTRODUCTION

The mission of the nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates (the “CPD”) is to ensure, for the benefit of the American electorate, that general election debates are held every four years between the leading candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States.  The CPD sponsored a series of such debates in each of the past eight general elections, and has begun the planning, preparation, and organization of a series of nonpartisan debates among leading candidates for the Presidency and Vice Presidency in the 2020 general election.  As in prior years, the CPD’s voter educational activities will be conducted in accordance with all applicable legal requirements, including regulations of the Federal Election Commission that require that debate sponsors extend invitations to debate based on the application of “pre-established, objective” criteria.

The goal of the CPD’s debates is to afford the members of the public an opportunity to sharpen their views, in a focused debate format, of those candidates from among whom the next President and Vice President will be selected.  In each of the last seven elections, there were scores of declared candidates for the Presidency, excluding those seeking the nomination of one of the major parties.  During the course of the campaign, the candidates are afforded many opportunities in a great variety of forums to advance their candidacies.  In order most fully and fairly to achieve the educational purposes of its debates, the CPD has developed nonpartisan, objective criteria upon which it will base its decisions regarding selection of the candidates to participate in its 2020 debates.  The purpose of the criteria is to identify those candidates whose support among the electorate places them among the candidates who have a realistic chance of being elected President of the United States.  The realistic chance need not be overwhelming, but it must be more than theoretical.

In connection with the 2020 general election, the CPD will apply three criteria to each declared candidate to determine whether that candidate qualifies for inclusion in one or more of the CPD’s debates.  The criteria are (1) constitutional eligibility, (2) ballot access, and (3) electoral support.  All three criteria must be satisfied before a candidate will be invited to debate.

B.        2020 NONPARTISAN SELECTION CRITERIA

The CPD’s nonpartisan criteria for selecting candidates to participate in the 2020 general election presidential debates are:

1.        EVIDENCE OF CONSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY

The CPD’s first criterion requires satisfaction of the eligibility requirements of Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution.  The requirements are satisfied if the candidate:

a.          is at least 35 years of age;
b.         is a Natural Born Citizen of the United States and a resident of the United States for fourteen years; and
c.          is otherwise eligible under the Constitution.

2.        EVIDENCE OF BALLOT ACCESS

The CPD’s second criterion requires that the candidate qualify to have his/her name appear on enough state ballots to have at least a mathematical chance of securing an Electoral College majority in the 2020 general election.  Under the Constitution, the candidate who receives a majority of votes in the Electoral College, at least 270 votes, is elected President regardless of the popular vote.                                                                                                                              

3.        INDICATORS OF ELECTORAL SUPPORT
The CPD’s third criterion requires that the candidate have a level of support of at least 15% (fifteen percent) of the national electorate as determined by five national public opinion polling organizations selected by CPD, using the average of those organizations’ most recent publicly-reported results at the time of the determination. CPD will rely on the advice of a recognized expert or experts in public opinion polling in determining the polls it will rely upon. The polls to be relied upon will be selected based on the quality of the methodology employed, the reputation of the polling organizations and the frequency of the polling conducted.  CPD will identify the selected polling organizations well in advance of the time the criteria are applied.

C.        APPLICATION OF CRITERIA

The CPD’s determination with respect to participation in the CPD’s first-scheduled debate will be made after Labor Day 2020, but sufficiently in advance of the first-scheduled debate to allow for orderly planning.  Invitations to participate in the vice-presidential debate will be extended to the running mate of each of the presidential candidates qualifying for participation in the CPD’s first presidential debate.  Invitations to participate in the second and third of the CPD’s scheduled presidential debates will be based upon satisfaction of the same multiple criteria prior to each debate.

Adopted: October 1, 2019