The Commission on Presidential Debates was set up in 1987 as a private, nonprofit corporation to “organize, manage, produce, publicize and support debates for the candidates for President of the United States.”

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein have filed a federal anti-trust lawsuit against the CPD, calling it an illegal monopoly. They’re challenging the rules that require candidates to reach 15 percent in five national polls in order to be included in the debates and also prohibit major-party candidates from debating in any forum not sponsored by the CPD.

Should presidential debates be controlled by one organization?

Should credible third-party candidates be included in the debates to give Americans a wider range of viewpoints to chew over and choose among?

It’s a question being asked by many this year in light of the unprecedented, sky-high unfavorability ratings for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Johnson, a former two-term governor of New Mexico, has a shot at reaching the 15 percent threshold, but he needs to get there by mid-September. He hit 13 percent in a July CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll. (Stein had 5 percent.)

Johnson argues that pollsters bear some responsibility for his numbers not being higher because they tend not to include his name at the top of their questions, but as an alternative or afterthought at the end.

The CPD announced Monday the five polls that will be averaged to determine who has 15 percent support nationwide: ABC-Washington Post; CBS-New York Times; CNN-ORC; Fox News; and NBC-Wall Street Journal.

The first debate is scheduled for Sept. 26.

Should Johnson and/or Stein be on the stage alongside Clinton and Trump, whether or not they reach 15 percent in the polls?

Email your thoughts to opinion@langnews.com. Please include your full name and city or community of residence. Provide a daytime phone number. Or, if you prefer, share your views in the comments section that accompanies this article online.

We’ll publish as many responses as possible.