47% of Americans refuse to identify with either major party and 62% say they would vote for an independent or third party for president in 2016.



So why are there only two candidates in the debates?



Everyone knows you can’t win the presidency without being in the debates. But did you know that a private organization called the Commission on Presidential Debates (“CPD”) is controlled exclusively by Republican and Democratic Party insiders?



Since the CPD took control of the presidential debates in 1988, only one candidate, Ross Perot, has qualified to participate in the national debates. That was in 1992 and Perot was polling at 7%.



After that election, the CPD changed the rule to require a candidate to get 15% in three national polls taken just 7 weeks before the election, making it impossible for anyone other than the Republican or Democratic Party nominee to qualify. It is estimated to cost $260 million to build the necessary name recognition to get to 15%.



This is not fair, and a lack of competition in the debate process deprives the American people of a substantive debate with independent viewpoints.



Let’s break the two-party stranglehold on who can become President. Let's make room for another voice.