With the increasing likelihood of Donald Trump winning the Republican Party's nomination as its presidential candidate, many public commentators, including George Will in the Washington Post, have raised the suggestion that voters consider a third-party candidate for President of the United States. In fact, a viable third-party candidacy already exists, as the Libertarian Party is the only political party, other than the Democratic and Republican Parties, expected to be on the ballot in all fifty states.

In 2012, surveys that included the Libertarian Party's then-presidential nominee, Gary Johnson, alongside the candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, showed that Johnson polled at 4 percent of likely voters. Also, Johnson was on the ballot in 48 states plus Washington, D.C., and would have been on the ballot in the other states if not for ballot-access challenges imposed by the major parties. That demonstrated that Gary Johnson was a serious enough candidate to include in the general election presidential debates against Obama and Romney. Yet the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) -- the not-for-profit 501(c)(3) corporation in charge of the debates -- sought to deny all third-party candidates any role in the debates. The last time the CPD allowed a credible candidate in any of these debates was in 1992, when independent Ross Perot debated against George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

With Bruce Fein as counsel, the Libertarian Party and Green Party are presently suing the CPD, arguing for viable third-party candidates to be allowed into the 2016 general election debate. It would be shameful for the CPD to deny viable third-party candidates once again.

Regardless of the outcome of the lawsuit, justice requires that credible third-party candidates be allowed into the general election debate. The United States of America was founded as a republic where citizens voted, based on their informed choices. Being an informed voter requires that one hold knowledge of every viable candidate -- not merely select candidates put forth by the CPD in some sort of electoral cartel.

We citizens have a right to hear from viable third-party candidates in direct exchanges with the nominees of the two major parties. Adherence to the principles of our constitutional republic requires that the voters get to hear direct verbal confrontations between nominees of the two major parties and viable third-party contenders. Thus, we advise that viable third-party presidential candidates -- those likely to be on the ballot in over 45 states -- be let into the general election debates. This has always been a reasonable request; the current state of the 2016 election only makes the urgency of this principle all the more obvious.

Learn more about the campaign for fair debates at https://www.fairdebates.com/ , where a similar petition is available at https://www.fairdebates.com/petition.html (thank you to Jo Ann for bringing this site to our attention on 18 March 2016).