NEW
YORK, May 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Center for
Competitive Democracy's Oliver Hall
today sent a certified letter to CNN and campaign managers for
Biden and Trump demanding they set criteria that would permit
third-party and Independent candidates such as Robert F.
Kennedy, Jr. an opportunity to debate. The letter was sent in the
shared interests of American Values 2024, More Voter Choice Fund,
and voters across the country.
The letter comes in response to the news that CNN will host a
debate exclusively between Biden and Trump on June 27, 2024, in its Georgia studios. It takes issue with the
'propriety' and 'legality' of CNN's debate criteria. "It is all but
certain that Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump will not qualify under CNN's
criteria," Hall states in the letter.
Hall notes that a debate-staging organization such as CNN must
adhere to pre-existing, objective debate criteria to comply with
the Federal Election Campaign Act. He calls CNN's scheduled debate
"an unlawful corporate contribution to the participating
candidates," and states that Biden and Trump will be violating the
law if they participate in the debate as planned.
Hall details how Biden and Trump "are all but certain not to"
qualify under the five debate criteria CNN announced: (1) full the
requirements outlined in Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution
of the United States; (2) file a
Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Election Commission; (3)
appear on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270
electoral vote threshold to win the presidency prior to the
eligibility deadline; (4) agree to accept the rules and format of
the debate; and (5) receive at least 15% in four separate national
polls of registered or likely voters that meet CNN's standards for
reporting.
Crucially, writes Hall, both candidates fail in respect to CNN's
third requirement: "neither Biden nor Trump will appear
on any state ballot as of June 20, 2024, the date CNN identifies as the
last day to determine a candidate's eligibility to participate."
Neither candidate, Hall further notes, has yet won his party's
nomination; that decision happens, respectively, at the Republican
National Convention in July and the Democratic National Convention
in August.
Hall continues, "Does CNN intend to waive criterion (3) as it
applies to Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump? If not, how does CNN justify
inviting them to participate, when neither candidate's name will
appear on any state ballot as of the June
20, 2024 deadline for determining their eligibility?"
Hall also takes issue with reports that a CNN producer promised
a Trump campaign official that "RFK will not be on the
stage." On the same day, he notes, the Washington
Post reported that "Biden advisers said that they had told
CNN the president would only participate in debates that were
one-on-one with Trump…."
Hall decries the demand by CNN for the 15% polling
threshold.
In all, he calls CNN's list of criteria, and its failure to
comply with them, "a mere sham perpetrated upon the
public." Moving forward with this debate, he
alleges, would be a clear violation of the FECA.
Finally, Hall calls on CNN to apply its criteria equally to
every candidate, "regardless of their partisan affiliation" while
requesting a response to his letter by May
27, 2024.
"This is yet another dirty trick by the media to censor
Bobby Kennedy," said Tony Lyons, co-chair of American Values 2024,
the super PAC supporting Kennedy. "The uniparty is panicked
that Kennedy will convince Baby Boomers of what tens of millions of
Americans have already learned: that Washington DC is a cesspool of corruption –
captured by big pharma, big tech, big oil...big everything – and
that Bobby Kennedy is the only
candidate who can clean it up. If he can burst through the tricks,
the scare tactics, the censorship and the lies, the DNC and the RNC
know that Kennedy can win."
Theresa Amato, spokesperson for
the More Voter Choice Fund, and national presidential campaign
manager for Nader/LaDuke 2000 and Nader/Camejo 2004, added, "CNN's
debate qualification criteria, applied at this early date in June
of the election season, is unfair to third parties and Independent
candidates who have not yet even had a chance to complete the
stringent ballot access requirements set by the two parties in
legislatures across the country, and at a time when these
candidacies are often not even included in media polls. The
criteria is even more problematic than the criteria used by the
so-called 'nonpartisan' Commission on Presidential Debates, which –
for three decades – set 'objective criteria' that did not permit a
single third party or independent candidate to debate on the
national stage since Ross Perot in
1992."
Amato continued, "When will American voters – and would-be
voters — be able to hear candidates from outside the fossilized two
parties? The American people deserve to hear from and be informed
by a range of presidential choices. Shame on any self-respecting
'news' organization that enables and perpetuates the two-party
cartel in U.S. politics that prevents fair competition, innovation,
and regeneration – the same standards we seek in our economy.
How many Americans would tolerate only two brands of anything for
decades with no chance for others to participate in the
marketplace, or in this case the marketplace of ideas for our
country?"
About Center For Competitive Democracy (CCD)
The Center for Competitive Democracy was founded in 2005 by
Oliver Hall to strengthen American
democracy by increasing electoral competition. CCD works to
identify and eliminate barriers to political participation and to
secure free, open and competitive elections by fostering active
civic engagement in the political process.
About More Voter Choice Fund
The More Voter Choice Fund is a nonpartisan organization that
facilitates a more fair and inclusive democracy. The Fund
advocates for healthy, diverse political competition and
representation and is dedicated to election fairness in the 21st
Century. https://morevoterchoicefund.org
About American Values 2024 (AV24)
American Values 2024 (AV24) is a super PAC committed to
educating and mobilizing voters to elect candidates who will
restore and protect the soul of democracy in the United States. Our long-term vision is to
build a movement starting at the local level to create a national
groundswell to address the critical issues our country faces.
Today, AV24 supports Robert F. Kennedy
Jr.'s presidential campaign. AV24 is co-founded by
Mark Gorton (Chairman of Tower
Research Capital) and Tony Lyons
(President of Skyhorse Publishing). For more information visit
letkennedydebate.com.
Media Contact:
Lindsay
Stevens
213-200-9638
lindsay@lindsaystevenspr.com
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SOURCE Center for Competitive Democracy