As a means of directly communicating with voters, political debate allows candidates to make their case for candidacy to a wide audience rather than relying on filtered campaign messages through the news media. This can be a great opportunity for candidates to present their views on issues and platforms, and to highlight their accomplishments, but it also exposes candidates to criticisms of their record or personality, and can lead to the use of inaccurate statements that can quickly circulate and gain widespread belief.
As such, the original purpose of debates was to allow the public to sharpen their understanding of candidates and the major issues in a focused format. The CPD focuses on nonpartisan voter education and has a board of distinguished Americans with no affiliation to any candidate or political party. In addition, the CPD is independently funded by private donors and corporations with no government or PAC funding.
During a debate, the moderator poses questions to the candidates and manages their response times. The candidates sit at podiums or in chairs across from one another, or are seated at the same table in a panelist format. Often, the moderator is a television journalist and they choose their own questions which are not shared with the candidates ahead of time.
The organization staging the debate may limit the number of participants based on objective criteria, such as being nominated by a party or having a statistically feasible chance of winning the election. In addition, the CPD considers factors like early voting, religious and federal holidays, and even television pool contractual conflicts (like Major League Baseball) when selecting debate sites and dates.
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