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Politics and Activism

Understanding Political Debates

Five steps to understand how political debates work.

Brandon Tamayo
Aug 10, 2015
Indiana State University
23
Understanding Political Debates

It’s that time of year again when presidential candidate’s fight to be in the White House. Before the presidential election starts in 2016, each candidate is given the opportunity to debate against other candidates in their same party and the opposite. Going on stage may seem easy, but a lot of people don't know the rules of a debate.

1. Location

No location can be selected in a candidate's home state or hometown. Candidates' alma maters are out as well.

2. Going on TV

To be on TV, certain stations have rules for candidates to be in the debate. Candidates must be in a certain percentage in the national polls. This means that some stations may only take 5 or 10 candidates who scored the highest in the latest polls. The candidates who didn't make the percentage cannot participate.

3. Hosts

Some debates may have one host who is mostly a television journalist. If the host is more than one person, such as a town hall, each member in the audience is allowed to ask a candidate a question.

4. Time Range

Each candidate is given the same amount of time to answer a question and for a rebuttal. If they run out of time, a buzzer goes off.

5. The Winner

There is no winner after the debate, but many polling companies ask registered voters on what they thought of the debate. Within hours, polls are released, and the winners are declared from voters.

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