In a world where paid media provides the voter with a highly-curated, one-sided image of the candidates and where door-to-door canvassing and telephone calls require massive resources, political debates provide an opportunity for the candidates to speak directly to the voters and explain their visions and platforms. While not a perfect forum, debates allow the candidates to clarify their positions, draw distinctions with their opponents, and make rebuttals on points that the opponent has raised.
However, the format of these debates must be improved in order to better educate and inform the public. This involves changing the number and topics of the debates, limiting the time for responses, making the rules more clear and consistent, and improving the choice of moderators and questions.
Debates are a unique opportunity for candidates to articulate their positions on the issues that matter most to voters and to engage in respectful discourse. In addition to explaining their positions, candidates can also use the opportunity to rebut common criticisms of their platform and demonstrate their ability to think quickly and respond to challenging questions under pressure.
Organize a class to discuss how the format of political debates could be improved to make them more informative for viewers and to encourage a more civil dialogue between candidates. This activity would be a good fit for any social studies or civics class. Divide the class into groups or allow each student to work on their own. Have each group explore the 2020 issues tracker, select an issue and research where each candidate stands on the topic.