As a voter, I cherish debates as a rare chance for us to get an unscripted glimpse of the candidates and see how they respond to on-the-spot challenges. But this year, the two parties have decided we should get a lot fewer of them. The Republicans have 11 primary debates scheduled, compared to 20 in 2012. The Democrats are even worse -- they have only 6 scheduled compared to 26 in 2008. Candidates such as Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley have called for more debates.

Party bosses understand that the debates are an opportunity to get the candidates unfiltered, and that’s precisely why they fear them. But we want more chances to see the real people behind the gloss. We need more debates, not fewer, and the public agrees -- the first two debates of the 2016 presidential race were watched by nearly 50 million people.

I’m starting with the Democratic National Committee, and calling on them to either increase the number of debates or allow the candidates to participate in unsanctioned debates without punishment.

Being informed is the most powerful tool we have as voters. When I saw that a petition asking for Jon Stewart to moderate a presidential debate received over 300,000 signatures, I knew people cared about the debates, and I decided to start my own petition. Demands for more debates from Sen. Sanders and Gov. O’Malley have only motivated me further.

These debates are important no matter your party affiliation. The more we have, the better. Please join me in calling on the DNC to increase the number of debates and/or allow candidates to participate in unsanctioned debates without punishment.

Bernie Sanders letter to DNC calling on more debates: https://berniesanders.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Letter-to-DNC.pdf