Once again, as in many elections in recent years, the Republican and Democratic parties and their sponsors are arranging candidate debates that exclude all but those two parties. Here in Ohio, the Republican candidate for Senate Rob Portman and his Democratic opponent Lee Fisher have arranged a debate series apparently barring from participation Dan La Botz, the Socialist Party candidate for U.S. Senate. Such exclusive debates keep information from the public and distort the political process.

We the undersigned, believing that an informed public and educated electorate are essential to good government, and believing that all candidates from all parties should have equal opportunity to face each other in public forums and to debate the issues before the public, therefore petition the Ohio Newspaper Organization (the primary organizer of the Senate debates) to insure that all of the candidates in the Ohio Senate race have an equal opportunity to participate in debates before the public. We call upon all candidates in Ohio and the sponsors of all debates and candidate forums to ensure that representatives of all legally registered parties are invited and included.