Clean Elections Commission Approves 2024 Debate Updates

On Jun 26, 2023

New Format and Moderators for Upcoming Arizona Candidate Debates

Next year’s elections will see a new format for candidate debates, more advertising, and working journalists as moderators. The Citizens Clean Elections Commission has approved a plan to revamp the debate process after last year’s events, which featured every statewide office on the ballot, from U.S. Senate to governor to treasurer.

Gina Roberts, the commission’s voter education director, explained that the new format was created in response to the controversy surrounding the Republican gubernatorial candidates’ debate last summer when Kari Lake threatened not to participate due to her objection to a particular moderator’s coverage.

Changes in Arizona Candidate Debates: The Moderator Pool and New Format

One of the recommendations approved by the commission is to create a pool of local journalists who will act as potential moderators. By establishing a roster well in advance, candidates will have fair notice of who will run their debates, according to Roberts.

The commission also approved a reworked format for legislative debates. Candidates running for the same seat will now be paired together in debates, rather than having all candidates from a given legislative district participating in one debate. This change is expected to attract more candidates to participate and ensure that only true opponents are debating each other.

A Diverse Work Group Praised for its Contributions

The work group responsible for these changes was praised for its diversity by Commissioner Mark Kimble, who served as chair. The group included representatives from both major parties, current and former candidates, and media professionals, such as top editors from The Arizona Republic.

Tom Collins, the commission’s executive director, emphasized that the diverse membership of the group demonstrated that people with differing ideologies and backgrounds can work together towards a common goal. Collins hopes that the changes, along with broader outreach efforts, will raise the profile of the debates, stating, “The Clean Elections debates are the official debates in Arizona.”

A recent example of the controversies surrounding debates was when Democrat Katie Hobbs declined to participate in the commission-sponsored governor’s debate during the general election campaign. Although Kari Lake did not object to the debate format, she agreed to a one-on-one interview sponsored by the commission. However, the commission canceled the interview after learning that PBS had offered Hobbs a separate interview not arranged by the commission. The commission later sponsored a one-on-one interview with Lake on a different media channel, conducted by conservative talk show host Mike Broomhead.

Story at www.azcentral.com – 2023-06-23 13:04:44