The LWVEF Board recently adopted guidelines for all activities involving presidential candidates in the lead-up to Election 2012. These guidelines cover online and print voters' guides and debates and will be applied to VOTE411.org.
Please note that any League-sponsored activity featuring presidential candidates must first be approved by LWVUS/EF. Click here for information on this process.
2012 Presidential Candidate Participation Guidelines
Criteria for Debates
Primary Election:
1. The candidate must have made a public announcement of her/his intention to run for her/his Party's nomination for President;
2. The candidate must meet the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act's minimum contribution threshold requirements for qualifying for matching funds, based on the most recent data publicly available on the FEC website; and,
3. The candidate must have a level of support of at least 2% of the national electorate as of one week before the debate as determined by any of three selected national public opinion polling organizations, using those organizations' most recent publicly reported results as of one week prior to the scheduled event. ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Gallup and NBC News will serve as the national public opinion polling organizations.
General Election
1. The candidate must have made a public announcement of his or her intention to run for President;
2. The candidate must meet the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act's minimum contribution threshold requirements for qualifying for matching funds, based on the most recent data publicly available on the FEC website; and,
3. The candidate must have a level of support of at least 10% of the national electorate as determined by any of three selected national public opinion polling organizations, using those organizations' most recent publicly reported results as of one week prior to the scheduled event. ABC News, CBS News, CNN, Gallup and NBC News will serve as the national public opinion polling organizations.
Criteria for Online Voters’ Guides
Primary Elections:
1. The candidate must have made a public announcement of her/his intention to run for her/his Party's nomination for President; and,
2. The candidate must meet the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act's minimum contribution threshold requirements for qualifying for matching funds, based on the most recent data publicly available on the FEC website.
General Election:
1. The candidate must have made a public announcement of her/his intention to run for President;
2. The candidate must qualify for the ballot in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes; and,
3. The candidate must meet the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act's minimum contribution threshold requirements for qualifying for matching funds, based on the most recent data publicly available on the FEC website.
Criteria for Print Voters’ Guides
Primary Elections:
1. The candidate must have made a public announcement of her/his intention to run for her/his Party's nomination for President; and,
2. The candidate must meet the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act's minimum contribution threshold requirements for qualifying for matching funds, based on the most recent data publicly available on the FEC website five weeks before the election date.
General Election:
1. The candidate must have made a public announcement of her/his intention to run for President;
2. The candidate must qualify for the ballot in enough states to win a majority of electoral votes; and,
3. The candidate must meet the Presidential Election Campaign Fund Act's minimum contribution threshold requirements for qualifying for matching funds, based on the most recent data publicly available on the FEC website as October 1, 2012.