Free & Equal Elections Foundation

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Free and Equal Elections Foundation Logo and Tagline

The Free & Equal Elections Foundation (Free & Equal) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, non-partisan organization in the United States, the mission of which is to empower American voters through education and advocacy of electoral reforms.[1]

Free & Equal leads national, state, and local efforts to open the electoral process in the United States by hosting all-inclusive gubernatorial, Presidential, and senatorial debates; organizing Electoral Reform Symposiums; producing United We Stand tours; and supporting individuals running for office. Free & Equal was first organized in 1982 as the Foundation for Free Campaigns and Elections, before being formally reorganized in 2008 by Christina Tobin, an American activist and leader in the election reform and voters' rights movement.

Presidential debates

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2008

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Main article: United States presidential election debates, 2008 § October 23: Free & Equal debate (Washington, D.C.)

During the 2008 presidential election, Free & Equal hosted a presidential debate at the Mayflower Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C., on October 23, 2008. Constitution Party candidate Chuck Baldwin and independent candidate Ralph Nader participated in a debate moderated by journalist Chris Hedges. The Free & Equal debate was the only presidential debate featuring independent and third-party candidates held during the 2008 election to be broadcast to a national audience. The debate was broadcast live on C-SPAN2 in prime time.

Free & Equal debates, 2008
N° Date Host Location Moderators Participants
 P  Participant     N  Non-invitee      A  Absent invitee    Democratic Republican Libertarian Green Constitution Independent
Senator
Barack Obama
of Illinois 		Senator
John McCain
of Arizona 		Congressman
Bob Barr
of Georgia 		Congresswoman
Cynthia McKinney
of Georgia 		Pastor
Chuck Baldwin
of Florida 		Advocate
Ralph Nader
of Connecticut
1
October 23, 2008
Mayflower Hotel
Washington, D.C.
Chris Hedges
 A A A A P P

2012

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Main article: United States presidential election debates, 2012
Free & Equal's 2012 "Open Presidential Debate" was moderated by Christina Tobin (left) and Larry King (right).

In 2012, Free & Equal sponsored the October 23, 2012 debate among four third party candidates for President of the United States. It featured Gary Johnson (Libertarian Party), Jill Stein (Green Party), Virgil Goode (Constitution Party), and Rocky Anderson (Justice Party). The debate was moderated by former Larry King Live host Larry King and Christina Tobin. It was televised by RT TV, Al Jazeera English, and C-SPAN.[2][3]

Free & Equal debates, 2012
N° Date Host Location Moderator Participants
 P  Participant.     N  Non-invitee.      A  Absent invitee.    Democratic Republican Libertarian Green Constitution Justice
President
Barack Obama
of Illinois 		Governor
Mitt Romney
of Massachusetts 		Governor
Gary Johnson
of New Mexico 		Doctor
Jill Stein
of Massachusetts 		Congressman
Virgil Goode
of Virginia 		Mayor
Rocky Anderson
of Utah
1
October 23, 2012
Hilton Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Larry King of Ora.TV
 A A P P P P
2
November 5, 2012
RT America
Washington, D.C.
Thom Hartmann of RT
 N N P P N N

2016

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Main article: United States presidential election debates, 2016

Free & Equal hosted an open debate along with Student Voices Count at the University of Colorado Boulder's Macky Auditorium on October 25, 2016.[4] Originally, all presidential candidates with ballot access sufficient to represent a majority of electoral votes were invited.[5] in October 2016, Free and Equal extended the invitation to all candidates with ballot lines representing at least fifteen percent of potential voters: the Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Constitution, Reform, and Socialism and Liberation parties, as well as independent candidate Evan McMullin.[6] Gary Johnson, who participated in the 2012 debate, had already publicly declined in July 2016 to debate Jill Stein on The Young Turks because of a matter of "just time".[7]

Free & Equal debates, 2016
N° Date Host Location Moderators Invited participants
 P  Participant.     A  Absent invitee. Republican Democratic Libertarian Green Constitution Reform PSL Independent
Businessman
Donald Trump
of New York 		Secretary
Hillary Clinton
of New York 		Governor
Gary Johnson
of New Mexico 		Doctor
Jill Stein
of Massachusetts 		Lieutenant
Darrell Castle
of Tennessee 		Businessman
Rocky De La Fuente
of California 		Activist
Gloria La Riva
of California 		Director
Evan McMullin
of Utah
1 October 25, 2016 University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, Colorado Ed Asner[8] A A A A P[9][8] P[9][8] P[9][8] A

2020

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Primaries

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Early on March 4, 2020, the Free & Equal Elections Foundation held a debate at the Hilton Chicago Hotel. Various third-party candidates, as well as minor candidates affiliated with the Democratic and Republican parties attended.[10] Some, but not all, of the participants would go on to be their parties nominees.

2020 Free & Equal debates
No. Date & Time Location Moderators Invited participants
 P  Participant. Democratic Libertarian Green Constitution American Solidarity Life and Liberty Transhumanist
Businessman
Mark Stewart
of Connecticut 		Activist
Dan Berhman
of Texas 		Carpenter
Erik Gerhardt
of Pennsylvania 		LNC Vice Chair
Arvin Vohra
of Maryland 		Activist
Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry
of California 		Financial Advisor
Charles Kraut
of Virginia 		Educator
Brian Carroll
of California 		Activist
J.R. Myers
of Alaska 		Activist
Ben Zion
of Arizona
1a March 4, 2020
2:00 pm CST 		Chicago, Illinois Christina Tobin P P P P P P P P P
 P  Participant. Republican Democratic Libertarian Green /
Socialist 		PSL Independent
Futurist
Zoltan Istvan
of California 		Attorney
Mosie Boyd
of Arkansas 		Lieutenant
Ken Armstrong
of Hawaii 		Lecturer
Jo Jorgensen
of South Carolina 		Corporal
Adam Kokesh
of Indiana 		Activist
Vermin Supreme
of Massachusetts 		Tradesman
Howie Hawkins
of New York 		Activist
Gloria La Riva
of California 		Activist
Mark Charles
of the District of Columbia
1b March 4, 2020
6:30 pm CST 		Chicago, Illinois Christina Tobin P P P P P P P P P

General election

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Two debates were held prior to the general election. The first was on October 8, 2020, in Denver, Colorado, with participation limited to candidates on the ballot in at least eight states.[11] A second debate with the same candidates occurred on October 24, 2020, in Cheyenne, Wyoming.[12]

2020 Free & Equal debates
No. Date & Time Location Moderators Invited participants
 P  Participant.
 A  Absent Invitee. 		Republican Democratic Libertarian Green /
Socialist 		PSL Alliance /
Reform 		Constitution American Solidarity Independent
President
Donald Trump
of Florida 		Former Vice President
Joe Biden
of Delaware 		Lecturer
Jo Jorgensen
of South Carolina 		Tradesman
Howie Hawkins
of New York 		Activist
Gloria La Riva
of California 		Businessman
Rocky De La Fuente
of California 		Businessman
Don Blankenship
of West Virginia 		Educator
Brian Carroll
of California 		Entrepreneur
Brock Pierce
of Puerto Rico 		Producer
Kanye West
of Wyoming
2 October 8, 2020
6:00 pm MDT 		Denver, Colorado Christina Tobin A A A P P A P P P A
3 October 24, 2020
6:00 pm MDT 		Cheyenne, Wyoming Christina Tobin A A A P P A A P P A

2024

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Primaries

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On January 18, 2024, the Free & Equal Elections Foundation held its first ever Democratic Party primary debate streamed on Rumble while four candidates took the stage at Chelsea Television Studios in New York City, New York. Candidates were invited if they had ballot access in at least four states. Although eight candidates were invited, [13] only Gabriel Cornejo, Frankie Lozada, Stephen Lyons, and Jason Palmer participated.[14]

On February 29, 2024 Free & Equal held its first independent presidential debate also at Chelsea Television Studios featuring two Libertarian candidates (Chase Oliver and Lars Mapstead), two Green Party candidates (Jill Stein and Jasmine Sherman) (also nominee of The Unicorn Party), plus Party for Socialism and Liberation nominee Claudia De la Cruz. Independent candidates Robert F. Kennedy Jr and Cornel West were invited but unable to attend. [15][16]

These selections were made via multiple choice voting available on their website where members of the public could pick their top seven candidates across party lines and independents. [17]

2024 Free & Equal debates
No. Date & Time Location Moderators Invited participants
 P  Participant.
 A  Absent Invitee. 		Democratic
President
Joe Biden
of Delaware 		Entrepreneur
Gabriel Cornejo
of New York 		Entrepreneur
Frankie Lozada
of New York 		Plumber
Stephen Lyons
of California 		Entrepreneur
Jason Palmer
of Maryland 		Congressman
Dean Phillips
of Minnesota 		Media host
Cenk Uygur
of California 		Author
Marianne Williamson
of California
1 January 18, 2024
6:00 pm PDT 		Los Angeles, California Christina Tobin

Kwame Jackson

A P P P P A A A
 P  Participant.
 A  Absent Invitee. 		Libertarian Green PSL Independent
Businessman
Lars Mapstead
of California 		Sales executive
Chase Oliver
of Georgia 		Activist
Jasmine Sherman
of North Carolina 		Doctor
Jill Stein
of Massachusetts 		Activist
Claudia De la Cruz
of New York 		Attorney
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
of California 		Academic
Cornel West
of California
2 February 29, 2024
8:00 pm EDT 		New York City, New York Jason Palmer
Caitlin Sinclair
Christina Tobin 		P P P P P A A

Presidential debates

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From left to right: Oliver, Stein, and Terry at the Free and Equal debate in Las Vegas.

Free and Equal hosted a second debate on July 12, 2024, at FreedomFest in Las Vegas, Nevada moderated by the foundation's chair, Christina Tobin and congressman Thomas Massie.[18][19]

Biden, Kennedy, Oliver, Stein, Randall Terry, Trump and West were invited to the debate,[18] while Oliver, Stein, and Terry participated.[18]

The Free and Equal hosted a third debate on October 23, 2024 in Los Angeles, California moderated by the foundation's chair, Christina Tobin and former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker.[20]

Chase Oliver, Jill Stein, Randall Terry, Claudia De la Cruz, Kamala Harris, Donald Trump, and Cornel West were invited. Oliver, Stein, and Terry participated again. Confirmed United We Stand artists: Loomis, Mahdieh Maleki, LeRome Swiss, Samuel J, Jon Nash, Shyalpa Rinpoche, Shylah Ray, Scott Page, Jose Muñoz, Franko Heke, Charlie Scott III/Chad Bishop, Colin Cantrell and Kaisi Berick.

Electoral Reform Symposiums

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Since 2009, Free & Equal has hosted electoral reform symposiums to unite intellectuals and experts to share and debate reforms to the U.S. electoral system. Past panelists and speakers include President of The League of Women Voters of Colorado Nancy Crow, Deputy Secretary of State of Colorado Suzanne Staiert, Founder of FairVote Rob Richie, Founder of Nexus Earth Colin Cantrell, Founder of Ballot Access News Richard Winger and more.[21][22][23][24][25]

United We Stand Tour

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In 2014, Free & Equal launched United We Stand, a festival and tour uniting the younger generations with musicians, artists, and thought leaders to promote political and cultural change. Since its inception, the tour has made stops at Belasco Theater in Los Angeles in 2014[26] and 2015,[27] University of Colorado Boulder in 2016,[28] and Texas A&M University in 2018.[29] The 2019 tour includes Indiana,[30] Texas,[31] Colorado,[32] Oregon,[33] and Tennessee.[34]

References

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  1. ^ "About « Free And Equal". Freeandequal.org. Archived from the original on November 6, 2010. Retrieved November 17, 2010.
  2. ^ Michael Calderone, Third-Party Debate To Be Broadcast By Al Jazeera English, RT America, But Not Major Cable News Networks, Huffington Post, Posted: 10/19/2012, Updated: 10/23/2012, accessed November 4, 2012
  3. ^ "Presidential Hopefuls Meet in Third Party Debate". PBS NewsHour. October 25, 2012. Archived from the original on October 27, 2012. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  4. ^ "United We Stand Fest & Open Presidential Debate University Tour Program Outline". Free and Equal. 2016. Archived from the original on June 17, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  5. ^ Richard Winger (October 6, 2015). "Free and Equal Announces Date and Location for General Election Presidential Debate". Ballot-access.org. Ballot Access News. Retrieved July 7, 2016.
  6. ^ "Join our United We Stand Festival & People's Presidential Debate! Tues Oct 25th 4pm". freeandequal.org. Free and Equal Elections Foundation. 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
  7. ^ No More 2 Party System (July 24, 2016). Gary Johnson Declines To Debate Jill Stein As Offered By The Young Turks (video). YouTube. Retrieved October 27, 2016. Well, just time, you know.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  8. ^ a b c d "Actor Ed Asner set to moderate "free and open" presidential debate in Boulder". freeandequal.org. Retrieved October 20, 2016.
  9. ^ a b c "Ed Asner Challenges Trump and Clinton to Debate". freeandequal.org. Archived from the original on October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 12, 2016.
  10. ^ "First Open Presidential Debate 2020". Free and Equal Elections Foundation. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  11. ^ "Second Open Presidential Debate 2020". Free and Equal Elections Foundation. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved October 9, 2020.
  12. ^ "Third Open Presidential Debate 2020". Free and Equal Elections Foundation. Archived from the original on October 23, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  13. ^ "Free & Equal Elections to Host National Democratic Debate Jan. 18 in Los Angeles". January 5, 2024.
  14. ^ https://x.com/FreeandEqual/status/1747795221445034107?s=20 [bare URL]
  15. ^ https://x.com/FreeandEqual/status/1753433832676880811?s=20 [bare URL]
  16. ^ Marantz, Andrew (March 11, 2024). "Libertarians and Socialists and Jill Stein - Oh, My!". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 22, 2024.
  17. ^ "Free & Equal 2024 Presidential Debate Series: Second Presidential Debate".
  18. ^ a b c "Free & Equal Presidential Debate – at FreedomFest July 12, 2024". freeandequal.org. Archived from the original on June 6, 2024. Retrieved June 6, 2024.
  19. ^ "Free & Equal Presidential Debate to be Held at FreedomFest in Las Vegas July 11th" (Press release). May 14, 2024. Archived from the original on June 23, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024 – via WATE.
  20. ^ "Free & Equal 2024 Presidential Debate Series: October Debate". Free and Equal - freeandequal.org. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
  21. ^ CATO Forum - Ralph Nader, Theresa Amatom, James Bennett, Bill Redpath. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. October 29, 2012. Archived from the original on March 25, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  22. ^ UW Madison Panel Discussion Theresa Amato, Cindy Sheehan, Angela Keaton, Sean Scallon, Ben Manski. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. October 29, 2012. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  23. ^ 2014 Free and Equal Elections Electoral Reform Symposium. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. November 24, 2014. Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ 2015 Free and Equal Elections Electoral Reform Symposium. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. November 10, 2016. Archived from the original on March 8, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  25. ^ 2016 Free and Equal Elections Electoral Reform Symposium. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. November 20, 2016. Archived from the original on March 15, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  26. ^ United We Stand Festival - Immortal Technique!. H Dellamorte. May 18, 2014. Archived from the original on July 27, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  27. ^ 2015 United We Stand Fest Festival at Belasco Theater, LA. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. January 14, 2016. Archived from the original on August 10, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  28. ^ 2016 Presidential Debate Moderated by Ed Asner & Christina Tobin. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. November 1, 2016. Archived from the original on November 27, 2021. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  29. ^ 2018 United We Stand | Texas A&M's Reed Arena. The Free and Equal Elections Foundation. April 29, 2018. Archived from the original on November 10, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2021 – via YouTube.
  30. ^ "United We Stand Tour at Earth Week". April 4, 2019.
  31. ^ "United We Stand Tour at Knead Peace to Support Veterans". July 2, 2019.
  32. ^ "Home". sisterwinds.com.
  33. ^ "Freedom Rising – Everyday actions to cultivate as we rise in Freedom, Truth, Love, and Harmony with Nature into a new earth paradigm". Archived from the original on October 16, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
  34. ^ "Home". politicon.com.
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