PRESS RELEASES From Free & Equal Elections Foundation
October 28, 2012

Free and Equal Elections Foundation Changes Presidential Debate to November 5 Due to Hurricane

Free and Equal Elections Foundation today announced the date of the second open-party Presidential debate has changed to November 5.  The debate will feature Libertarian Party candidate  Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein, a line-up decided by voters last week after the first debate between Johnson, Stein, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Justice Party candidate  Rocky Anderson.

The November 5 debate will be held from 9:00pm to 10:30pm Eastern Time at RT America’s state of the art studio and facility. RT America will open its studio and offer a live, neutral feed via satellite to interested media. The moderator will be announced next week.

Free & Equal has assembled a diverse group of ballot-qualified candidates, political parties, media, businesses, musicians, radio personalities, organizations, and individuals across the political spectrum to support an open, honest, unscripted, multi-partisan debate for American voters and the international community. Current sponsors include: The Nation,The American Conservative,Fair Tax Nation,Humboldt Sentinel,Before It’s News,The Josh Tolley Show,Ballot Access News,Come Home America,Owl Creek Gazette,Free Talk Live, Securing Liberty Radio, 1787 Network, Voice of Russia, Freedom’s Phoenix, Muslims for Liberty,National Constitution Party,The Justice Party,Blue Republicans,Restore the Republic,Re-Tea Party,Free the Vote NC,We the People,Grassroots for Liberty,New Progressive Alliance,Libertarian Party of Illinois, Liberty Candidates, Liberty Avengers, Liberty Chat, Cook County Green Party, Marin Libertarian Party, Rockford Tea Party, Dangerous Conversation, End the Lie,Wide Awake News, Freedom Files,Kelly Truth Squad,1787 Flags,The Liberty ViewsLetter,Liberty Hour, Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution, Through the Mirror with Larry Sinclair, ROJS Radio Live,Drudge Retort,Freedom Informant Network,Gadsden Rising on Freedomize,Irregular Times,J.D. Nero,The Industry,StopTheLie.com, Aleph Objects, Inc.,Ron Paul Flix,Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox,Elect1.org,Rense Radio Network,Milwaukee Business Promotions,Libertarian Party of Tennessee, Devvy Kidd,KCSB, No Agenda, Liberty Australia, Barstool Sports, Deadline Live, Saint Joseph Telegraph, Terry Michael, Daily Paul, Freedom Force International, WCPT, Restore Liberty, The Free Press, We Are Change, Gun Owners of America, Constitutional Sherriffs and Peace Officers Association.

Viewers can catch the live debate between Jill Stein and Gary Johnson at www.freeandequal.org/live and RT America’s YouTube channel. Additional media may join the live feed.

Finalists to Square Off October 30th in Washington DC

Free and Equal Elections Foundation today announced that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein will advance to the final Presidential debate on October 30th from 9:00 to 10:30 Eastern Time in Washington DC. The debate location will be at RT America’s state of the art studio and facility. RT America will open its studio and offer a live, neutral feed via satellite to interested media. The moderator will be announced on Monday, October 29th.

Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson participated in the first debate.


The voter’s ranked choices were collected at Free and Equal’s website after the first debate, with a total of 47,836 votes cast.

The votes were tallied via instant runoff voting (IRV). IRV tallies all the voters’ first choice candidates. Then, the candidate in fourth place is knocked off, and the second, third and fourth choices for those ballots are added to the other candidates’ totals.

Candidate

First Count

Runoff Count

Grand Total
Gary Johnson

26,187

1,962

28,149
Jill Stein

15,013

292

15,305
Rocky Anderson

3,938

444

4,382
Virgil Goode

2,698

—

—

“The voters have spoken, and we are pleased to announce that Gary Johnson and Jill Stein will advance to the second debate,” stated Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free & Equal.

The first debate garnered national and international media sponsors and worldwide coverage, bringing fresh new ideas and viewpoints to a large online audience. Replays are available on Ora.tv and RT America’s YouTube channels, Al Jazeera’s website, as well as Free & Equal’s website.

Viewers can catch the live debate between Jill Stein and Gary Johnson at www.freeandequalorg/live, or at RT America’s.  Additional media may join the live feed.


October 22, 2012
Second 2012 Presidential Debate October 30 in Washington, DC

Viewers of First Debate to Determine Which Candidate Advances to the October 30 Debate via Instant Runoff Voting

Free and Equal Elections Foundation today announced that its second 2012 Presidential debate is scheduled for October 30 in Washington, DC, from 9:00pm to 10:30pm Eastern Time. The venue will be announced shortly.

As a follow-up to Free & Equal’s October 23 debate at the Hilton Chicago, viewers of the first debate will choose which two candidates advance to the final debate on October 30 via instant runoff voting online. The debate will be broadcast live online and will focus on international issues.

Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson, Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Constitution Party candidate Virgil Goode, and Justice Party candidate Rocky Anderson have all confirmed their participation in the October 23 debate.

Following the initial October 23 debate, viewers can vote for the candidates online, ranking their first and second choices. This form of instant runoff voting (IRV) — a method used in numerous countries, United States jurisdictions, and private organizations — allows voters to submit their top two choices, so they aren’t “throwing away” a vote. Voting ends 24 hours after the end of the debate. The top two candidates with the most votes will be announced Thursday morning and will advance to the final debate on October 30.

“This is an example of how a Presidential debate and election should work,” stated Christina Tobin, founder and chair of Free & Equal. “Instant runoff voting removes the spoiler effect and promotes more positive, issue-focused campaigns. This method brings neutrality and fairness to electing the leader of our country and eliminates the “lesser of two evils” problem.”

Watch Larry King talk about the first debate.

“The Free and Equal Foundation has done a terrific job in bringing together these presidential candidates,” stated Rob Richie, executive director of Fair Vote. “Its plans for a second debate should generate all the more interest, and it’s great to see such a good voting method used to pick the two candidates who will face off in the second debate. Instant runoff voting is a proven means to accommodate voter choice. Just as our board member and 1980 presidential candidate John B. Anderson said in his recent oped, the major parties should stop playing chicken with voters and instead enact instant runoff voting. Using the system to narrow the debate field to two will provide a good example of how it works — and how easy it is for voters.”

Free & Equal has assembled a diverse group of ballot-qualified candidates, political parties, media, businesses, musicians, radio personalities, organizations, and individuals across the political spectrum to support an open, honest, unscripted, multi-partisan debate for American voters and the international community. Current sponsors include:The Nation,The American Conservative, Fair Vote,Fair Tax Nation,Humboldt Sentinel,Before It’s News,The Josh Tolley Show,Ballot Access News,Come Home America,Owl Creek Gazette,Free Talk Live,Securing Liberty Radio,1787 Network,Voice of Russia,Freedom’s Phoenix,Muslims for Liberty,National Constitution Party,The Justice Party,Blue Republicans,Restore the Republic,Re-Tea Party,Free the Vote NC,We the People,Grassroots for Liberty,New Progressive Alliance,Libertarian Party of Illinois,Liberty Candidates,Liberty Avengers,Liberty Chat,Cook County Green Party,Marin Libertarian Party,Rockford Tea Party,Dangerous Conversation,End the Lie,Wide Awake News,Freedom Files,Kelly Truth Squad,1787 Flags,The Liberty ViewsLetter,Liberty Hour,Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic Revolution. ,Through the Mirror with Larry Sinclair,ROJS Radio Live,Drudge Retort,Freedom Informant Network,Gadsden Rising on Freedomize,Irregular Times,J.D. Nero,The Industry,StopTheLie.com,LulzBot,Ron Paul Flix,Cindy Sheehan’s Soapbox,Elect1.org,Rense Radio Network,Milwaukee Business Promotions,Libertarian Party of Tennessee,Devvy,KCSB, Independent Political Report, Global Political Awakening, andNo Agenda.

The October 23 debate will be broadcast live at www.freeandequal.org/live, ORA.tv, RT, Al Jazeera, and Link TV.Click here to RSVP for the online broadcast.

The October 30 debate will be broadcast live at www.freeandequal.org/live and other media outlets to be announced.