On the 19th and 20th of October the League of Women Voters Illinois (LWVIL) will be hosting the U.S. Senate and Gubernatorial debates. These debates will be a great way for all concerned citizens of Illinois to become better informed on the candidates and where they stand on the issues. However, only the two major parties have been invited to participate in each of these debates. The LWVIL has refused to open the debates to the third party candidates including the Libertarian Gubernatorial candidate Lex Green and Libertarian US Senate candidate Mike Labno.

According to the LWVIL website (www.lvwil.org), "the league is a non-partisan political organization that encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy." Thus, the LWVIL is not following their own mission statement by failing to extend an invitation to Lex Green, Mike Labno, and other third party candidates.

The inclusion of all candidates in the debates not only works in the voters' interest, but it also honors the historic practice of the National League of Women Voters. As a nonpartisan organization, the League of Women Voters has been an ardent supporter of equal time to all candidates. When the League hosted the 1980 presidential debates, all candidates were invited to participate and the League ensured the debate would go on with or without them. The League's refusal to acquiesce to candidates' demands made presidential debates a powerful force in U.S. politics. When Jimmy Carter refused to debate with both Republican nominee Ronald Reagan and independent candidate John Anderson in 1980, the national league held the debate without Carter.

The Libertarian Party of Illinois has contacted the LWVIL and executive director Jan Czarnick stated, "we are not changing our policy." She was referring to the leagues requirement for candidates to be polling at 10% in order to be included in the debates. However, while the two major parties' campaigns were in full swing over the summer, the Libertarian Party of Illinois was battling petition challenges made by the Republicans. The Libertarian Party filed close to 48,000 signatures - well over the minimum of 25,000 signatures required for non-established parties in the state to gain ballot access. After the gathering of the signatures and the challenges ended, it still was not until August 27th of this year that the Libertarian candidates knew they would be on the ballot. This made it difficult for the Libertarians to get their name out to the public and they were often excluded from polls.

Voters in Illinois are frustrated with the current direction of Illinois and the country. In a recent Gallup poll, 58% of Americans said that they would like to see a third party. However, with the current ballot access laws and the exclusion of the Libertarian candidates from the debates, Americans are unable to discover that other candidates do exist outside of the two major parties.

We strongly urge the LWVIL to reconsider this policy, and encourage Illinois media to contact the League and suggest they open their debates.

For more information on the Libertarian Party of Illinois, call (800) 735-1776 and visit the Party's website at www.LPIllinois.org