SPEAKER SYMINGTON CALLS FOR DEBATES IN ALL COUNTIES

(Burlington) Vermont House Speaker and gubernatorial candidate Gaye Symington called on Governor Jim Douglas today to agree to a series of debates this Fall in each of Vermont’s fourteen counties.

“As Independence Day approaches and we’re reminded of the tremendous blessing of democracy, there is no better way to celebrate than to commit ourselves to a full, reasonable discussion of the issues facing Vermonters,” said Symington, the Democratic nominee for Governor. “I believe that every Vermonter should have a chance to attend a debate and see the candidates in person,” she added.

In order to best serve the goal of providing voters with meaningful information, Symington is proposing a departure from the traditional debate format that imposes short time limits and prevents interaction between candidates.

“I think we’ve all seen that this approach results in a “parallel press conference” more than it does a true debate. That is why I’m proposing an innovative format that allows candidates to decide how long they wish to speak on a given topic, and permits participants to question each other,” said Symington.

This alternate format, known as “cumulative time debate” has been used successfully by the League of Women Voters in several states, Each candidate will be given an equal block of time to use as they see fit over the course of the debate. Neutral parties will provide time updates to each candidate and the moderator/panel so that everyone knows how much time is left. Candidates will be allowed to ask each other questions at any time. The role of the moderator is limited to introducing topics/questions, alerting candidates to large time imbalances, and intervening to restore order if candidates are interrupting each other. (please see next page for a full description of the format). Questions can come from the moderator/panel or from the audience or both.

“The debate format we’re accustomed to seeing was largely designed by incumbent candidates to prevent a real exchange of views. In order to provide Vermonters with the substantive discussion they need to make an informed choice, we need to leave old approach behind,” Symington added.

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Symington Calls for Debates - new format
June 30, 2008

CUMULATIVE TIME DEBATE FORMAT*

This format is designed to enable candidates to freely elaborate on their approaches to a variety of issues, unimpeded by the strict time constraints of a more traditional debate format. League chapters have found this format promotes interchange between candidates, allows them to hold each other to account, and keeps the voters' interest while enabling them to see the difference between the candidates.

Each candidate, when speaking, is timed by a neutral party and each cumulative time is kept. Periodically, generally whenever one candidate stops speaking and another begins, all the timekeepers simultaneously hold up their signs indicating the amount of time used by each candidate. The moderator and the candidates see how their time usage compares, and the candidates can self-moderate to balance any significant discrepancies in time usage. In addition, from time to time the moderator informs candidates if sizable discrepancies appear to be developing so that candidates who are behind may avail themselves of the opportunity to use more time. This format encourages a candidate to respond as briefly as desired on a topic deemed less important or on which there is no disagreement and to use the allotted time to discuss more fully subjects considered more important.

Candidates are encouraged to rebut and sur-rebut, responding to their differences as they perceive them, understanding that the "clock is running." In this format candidates have the opportunity to hold each other to account rather than having this role assumed by the moderator and/or panelists. The moderator simply reminds the candidates of the clock and moves to another question when the topic appears exhausted. Candidates are not allowed to "save up" time during the questioning and use it to make a speech at the end.
Each round of discussion is initiated by the moderator/one of the members of the panel. The same question is addressed to each candidate before direct debate between/among candidates is invited. Candidates take turns being first to respond to the question.
Each candidate has two minutes for a closing statement. The order of speaking is determined by lot prior to the debate. The winner chooses his/her position in the order of the closing statements. The same order is used to begin the questioning.

* (as described by the League of Women Voters of Connecticut)