A new petition is going viral on Change.org with the hopes of acquiring enough signatures to include Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson in the national Presidential debates. The petition, started by Adam Sheets of Lucasville, OH, currently has 40,225 signatures and needs only 9,775 more to meet its goal of 50,000. It has grown by more than 10,000 signatures in 24 hours.
The petition explains that in order to be included in debates, a candidate must be polling at 15 percent nationwide in five national polls, according to the Commission on Presidential Debates. The undersigned of the petition believes that Johnson is capable of achieving the 15 percent threshold necessary to be included.
The petition cites a recent Fox News poll that found Johnson to have 12 percent of support nationwide and because his mainstream media exposure has increased the past few weeks, the undersigned believe his support has most likely grown. In fact, a recent poll revealed that Johnson trails Trump by only 3 percent in Utah.
Media coverage of Johnson has been unprecedented for a Libertarian candidate and his supporters are hopeful that his presence in the media has benefited his campaign.
The petition takes advantage of the polarizing reputations of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, appealing to voters who are disgruntled with the Republican and Democratic candidates.
“With the Libertarian Party being the only third party likely to appear on the ballot in all fifty states and the political experience of both Gov. Johnson and his running mate, Governor William Weld, we believe that they are the most likely to capitalize on this opportunity,” the petition reads.
Another option in November is appealing to many people. “I want to hear different voices in this debate,” one petition signer wrote. “Pollsters aren’t serving the public by restricting poll choices,” another supporter wrote.
Sheets is petitioning ten decision makers for acknowledgement, including CNN, Washington Post, Pew Research Center, and USA Today.
