Ohio Debate Commission Inc

OUR MISSION IS TO FOSTER FAIR AND SUBSTANTIVE DEBATES THAT ENCOURAGE PARTICIPATION IN OUR DEMOCRACY, AND OUR VISION IS OF A STRONGER OHIO, WITH WELL INFORMED VOTERS AND HIGHLY QUALIFIED PUBLIC SERVANTS, CANDIDATES, AND ELECTED OFFICIALS.

IN 2022, DEBATE PROGRAM WORK INCLUDED PLANNING AND ORGANIZING SIX CANDIDATE DEBATES FOR THE OFFICES OF THE US SENATE, OHIO GOVERNOR, AND CHIEF JUSTICE OF THE OHIO SUPREME COURT TO WHICH ALL CANDIDATES WERE INVITED, AND DEBATE PARTICIPATION WAS DETERMINED BASED ON ODC CANDIDATE PARTICIPATION CRITERIA. THE CRITERIA INCLUDED MEETING REQUIREMENTS FOR BEING ON THE BALLOT AND LEGALLY QUALIFIED TO BE A CANDIDATE, RESULTS OF INDEPENDENT POLLS, AND DEMONSTRATING AN ACTIVE CAMPAIGN WITH EVIDENCE OF ACTIVITIES SUCH AS HAVING A HEADQUARTERS, RAISING A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF MONEY FROM A MINIMUM AMOUNT OF DONORS, BEING ON SOCIAL MEDIA WITH A CERTAIN NUMBER OF FOLLOWERS, ENGAGING IN VOTER ACTIVITIES SUCH AS HOUSE PARTIES, PARADES, MEET AND GREETS, ETC. PROGRAM TIME WAS SPENT ON VENUE VISITS AND SELECTION FOR 2022 GENERAL ELECTION DEBATES, IN PREPARATION FOR CONDUCTING EACH DEBATE, MODERATOR CONSIDERATION AND SELECTION, FORMAT DECISIONS, DISCUSSION AND IMPLEMENATION OF QUESTION SOLICITATION AND SELECTION, DESIGNING AND DEPLOYING VOTER OUTREACH PLANS, HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENT ENGAGEMENT PROGRAMS, CANDIDATE COMMUNICATIONS, MEDIA ENGAGEMENT AND PRESS RELATIONS, SELECTING AND WORKING WITH A PRDUCTION TEAM, AND PLANNING FOR AND IMPLEMENTING THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE DEBATES CONTENT ACROSS ALL EIGHT OHIO MEDIA MARKETS, AS WELL AS MULTIPLE OTHER TYPES OF OUTLETS. (E.G., UNIVERSITIES, BAR ASSOCIATIONS, AARP, CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS).

THE ODC DEBATE PLAYBOOK, A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE FOR HOW TO CONDUCT A CANDIDATE DEBATE, IS DESIGNED TO AID OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR AND CONDUCTING CANDIDATE DEBATES AT ANY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT WHERE THERE ARE RACES FOR ELECTED OFFICE (I.E., SCHOOL BOARD, STATE LEGISLATOR, OR A STATEWIDE SEAT LIKE GOVERNOR OR SECRETARY OF STATE). THE PLAYBOOK INCLUDES NARRATIVE DESCRIPTIONS OF EACH PHASE: PLANNING, ORGANIZING, CONDUCTING, BROADCASTING, AND DISTRIBUTING CANDIDATE DEBATES. THE PLAYBOOK ALSO INCLUDES TEMPLATES AND SAMPLE CHECKLISTS, LETTERS, EVENT CLOCKS, AND OTHER DOCUMENTS USED THROUGHOUT THE WORK. THE PLAYBOOK IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON OUR WEBSITE IN FIVE LANGUAGES (ENGLISH, SPANISH, FRENCH, ARABIC, AND CHINESE); USERS CAN DOWNLOAD BOTH THE ENTIRE PLAYBOOK OR A ONE-PAGE SUMMARY DOCUMENT TO SHARE WITH THEIR MEMBERSHIP.