As we near the end of this long presidential election process, I find the virtual media blackout on the Jill Stein and Gary Johnson campaigns to be concerning.

Due to the unprecedented unfavorability of both the Democratic and Republican presidential candidates (whom I’m sure you’ve heard plenty about already), why isn’t the media covering the other options you’ll have for president in November?

As voters, we should demand more from the media and question the motives behind the suppression of these candidates’ voices. They deserve to be heard, and we deserve the right to be well-informed voters.

Case in point is the upcoming presidential debates. Although Stein and Johnson will appear on enough ballots to win 95 percent of the Electoral College votes available, they will not be allowed to participate in the upcoming presidential debates.

The Commission on Presidential Debates would tell you that the decision to not include them was based on their low poll numbers. Instead, I fear that the commission is using the polling criteria as a means to prevent us from knowing more about these candidates.

With 76 percent of likely voters behind opening the debates to all four candidates (according to a USA Today poll), it appears that corporate entities behind the Democratic and Republican parties, working with corporate entities behind the debate commission and mass media, are conspiring to keep us in the dark.

To take back our government from the corporations pulling the strings and keep them in the dark, I propose that we turn off the presidential debates. I’ve heard too much from those candidates already.

Justin Beth

Portland

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