The political landscape in America can often feel bleak and toxic due to heightened polarization. But debate can be an important tool to close the gap between dissenting parties and foster more productive dialogue. However, a misperception of the frequency and format of political debate may be contributing to people’s frustration with it.
In the United States, presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative debates occur in order to inform voters about candidates’ positions on key issues. These events are generally moderated by well-known journalists, and are televised by major networks. The exact format of a debate varies, but typically leaders will each get an opportunity to make a short opening statement, and then a panel of well-known journalists will ask sets of questions that can be answered by all or just one leader.
Each candidate will be given around two minutes to answer a question and then the other candidates will have a brief chance to respond and rebut. The moderator will usually use a visual cue such as a set of lights (similar to traffic signals) that signal how much time the candidates have left; green indicates they have 30 seconds, yellow 15 seconds, and red only 5 seconds.
Despite the popularity of debates in the United States, research shows that they do not significantly impact the voting behavior of voters. This is largely because people who watch debates are already highly familiar with the candidates, either from previous elections or through months of campaign events and news coverage. The only type of debate that appears to have some impact is a full debate, which increases knowledge about policy stances and shifts the alignment of voters’ vote choice preferences toward candidates.
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