On Oct. 16, millions of people will watch the second of three debates between President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger Mitt Romney — but this undemocratic forum will exclude the voices of third-party candidates challenging the corporate-backed two-party system.

TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition on this page in support of third-party access to the presidential debates.

These debates bear no resemblance to what most people think of when they consider the word “debate.” A true debate, where participants battle each other in an unrehearsed but structured argument over key issues, will be replaced by what amounts to nothing more than an elaborate press conference.

READ A LETTER TO THE EDITOR published by the Times Union of Albany, N.Y. in support of third-party access to the debates.

Since 1988, the presidential debates have been organized and produced by an organization known as the Commission on Presidential Debates, a group with a name that sounds like a government institution, which hides the fact that it is made up of private companies like Anheuser-Busch and Philip Morris.

Through the privately run “Commission,” the Democratic and Republican parties set rules in a secret contract with the CPD that among other things detail the political requirements of the “in studio” audience members, the topics of questions and, most importantly, which candidates are allowed to actually attend.

The Party for Socialism and Liberation demands that the Presidential debates include third-party candidates – not just those who are loyal to the interests of Wall Street bankers and CEOs. We know that progressive and revolutionary perspectives are being kept out of the debates not because they are unpopular, but because the rich and powerful know just how popular our positions could be if we were able to reach the masses of working people.