Candidate Forum Policy - Clallam County League of Women Voters

HomeCandidate Forum Policy

League of Women Voters of Clallam County Candidate Forum Policy

The mission of the League of Women Voters is to empower voters and defend democracy. In carrying out this mission, the League of Women Voters of Clallam County continues to be a key sponsor of candidate and issue forums. For voters, these non-partisan forums encourage informed and active participation in government. For candidates and issue representatives, the forums provide an opportunity to answer questions important to the community and to personally inform voters about the issues.

The guiding principles of the League forums are to be fair and equitable to all eligible candidates and both sides of ballot issues, to give voters direct access to eligible candidates and representatives of ballot issues and to provide information so that voters can make informed decisions.

The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization that does not endorse candidates or ballot issues.

FORMAT
The format will be an online forum for both the primary and general elections. The forums are conducted in a job interview style. Candidates answer questions individually with everyone hearing questions and answers given. This is not a debate format.

ELIGIBILITY
All candidates who have filed the required paperwork with the Clallam County Auditor by the filing deadline and received notification from the Auditor that their filing has been approved will be eligible for the Candidate Forum.

COMMUNICATION WITH CANDIDATES
Once the candidacy filing deadline has passed and the Auditor has approved the filings, the League’s Voter Service Chair will contact all eligible candidates via email and invite them to the Candidate Forum. The email will notify the candidates of the date, time, and location of the forum. The forum will be held prior to the mailing of ballots to voters. The invitation email will ask that the candidate email a RSVP for the Forum to the Voter Services Chair at least 14 days prior to the event. The RSVP will also include a signed copy of the video agreement which includes an acknowledgment of the Candidate Forum policy. All communication between the candidates and the Voter Services Chair will be in writing and/or confirmed in writing.

FORUM QUESTIONS
Once the date of the Forum is set, the League will solicit questions from community members and civic organizations. All are encouraged to submit concise, unbiased questions directly related to the position, its policies and the leadership skills required.

All questions must be either emailed to the League info@lwvcla.org or mailed to: PO Box 1092, Carlsborg, WA 98324. Preference will be given to topics received within 3 days prior to the forum and 7 days prior to the forum if mailed to the PO Box. Questions received less than 3 days prior to the forum will be considered as time permits.

The League retains discretion in selection, consolidation, and organization of questions, typically by topic. The goal is a broad enough range of questions to allow candidates to highlight their experience, values and views on various issues.

The monitor of the League’s email and mail will forward all questions submitted to the Forum Team consisting of Moderator and the Voter Services Chair. The Team will make the final decision as to the questions to be asked during the Forum. The Team may consult with a League member who is a subject matter expert regarding specific issue questions. All the questions will remain confidential and in the possession of the Moderator until asked at the Forum.

FORUM RULES
A League moderator will conduct the forum. A forum may not be held for every contested race and ballot issue. Multiple races/ballot issues may be part of the same forum but will have different time slots. Agendas will be available prior to the Forum so voters know which races/issues are scheduled for each time slot. If there are only two candidates for an office and one candidate refuses to appear or does not appear on the date and time of the scheduled forum, a forum will not be held for that race. The Moderator will explain to the voters why a forum for that race is not being held. Forums for other races, where at least two of the candidates appear, will proceed.

The Moderator will conduct the forum in the following manner although the League has the option to change the time below based on the type of race. Each event could have different timing, depending on number of candidates and timing of the whole event. The candidates will have a script and know what the timing will be prior to the forum.

* Each candidate will be given 2 minutes to make an opening statement. The order will be the order that the candidates appears on the ballot.

* Following the opening statements, the Moderator will begin asking questions. Each candidate will be given the opportunity for a 90 second response. All candidates will have the opportunity to answer each
question.

* After the Moderator concludes the questioning, each candidate will be given 1 minute for a closing statement.

* The candidates agree that they will not interrupt the Moderator or the other candidates at any time during the forum and will adhere to the speaking time limits established for the forum.

VIDEOGRAPHY/FORUM USE AGREEMENT
The candidates must sign a videography agreement and agree that there will be no private audio or video taping of the Forum. The official audio and video recording will be completed by the League and the League will post the Forum on its YouTube channel within a week of forum. The content of the Forum is the property of the League of Women Voters of Clallam County and cannot be rebroadcast or used by anyone else. The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization, and its name cannot be used by any candidate or issue representative.

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS
The candidates, issue representatives and those watching the Forum, may not display any campaign material or campaign signage.