Presidential Debate Questions for Students: An Outline for Civic Engagement

Presidential debates serve as a cornerstone of the democratic process, providing a platform for candidates to articulate their platforms, engage in policy discussions, and appeal to voters. As the election season unfolds, these debates offer a crucial opportunity for citizens, particularly students, to critically assess the candidates' stances on key issues. Integrating debate analysis into the classroom fosters civic engagement, critical thinking, and media literacy skills among students. This outline provides a framework for exploring potential debate questions and engaging students in meaningful discussions about the issues shaping the nation.

Strengthening Democratic Institutions and Ensuring Fair Elections

A fundamental aspect of any presidential election is ensuring its integrity and accessibility. Candidates should address concrete measures to guarantee a free, fair, and secure election process, enabling all eligible Americans to vote safely.

Proposed Measures for Election Integrity

Federal Legislation to Restore Voting Rights Act Protections: Candidates should discuss their support for federal legislation that fully restores the core protections of the Voting Rights Act, preventing racial discrimination in elections. The Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision has been linked to a surge in voter suppression tactics.
Additional Measures to Protect Voting Rights: Candidates should also address their positions on measures such as automatic voter registration (AVR), redistricting reform, and rights restoration for people convicted of felonies. Many of these measures are included in the For the People Act (H.R. 1).

Addressing Criminal Justice Reform and Racial Justice

The issue of racial justice, particularly in the context of policing and the criminal justice system, has become increasingly prominent. The death of George Floyd in May 2020 sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality, especially toward Black Americans. Candidates should present their strategies for addressing racial disparities in policing and ensuring accountability for law enforcement misconduct.

Plans to Tackle Police Brutality and Racism

Addressing Racial Disparities: Candidates should outline specific plans to address racial disparities in policing practices and the criminal justice system.
Accountability for Law Enforcement: Candidates should describe how they intend to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for misconduct.

Ending Mass Incarceration

The United States has a disproportionately large prison population, with Black, Latino, and Native Americans being incarcerated at higher rates. Candidates should address the need for broader political and cultural changes to end mass incarceration. The United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population but almost 25 percent of its prison population.

Curbing Political Interference in Government Science

The role of science in informing public policy is critical, particularly in times of crisis. Candidates should address the need to protect government science and researchers from political interference, ensuring that policy decisions are based on sound scientific analysis and research.

Safeguarding Government Science

Protecting Government Science: Candidates should outline their plans to curb political interference in government science.
Responding to Public Health Crises: Candidates should emphasize the importance of a federal government capable of responding effectively to public health crises and other emergencies.

Addressing the Climate Crisis

The increasing intensity of wildfires and hurricanes underscores the urgency of addressing the climate crisis. Candidates should present aggressive plans to reduce carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Plans to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Aggressive Efforts to Reduce Emissions: Candidates should outline their strategies for reducing carbon emissions.

Addressing the Influence of Fossil Fuel Industries

The role of wealthy megadonors, corporations, and special interest groups, including fossil fuel industries, in political spending should be addressed. The Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United has further tilted political influence toward these groups. This trend has included enormous amounts of election spending from fossil fuel industries, who shoulder major responsibility for carbon emissions.

Promoting Government Transparency and Ethics

Concerns over government transparency, accountability, and ethics have grown in recent years. Candidates should address the need for stronger ethics rules and disclosure requirements to prevent elected officials from using their positions for personal gain.

Ethics Reforms

Supporting Ethics Reforms: Candidates should discuss whether they support ethics reforms, such as disclosure requirements for presidential tax returns and stronger rules on conflicts of interest, similar to those outlined in H.R. 1.

Addressing White Nationalism and Hate Crimes

The rise in reported hate crimes necessitates a clear plan for addressing white nationalism and ensuring that the Justice Department properly tracks and investigates hate crimes.

Plans to Address White Nationalism

Commitment to Justice Department Action: Presidential candidates should speak to their plans for addressing white nationalism and commit to directing the Justice Department to properly track and investigate hate crimes.

Reforming Senate Procedures

The use of the filibuster has increased dramatically, contributing to partisan deadlock in the Senate. Candidates should propose Senate procedural reforms to address this issue.

Senate Procedural Reforms

Addressing the Filibuster: Candidates should propose Senate procedural reforms to address the increasing use of the filibuster.

Incorporating Debate Analysis into the Classroom

To effectively integrate presidential debate analysis into the classroom, educators can employ various strategies:

Creating a Safe and Inclusive Environment

Teachers must create an environment where students feel comfortable expressing diverse opinions and engaging in respectful dialogue.

Encouraging Media Literacy and Fact-Checking

It’s also vital to engage students’ media literacy skills and encourage fact-checking and analysis of candidates' claims. Our current media landscape makes it more difficult than ever to differentiate news, feature, and opinion pieces published by media outlets.

Analyzing Rhetorical Techniques

The art of debate is full of rhetorical tricks, and candidates often find ways to evade direct questions, deflect on topics they don’t want to discuss, and redirect attention from one topic to another.

Utilizing Debate-Focused Activities

Engage students in activities that promote critical thinking and debate skills.

Logical Fallacies Study and Analysis

Students can learn about logical fallacies and techniques of persuasion by analyzing examples from past debates.

Classroom Debates

Organize classroom debates where students argue for or against a resolution related to a major issue from the presidential debates.

Debate Watch Notes

Encourage students to take notes during the presidential debate, identifying examples of fallacies and key issues.

History of Presidential Debates

Explore the history of presidential debates, examining memorable moments and their impact on the electorate.

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