Did the Arizona Citizen’s Clean Elections Commission intentionally exclude Green Party candidates from general election debates? 

The Arizona Citizen’s Clean Elections Commission, which sponsors election debates, did not intentionally exclude Green Party candidates from the 2024 general election cycle. 

The commission partnered with the Arizona Media Association (AMA) to broadcast debates for the 2024 general election. As part of its agreement, the AMA was granted discretion to set a minimum threshold for candidates to qualify for the debates. No Green Party candidates met this threshold, which required them to get at least 1% of the ballots cast in their respective primary contest. 

The threshold applies to all parties and follows debate broadcasting norms across the nation.  

Green Party members make up 0.08% of the state’s registered voters, and unlike Republicans and Democrats in Arizona, hold closed primary elections. This means the state’s non-affiliated voters, which make up roughly 33% of Arizona voters, can’t cast ballots for Green Party candidates in the primary election.

This fact brief responds to conversations such as this one. 

The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs, or quick-response fact checks, about trending claims relating to Arizona.