tips for conducting candidate forums

8/12/2019 Tips for Conducting Candidate Forums

1/3


www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/diocesan-and-community-leaders/tips-for-conducting-candidate-forums.cfm 1/3

USCCB > Issues And Action > Faithful Citizenship > Diocesan & Community Leaders

TIPSFORCONDUCTINGCANDIDATEFORUMS

A candidate forum can be an excellent format for educating voters about the candidates. However, it requires

careful planning. There may be diocesan policy concerning whether candidates may be invited to speak at

parishes. Candidate forums should be undertaken only when they are in conformity with diocesan policy

and meet IRS standards. Because of the work involved, and because many candidates represent an area that

is larger than the boundaries of one parish, candidate forums are often organized mos t effectively in

cooperation with other groups, such as nearby Catholic parishes, diocesan offices, and interfaith groups. If

you are interested in sponsoring a candidate forum, you would do well to contact other churches or

organizations in your community that have expertise in planning such events. While they can give moredetailed suggestions, we offer here a few general pointers.

Non-partisanship

Like all church civic responsibility activities, candidate forums mus t be scrupulous ly non-partisan. Several

guidelines should be followed. Invite all candidates and treat them alike:This includes invitation and follow-

up, the information you provide in advance, the questions they are asked, and the opportunities they have to

respond.

Do not intervene, directly or indirectly, in the campaign on behalf of a particular candidate or party:

Nothing that you do at the forum can show preference for one candidate over another. Your moderator must

be unbiased. You will want to prepare in advance carefully worded questions on a wide range of issues. If you

include ques tions from the audience, have the questions written on index cards and s creened before being

read by the moderator.

Cover a broad range of issues:Focusing on one iss ue will create the appearance of endorsing som e

candidates over others. A broader focus will m ore effectively educate voters and will avoid any appearance of

bias . You may want to use as guidelines Goals for the Campaign, included in the Faithful Citizenship

statement.

The USCCB Office of General Counsel has issued a memorandum detailing appropriate and legal activities

for Catholic institutions during the election process. For information, consul t your dioces an attorney. The

memorandum can be found here.

Planning

Careful advance planning will ensure the success of your candidate forum. Remember that candidates are

campaigning to get elected. In order to accept your invitation to appear at a forum, they mus t feel that the event

is worthwhile and that they will be able to address a s ignificant number of people. Therefore, plan carefully,

and don t promise more than you can deliver. The following are factors youll want to consider.

Collaboration: Broadening your sponsorship can increase attendance and create wider ownership. What

other groups or dioces an offices m ight want to be involvedother parishes or nearby churches? Catholic

Charities? diocesan Pro-life Offices for Social Action? Migration Services? Others? It is important to dis cuss

the ground rules for the forum early in the process of identifying partners so that everyone agrees.

Focus: Will you invite candidates for local office, for state office, or for Congress ? While you m ay want to invite

a combination, cons ider whether youll have enough time for a thoughtful discuss ion on two or more sets ofiss ues. Remember that candidates for local office will be m ore likely to accept your invitation than state-wide

or national candidates.
http://www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/political-activity-guidelines.cfmhttp://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/index.cfmhttp://www.usccb.org/http://www.usccb.org/http://www.usccb.org/http://www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/political-activity-guidelines.cfmhttp://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/index.cfmhttp://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/diocesan-and-community-leaders/http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/faithful-citizenship/http://www.usccb.org/issues-and-action/http://www.usccb.org/


2/3



Timing: Start planning well in advance so that you are able to choose the bes t time for your forum and avoid

conflicts on your diocesan and parish calendars.

Turnout strategy: A candidate forum with a small audience will do more harm than good in establishing your

credibility. Plan your turnout strategy well ahead and be realis tic about your abi lity to bring out a crowd so that

you don t promis e more than you can deliver. Think about the networks you can mobilize in your paris h, inother parishes or churches, and in the diocesethe parish s ocial concerns committee, small faith

communities, and the parish council are jus t some of the poss ibilities. If your diocese has a legis lative

network, can parish leaders from other parishes commit to bringing a certain number of people? If your

diocese has a peace and jus tice commiss ion, can each member take respons ibility for bringing people? If the

forum is being sponsored by other groups or diocesan offices, can they bring people from their parishes and

from their networks?

Site: Choose a centrally located site that is easy to get to. The s ite should also be an appropriate size for the

number of people you expectfor example, an auditorium that is too large will make your crowd appear

smaller than it is. Make sure the site has appropriate sound equipment, lighting, and parking.

Format: The format of your candidate forum will play a significant role in ens uring that it remains non-partisan.

Several points are im portant to remem ber.

1. Give equal treatment to all candidates. Use an unbiased means to determinespeaking order (e.g., drawing straws, alphabetical order), and give each speaker the same

amount of time. Designate a timekeeper who will signal the speaker when his/her time is up. Be

clear about time limits with the candidates before the event starts, and stick strictly to the limits

so no one gets shortchanged.

2. Cover a wide range of issues in your questions. You may want to use as guidelines

Goals for the Campaign, included in Faithful Citizenship. Choose a moderator who will ask the

questions and make sure that person uses the same wording for each candidate. If you want to

take questions from the audience, give people index cards to write them on so their questions

can be screened before they are asked.

3. Do not allow candidates to distribute campaign literature during the forum. Let themknow ahead of time if you will provide a table at the back where all campaign literature can be

displayed.

4. Make sure someone arrives at the site early on the day of the forum to see that the

room is set up and that the light and sound systems are working.

Invitations: Begin by calling each candidates campaign headquarters. (If you cant find the numbers, call your

local newspapers .) Note the name of the person you speak with for follow-up purposes. Provide the date,

time, and probable audience for the event (dont exaggerate the numbers), and outline the format. Once youve

gotten an agreement to attend (which may take several calls ), confirm the commitment with a letter that details

the format. Its also wise to place a rem inder call a day or two before the forum.

Leaders: Identify leaders for several roles, including moderator, timekeeper, greeters (for the candidates and

others), and publicity coordinators.

Media Coverage: The best media s trategy will target both your diocesan newspaper and the local secular

media. Personally contact your diocesan news paper editor about running an announcement of the forum for

several weeks in advance, and sugges t sending a reporter to the event.

Often local newspapers and cable s ervices offer community bulletin boards where you can publicize the

forum. This cant hurt, but your leaders s hould unders tand that this type of publicity will produce only a handful

of people and can never subs titute for their efforts to work with their paris hes and organizations to maximize

turnout. A press release, along with calls to local newspaper, radio, and television reporters (especially if

youve already built a relations hip with them), can result in s olid coverage of the forum.

Important Advice


3/3



Candidate forums can provide a very helpful source of information about candidates for parishioners and

others in the community. They have been sponsored very successfully by dioceses and parishes across the

country. However, it is important to fully understand the lim itations and ground rules on these activities. Be

sure to contact your dioces an attorney and s tate Catholic conference director before planning your forum. It is

also important to read the guidelines offered by the USCCB General Couns el. The complete text of a

mem orandum from the USCCB General Counsel regarding 501(c)(3) organizations and political activity can

be obtained here.

2014 United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
http://www.usccb.org/about/general-counsel/political-activity-guidelines.cfm

tips for conducting candidate forums

Documents