This June and September, President Biden and former President Trump will take to the debate stage to talk about critical issues. Debates are more fun to watch with friends and other Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) volunteers – whether you watch together virtually or in-person!

This guide will equip you with everything you need to organize a debate watch party and highlight the need to focus on critical kids’ issues this election season.

Presidential Debates Details

The Presidential debates are scheduled for June 27^th at 9:00 pm ET and September 10th (time TBD).

The first presidential debate will be hosted by CNN and will air live on CNN, CNN International, CNN en Español and CNN Max. CNN will also simulcast the debate on broadcast and cable news networks within the United States.

For those who wish to livestream the debate, it will be available to stream without a cable login on CNN.com.

How to organize your event?

Watch with Friends – Debates are a great opportunity to learn more about where candidates stand on key issues. Because the debates are often televised or livestreamed, they provide an exciting opportunity to gather friends, community members and other Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) volunteers together to watch the debate.

1. Watch together virtually with SCAN advocates: Contact your state’s SCAN staff member to find out what’s happening in your state online
2. Organize an In-Person Watch Party: Invite friends, neighbors, and community members to watch together. Here’s how!

Here’s how!

Step 1: Determine how you will show the debate.

Will you watch the debate on live TV or streamed online? The presidential debates will be livestreamed, which may give your more options for finding a space for your event.

Step 2: Find a space to host your debate watching party.

There are many options for spaces to host your event, including:

• Your home or the house of another SCAN volunteer
• The local library
• A private room in a restaurant
• A community center

Make sure that whatever space you choose is comfortable and accessible. Your space should also be equipped with a screen large enough for everyone to see and the required technology to watch it (e.g. Wi-Fi to watch it livestreamed or broadcast TV coverage).

Step 3: Promote your debate watch party.

An effective promotion plan uses various strategies to let people know about your debate watch party and to help drive turnout. Be sure to work with your SCAN staff contact and other volunteers in your community to develop a promotion plan that leverages the contacts everyone has. After all, people are more likely to respond to an invite from a friend! Some commonly used promotion strategies include:

• If your event is open to the public, work with your SCAN staff content to create an event sign up page and share it with your friends.
• Promote the event page via social media. Share why you are planning to attend the debate watch party.
• Invite your friends. Send a short text inviting them to the event. Remind them that you’ll be there too, so it will be a great opportunity to catch up.
• Share with other groups, clubs, and community contacts. Create a list of local groups and community contacts and invite them to attend. Ask them to help spread the word.

Regardless of how you invite people to your event, make sure to follow up and send a reminder to those who expressed interest in attending. A best practice is to send a reminder 24 hours before the event.

Making Your Debate Watch Party Fun

1. Share our debate bingo with our downloadable bingo cards.
2. Invite them to volunteer for an upcoming SCAN event.
3. Take a debate watch selfie and share it on social media. Be sure to use the hashtag #Debate2024 and #VoteforKids.