President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump will have their first presidential debate for the 2024 election. But there’s a few changes to how the debate will happen this year, with new rules changing the political discourse.

For the first time in U.S. history, the presidential debate won’t have a live audience. Another one of the new rules is the moderators will be able to mute mics to prevent interruptions. Although the biggest change is how early the first debate is happening in June. But will the early debate have an impact in November?

Dr. Cindy Rugeley, is an associate professor of political science at UMD. She says usually by the time the presidential debates roll around, everybody made up their mind on who to vote for. However, Dr. Rugeley says the timing of the debate could change voters minds.

“Generally, debates have little effect. It’s more or less if they make a gaffe or do something so outrageous that it causes attention, but this debate is different because it is earlier. They’re turning off the mics, and there’s not going to be an audience,” Dr. Rugeley said. “So it’ll be interesting to see how, if, they adjust their styles based on the context of the debate. There’s not a whole lot of research or evidence what’s going to happen because nobody knows. I think it will have an effect for sure.”

Dr. Rugeley says these new rules could set a precedent for future presidential debates. Also Dr. Rugeley says some of the issues President Biden and former President Donald Trump will most likely talk about are the economy with inflation, and problems with housing. Mayor Jim Paine of Superior, says voting for the President can lead to changes with new roads, bridges and parks.

“Infrastructure, regular investment, that’s the kind of stuff we look for from the federal government. Most of our life is handled by local government, some of it by state government,” Mayor Paine said. ‘For the most part, the federal government, you want them to either stay out of the way and not make anything worse or actually invest in us.”  

Mayor Paine also says when it comes to any election whether it’s the presidential race, midterms or local elections take the time to do your research on the candidates to make an informed decision.

“Voting, running for office, these things are basic responsibilities of citizenship. And when we elect a president, there’s a lot that we might be looking to elect. But I think most of us just want to see how are they going to improve our day-to-day life.”

For more information about what candidates need to be qualified to be on the presidential debate stage you can read more here. Also for more stories about the 2024 election you can read more here.