I have looked for the answer to this question everywhere and cannot find it!

[skylucy]

Will the Hillary vs. PoopyPants presidential debate next week have a live audience who will be allowed to cheer and clap any time they wish? (as was allowed to happen during the primary debates) I have a vague memory of moderators of past debates telling the audience "No applause except at the beginning when the nominees come on stage."

[TheCowsCameHome]

1. I hope not.

It becomes a hootin' and hollerin' contest.

[politicaljunkie41910]

7. This past weekend, on the Smercomish show, his guest was one of the co-chairs of the debate rules

committee. He said that their philosophy is that the audience,there will be one, but they should not be participants, and that they will instruct them of such. Sure, like you can unring a bell.

[wncHillsupport]

2. One source says:

"Much, however, is not negotiable. The audience will be silent."

From: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/19/the-state-of-the-presidential-debate

[csziggy]

3. Apparently there will be an audience in the venue

But I am not sure how many or what instructions they will be given or obey.

The only indication I could find was in this editorial:

Debates should be televised audience-free
Gerald D. SkoningSeptember 15, 2016

With polling numbers narrowing the gap between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, the upcoming presidential debates will take on more importance than ever before. So maybe we need a vastly different debate format than what we endured in the primary season, which featured studio audiences cheering or jeering at virtually every jab and counterpunch by the candidates.

That unruly atmosphere raises the question of the purpose of audiences. Are they to provide candidates with immediate feedback on their positions or stylistic tactics? Or, like a laugh track on a sitcom, are they meant to help TV viewers know when to hiss or applaud? Are reactions from the crowd supposed to arm us with support for our own outrage or glee?

Political debates should be conducted in a TV studio without an audience. The audience adds nothing other than a hint of raucous reality TV. Real-time feedback makes candidates more likely to pander to the cameras with quips and one-liners, distracting from substantive policy issues.

<SNIP>

More than 55 years after that Sept. 26, 1960, debate, candidates' debate presence continues to influence voting outcomes. But unlike the 1960 slugfest, held in a small television studio, modern debates are a live spectacle with audiences that openly laugh, cheer and jeer, despite repeated cautions for quiet from the moderators.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-presidential-debate-audience-hillary-trump-perspec-0916-20160915-story.html

[stevenleser]

11. I agree with that. There should be no audience. They only serve to game the debate.

The viewers at home should make up their own minds without audience cues.

[sarae]

4. I think I remember reading that each candidate could fill up a

part of the audience with their own supporters. Don't remember where I saw that, though...

[Divine Discontent]

5. Oh I'm sure one of his plants will yell and call her a

"Murderer" or yell "lock her up". If not, it will be stunning composure when compared to their violence at repeated rallies.

[pinboy3niner]

6. For authoritative info, google Presidential Debate Commission and go to their website. nt

[Danmel]

8. My son goes to Hofstra

They are doing a raffle for tickets

[wncHillsupport]

9. info...

Well, pinboy, I looked at the debate commission site and could find nothing about the audience.

The New Yorker magazine I quoted above does say "the audience will be silent" so unless you disbelieve that source, at least I did provide an answer from one source.

In that article, there is discussion of how Jim Lehrer used to maintain absolute audience silence. It is longish but fairly interesting article.

[skylucy]

12. Thank you. I looked on the debate commissions site too and was surprised that there was nothing

about audience behavior. The New Yorker mag quote makes me feel alittle better about things. A quiet, dignified audience will help Hillary (and a noisy, angry, rude mob would, of course, make Trump happy.)

[skylucy]

10. Thank you to everyone for the input! I really do hope that the audience will be silent.