Last week, two presidential candidates debated solutions for the economy, the budget, and health care — but theirs are not the only solutions.

Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson is also running for president as a libertarian, but the National Commission on Presidential Debates excluded him from the debate. Now, he is suing the commission for the chance to debate and share his solutions with the nation.

Johnson’s exclusion does not only affect his campaign, it hurts American voters.

Allowing for a third voice highlights the alternatives to the Democratic and Republican solutions. Voters need to step up and demand the commission to let Johnson debate.

The polarization of the American electorate has done nothing to improve the nation. The gridlock of leadership has left voters with an 11-year war, high unemployment, an ever-increasing budget deficit, and uncertainty for the future of health care, the economy, and education.

It’s time for someone who is neither red nor blue to offer some solutions.

Johnson is a libertarian candidate who can run on his record as a successful governor. While governor of New Mexico, he balanced the state’s budget, left office with a surplus, cut taxes and created as many as 20,000 jobs.

The most astounding part of this is that Johnson is on the ballot in 48 states, and still yet he was not included in the debates. Three major debate sponsors, BBH New York, the YWCA, and Philips North America, have withdrawn their support from the commission to support a more just election, according to Open Debates — and the commission should listen.

Debates are about finding solutions for the American people, but if good ideas are shut out for the sake of money, ratings, and partisan politics, voters lose. Iowans should support Johnson in his mission to open the debates and seek answers where Republicans and Democrats alike fall short.