Photo By: South Dakota Public Broadcasting
The National Federation of State High School Associations recently tabulated debate ballots from 29 states, Washington D.C., the National Speech and Debate Association, the National Debate Coaches Association, the National Association for Urban Debate Leagues and the National Catholic Forensic League. The returned ballots narrowed the five proposed topics to two for placement on the final ballot to select the 2020-2021 national high school debate topic. The five topic areas were ranked 1-5 with the two topic areas receiving the lowest totals –Climate Change and Criminal Justice Reform – placed on the final ballot. On January 10, 2020, the NFHS will announce the preferred topic area and resolution after states and national organizations are able to place a final vote. The 2020-2021 national high school debate topic and resolution will be posted on the NFHS Speech and Debate webpage and sent to state associations and affiliate members.
The following states returned ballots:
| COLUMN A | COLUMN B | COLUMN C |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Iowa | Nevada |
| Arkansas | Kansas | New Mexico |
| California | Kentucky | Ohio |
| Colorado | Maryland | Oklahoma |
| D.C. | Massachusetts | Oregon |
| Georgia | Michigan | South Dakota |
| Hawaii | Minnesota | Texas |
| Idaho | Mississippi | Virginia |
| Illinois | Missouri | Washington |
| Indiana | Montana | Wisconsin |
In addition to the 30 State Associations, the NDCA, NSDA, NAUDL and NCFL returned the ballot.
Within each of the five topic areas appears one resolution. The resolutions within the two final topic areas are:
The following chart summarizes the balloting on the topic areas and their respective resolutions. Areas ranked 1-2-3-4-5 with low combined total indicative of top ranking.
National Policy Debate Topic Area Balloting:
70 Criminal Justice Reform
74 Climate Change
116 Health Coverage
119 Election Reform
131 Commercial Agriculture