Michigan voters won’t see any shortage of political ads this election season – between now and Nov. 4 they’ll be swamped by television commercials for and against the major party candidates for governor and U.S. senator.

What they may not see are any debates between the candidates, which would be a great loss for voters trying to make an informed decision about these important offices.

We face the very real possibility that a long tradition of public debates in Michigan will be broken this year. WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids recently postponed candidate debates planned for this week because Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican senatorial candidate Terri Lynn Land had not committed to the events. Similar debates planned by Michigan State University and a Detroit television station were similarly up in the air, as of Friday because of a lack of commitment from Snyder and Land.

Political analysts say there’s a good chance that none of the debates will take place.

Until recently, candidates for governor and senator in our state typically met for two or three televised debates. However, Snyder and Democratic opponent Virg Bernero had only one debate in 2010, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow and challenger Pete Hoekstra didn’t debate at all during their 2012 race.

“It seemed like in the past you had to do a debate. But I’m not sure that that’s the case anymore,” Dave Doyle, a Republican consultant with Marketing Resource Group in Lansing told The Associated Press last month. “There doesn’t seem to be the pressure that builds that has built in the past for debates.”

We hope pressure does build, for the absence of any debates would deprive voters of one of the few real opportunities they have to get to know the candidates.

The 30-second ads that dominate the airwaves, many if not most of them are now produced by national groups rather than the candidates’ own campaign committees, and are famous for their mudslinging, disinformation and lack of context.

Few voters will take the time to read the analyses of the ads in the news media or the few news articles that explore the candidates’ positions in depth.

Undecided voters don’t have much to go on unless they devote a significant amount of time to their own research.

Debates are far from perfect vehicles for informing voters. We’re all used to seeing presidential debates in which the candidates concentrate on getting in their scripted talking points rather than answering the actual questions posed to them.

However, debates do offer a chance for voters to view candidates live for an extended period of time and see how they conduct themselves in a high-pressure situation.

Further, debates are usually the only venue in which candidates are forced to defend their records and positions in public.

The lack of debates is all the more unfortunate given the close races shaping up in Michigan. Polls show Gov. Snyder and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Schauer in a statistical tie.

On the Senate side, Michigan voters will play a key role in deciding which party controls the U.S. Senate when they choose a successor to six-term Sen. Carl Levin; the latest polls show Land closing the gap in a close race with Democratic U.S. Rep. Gary Peters.

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