The Stossel debate was to include only Gary Johnson, John McAfee & Austin Petersen, however this debate did not happen as Johnson indicated that he couldn't attend due to a prior commitment (the AL/MS convention debate).
The debate at the AL/MS LP convention was held in two parts with the first part including 10 of the 12 Presidential candidates recognized by the LP and one candidate not recognized by the LP. After the first hour of the debate, audience members participated in a straw poll whereby the top 5 candidates were selected for the 2nd round of the debate. The 5 candidates to move into the 2nd round were the 3 invited to the Stossel debate plus Marc Allan Feldman and Darryl W. Perry.