Independent U.S. candidates not invited to first presidential debate

Two third-party candidates vying for a seat in the White House have been excluded from the first scheduled presidential debate.

Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson and Green Party hopeful Jill Stein did not meet the qualifications necessary for participation in the debate taking place Sept. 26, the Commission on Presidential Debates said on Friday.

The commission, citing the averages the various candidates have achieved in selected polls, confirmed that Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton had met the criteria.

It also saidthe vice-presidential running mates of the two leading candidates were the only two to qualify for the vice-presidential debate set for Oct. 4.

CBC's Presidential Poll Tracker has been updated to show how the state-by-state electoral college projections break down and to allow you to swing states from one partyto the other to put together a winning electoral map for either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump. Try it out here.