These are the rules of the CBS vice presidential debate

JD Vance and Tim Walz will face off for the first time in a vice presidential debate on October 1, which will likely be the last major debate of the 2024 election cycle.

The duel between the Republican senator from Ohio and the Democratic governor of Minnesota follows similar rules to the presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, with one notable exception: each candidate's microphone will be set throughout the 90s be switched on for years. Minute event instead of muted when it is the other person's turn to speak. The other rules, such as no studio audience, remain the same.

The debate begins at 9 p.m. ET and will be moderated by CBS News, which released the rules on Friday. The show will be hosted by CBS Evening News anchor Norah O'Donnell and Face the Nation anchor Margaret Brennan.

With early voting underway and polls pointing to a close race, the debate could allow the vice presidential candidates to make a last-minute pitch to voters before the Nov. 5 election.

Walz and Vance traded contradictions throughout the campaign. Walz went viral this year for calling Trump and Vance “weird” in a television interview, a remark that later became a rallying cry for Democrats. Vance has taken aim at Walz's military history and criticized the timing of Walz's retirement from the Minnesota National Guard in 2005, before his unit deployed to Iraq.

Here are the rules for the vice president debate.

Hot microphones

Unlike the presidential debates this election cycle, the candidates' microphones will remain on throughout the debate, even when the other candidate is speaking, according to CBS News, which added that it “reserves the right to turn off the candidates' microphones.”

The issue of muted microphones became a contentious issue in the lead-up to the recent Harris-Trump debate. The rule was originally proposed by President Joe Biden before the first presidential debate in June to curb interruptions, but Harris sought to change the rule after Biden dropped out of the race and she secured the party's nomination. Harris was unsuccessful and the microphones remained silent during her debate against Trump.

No live audience

In keeping with the recent presidential debate, the Vance-Walz event will be held without a live audience to minimize disruption. The move marks a departure from previous vice presidential debates, where viewers were typically instructed to remain silent while the candidates spoke.

Standing at lecterns

Both Walz and Vance will stand at identical lecterns throughout the 90-minute debate. This is the first time since 2008 that vice presidential candidates were not seated for the debate. CBS News said Walz will stand on the left side of the stage while Vance will stand on the right.

Each candidate receives a pen, a notepad and a bottle of water on stage. No props or pre-written notes are allowed.

No opening statement

As with the presidential debate, there will be no opening statements. Instead, each candidate will make a two-minute closing statement at the end of the debate. A coin toss conducted by CBS News on Thursday determined the order of closing statements. Vance won the coin toss and chose to speak last during the closing speech.

Read more: The reinvention of JD Vance

The debate begins with the moderators introducing the candidates, starting with the incumbent party – meaning Walz is introduced first. The moderators then ask questions, with each candidate having two minutes to answer. This is followed by one-minute rebuttals and responses to the rebuttals. CBS News said moderators could, at their discretion, give candidates an additional minute to continue the discussion. Lights appear in front of the candidates to alert them to the remaining speaking time.

Walz and Vance are not allowed to ask each other questions, and the network said no topics or questions will be shared with campaigns or candidates in advance.

Commercial breaks

Similar to the last two debates this cycle, the CBS event will feature two commercial breaks during the 90-minute broadcast. However, campaign staff are prohibited from interacting with their respective candidates during these breaks, denying them the opportunity to provide strategic advice or improve the candidates' appearance.