Presidential candidate O'Malley wants more DNC debates

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3 (UPI) -- Democractic presidential candidate Martin O'Malley plans to protest outside the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee over its decision to have only six debates.

O'Malley emailed supporters saying "it's time" for the campaign to "take it up a notch" and pressure the DNC to increase the number of debates. O'Malley's motion joins that of another group, #AllowDebate, that is planning a rally outside the Washington, D.C., headquarters for Sept. 16.

In his email, O'Malley said that it's important for more debates to take place and that a group restricting this is "frankly, undemocratic."

The current schedule sanctions six debates between October and March -- down from more than 24 in 2008.

O'Malley's email follows a string of attempts aimed at getting the DNC to expand its debate schedule. O'Malley, who has struggled to raise his 2 percent average national poll support as he faces competition from Sen. Bernie Sanders, "needs as much exposure as he can get," according to The Hill.

The candidate has labeled the debate process as "rigged" and accuses the DNC of organizing the debates in such a way that they benefit Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. He has also questioned whether the DNC can legally exclude candidates from DNC debates if they have or will participate in non-DNC functions.

Sanders has expressed similar frustrations.