Supreme Court · Republicans · FCC · Ars Technica
Supreme Court forces TV stations to sell more election ads at steep discounts
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In a victory for Republican campaign committees, the Supreme Court issued an order on Friday that forces broadcast TV stations to cut the prices of election ads purchased by political parties and joint fundraising committees.
Key facts
- The Fourth Circuit panel decided in a 2-1 ruling that the FCC’s inaction amounted to a “constructive denial
- Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.); Senate candidate Roy Cooper (D-N.C.), the former governor of North Carolina; and US Rep
- The Democrats who challenged the FCC order to TV stations are former senator and current candidate Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio); Sen
- The Democratic candidates won at the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, where a judges’ panel found that the FCC public notice contradicts the plain language of US law that limits
Summary
The Supreme Court order was issued in time for the start of a 60-day period before the election, in which broadcasters are required by US law to offer ad discounts to individual candidates. The legally required discount is known as the “lowest unit charge,” or LUC. The Federal Communications Commission this year issued a public notice ordering broadcast TV stations to give the discounts to parties and joint fundraising committees. The Republican campaign committees then filed an emergency motion for a stay that would block the Fourth Circuit ruling, and the Supreme Court granted the stay on Friday.