Supreme Court Upholds FCC Policy on Campaign Advertising Rates

The Supreme Court on Oct. 14 rejected a lower-court attempt to compel the Federal Communications Commission to respond to Democratic objections to a rule that lets political parties receive the same low broadcast advertising rates that must be offered to individual candidates. The Court said the FCC is not required by law to act within a set timeframe and that judicial intervention would breach the separation of powers.

In an unsigned opinion, the majority held that the Commission may set its own procedures and schedule for handling such applications. The decision follows a September ruling that prevented the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals from blocking the policy before the FCC completed its internal review.

The FCC’s policy, announced in March, interprets a federal requirement that stations provide their lowest rates to any legally qualified candidate to also cover ads run by political parties in coordination with candidates. Four Democratic candidates, including Georgia Senator Jon Ossoff, challenged this interpretation in court.

Two liberal justices, Sonia Sotomayor and Ketanji Brown Jackson, dissented from the majority. The Justice Department, in an emergency appeal, noted that the FCC was still gathering public comments and argued it was reasonable to defer a decision on campaign-finance rules during the election season. Democrats criticized the FCC's approach as procedural maneuvering intended to delay judicial review.