Supreme Court grants Republican emergency appeal on TV ad rates before midterms
- The Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal from Republicans on Friday, halting a lower-court ruling that would have limited cheaper broadcast ad rates to candidates only.
- The decision allows Republican party committees to access discounted TV ad rates ahead of the midterm elections, overturning a 4th Circuit Court of Appeals decision favored by four Democratic candidates including Senator Jon Ossoff and former Senator Sherrod Brown.
- The ruling follows a June Supreme Court decision that removed limits on parties spending money in coordination with candidates, which was seen as advantageous to Republicans given their larger cash reserves.
- Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was the sole public dissenter, arguing the court did not need to wait for an internal FCC review before acting.
- The Republican National Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee argued that broadcasters had already begun charging them higher rates following the appeals court decision, disrupting their campaign budgets.
The Supreme Court granted an emergency appeal from Republicans on Friday in a dispute over campaign television advertising rates, halting a lower-court ruling that had favored Democratic candidates. The decision allows Republican party committees to access discounted TV ad rates ahead of the midterm elections, clearing what had been a legal obstacle to their campaign spending plans.
Four Democratic candidates, including Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia and former Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, had challenged an FCC Media Bureau finding from March that entitled certain party-coordinated ads to discounted rates. They won a victory from a divided panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, but the Republican National Congressional Committee and National Republican Senatorial Committee appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that broadcasters had already begun charging them higher rates and disrupting their budgets.
The Supreme Court majority agreed that the lower court had acted prematurely, noting that the decision would require party committees to pay more for advertising in the critical weeks before the midterms. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented, arguing the court did not need to wait for an internal FCC review. The ruling halts the appeals court decision while the Republican committees proceed with a fuller appeal.
最高法院批准共和党关于中期选举前电视广告费率的紧急上诉
最高法院周五批准了共和党关于竞选电视广告费率的紧急上诉,暂停了一项有利于民主党候选人的下级法院裁决。该决定允许共和党党委在中期选举前获得折扣电视广告费率,扫清了他们竞选支出计划中的法律障碍。
包括乔治亚州参议员乔恩·奥索夫和俄亥俄州前参议员谢罗德·布朗在内的四名民主党候选人对联邦通信委员会媒体局3月份的一项裁定提出质疑,该裁定认为某些政党协调的广告有权获得折扣费率。他们从美国第四巡回上诉法院的一个分庭获得了胜利,但共和党全国众议院委员会和共和党全国参议院委员会向最高法院提出上诉,辩称广播公司已经开始向他们收取更高费率,扰乱了他们的预算。
最高法院多数派同意下级法院行动过于仓促,指出该决定将要求党委在中期选举前的关键几周内支付更多广告费用。大法官凯坦吉·布朗·杰克逊表示反对,认为法院无需等待联邦通信委员会的内部审查。该裁决暂停了上诉法院的决定,共和党委员会继续进行更全面的上诉。