Supreme Court Grants Parties 1971 TV Ad Rates as Midterm Fight Boosts Republicans
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4
Supreme Court Grants Parties 1971 TV Ad Rates as Midterm Fight Boosts Republicans
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Sep 4
Summary
Political party committees can now buy television ads at the same discounted rates as candidates after the Supreme Court granted emergency relief ahead of the midterms.
The majority said Republican committees faced irreparable harm in the campaign’s final weeks because higher ad prices would limit their ability to reach voters and coordinate political activity.
The order framed that burden as a First Amendment injury, while Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented and the court, as usual in emergency cases, gave no vote count.
The dispute turns on the 1971 Federal Election Campaign Act, an obscure broadcast rule that had recently given Democrats an advantage in party advertising.