Campaign Legal Center Files U.S. Supreme Court Brief Opposing Unlawful Expansion of Candidate Ad Discount

WASHINGTON — On September 3, 2026, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown, et al. v. Federal Communications Commission, et al., urging the Court to leave in place a recent Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision striking down Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) guidance that incentivized coordination between candidates and super PACs via joint fundraising.

A longstanding statute establishes a special pre-election advertising discount exclusively for federal candidates, but a recent FCC interpretation dramatically expanded that discount to groups that coordinate spending and fundraising with candidates, including parties and even super PACs.

“The toxic influence of super PACs is already wreaking havoc on our elections, with Americans’ voices being drowned out by powerful special interests. The unlawful interpretation from the FCC regarding the lowest unit charge would further limit voters’ ability to meaningfully participate in our democracy,” said Trevor Potter, president of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center. “The Supreme Court should leave in place the lower court ruling, which rightfully blocked the FCC guidance that wildly distorts a long-standing law to allow super PACs to stretch their dollars further and continue to ramp up the number of political ads they’re bankrolling.”

If the Supreme Court pauses the Fourth Circuit ruling, it will leave the FCC’s unlawful interpretation in place through the November 2026 general election.

Background

In March 2026, the FCC — the federal agency that regulates broadcasters — announced a new interpretation of a longstanding federal law that requires television and radio stations to provide discounted advertising to candidates immediately before their elections.

The new guidance states that the discount, which federal law and prior FCC guidance make clear is only available to candidates, would now extend to two new groups: (1) political party committees spending money in coordination with candidates, and (2) joint fundraising committees (“JFCs”) that involve at least one candidate. The new interpretation is a drastic, and unlawful, expansion of the candidate-only ad discount rule and would essentially guarantee more political ads during the remainder of the 2026 midterms and in future election cycles, as every dollar in a party committee or JFC’s war chest will now be able to buy more ad time.

Coupled with two recent developments in campaign finance law — a Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) advisory opinion allowing super PACs to participate in JFCs with candidates, and a deadlocked FEC vote that will likely result in JFCs launching campaign-style ads expressly advocating for specific candidates — the FCC’s new guidance would also effectively allow super PACs to receive discounted ad rates when funding ads through JFCs.

More information about the case is here.