Several campaign watchdog groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to clarify its rules around political advertising that provides candidates with lower costs. This change aims to close a loophole that has allowed certain outside groups to qualify for the lowest unit rates, which critics argue they should not be eligible for. The outcome could impact how much political ad dollars radio and TV stations receive.
“We write to request that you publicly confirm that FCC rules governing political advertisements, including advertising rates, apply only to ads paid for by legally qualified candidates,” wrote the campaign finance watchdog groups in a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “We request that you also confirm that a candidate must pay for at least 50% of an ad to trigger the favorable access and treatment and advertising rates under these rules.”
The groups — which include End Citizens United Action Fund, Campaign Legal Center, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and Public Citizen — are seeking input from the FCC after the Federal Election Commission deadlocked on the question last week.
The issue has been bubbling up during the past several months as several Republican-aligned groups came up with a new media buying strategy to help stretch their campaign dollars in several battleground states. Rather than run a traditional spot for a politician, they have been producing so-called “hybrid ads” with a candidate and campaign group splitting the cost. In the case of one ad for Maryland U.S. Senate candidate Larry Hogan, the groups say outside groups paid for 80% of the ad’s costs. Yet because Hogan’s campaign was part of the mix with its 20% contribution, it allowed the ad buy to qualify for lowest unit rates. The groups say other examples are easy to find around the country.
The “hybrid ads” may stretch campaign dollars, but there is one catch. They must address national issues as well as the specific candidate, which could limit a politician’s messaging options. But in many cases, the GOP candidates have simply gotten around the rule by attacking Democrats’ views on an issue or Vice President Kamala Harris.
Democrats complained to the Federal Election Commission, asking that it put a stop to the practice of a candidate and campaign group splitting the cost. But in a 3-3 vote last week, the FEC was unable to decide whether to take any action. That was effectively a green light to allow the practice to continue, and it led the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee to say it would begin to use the loophole as well.
By going to the FCC, the watchdog groups are hoping to try other tactics to limit what they see as a blatant attempt to bypass contribution limits. They are proposing that the FCC state that a candidate’s principal campaign committee should fund at least 50% of the ad to get the discounted rate.
The groups tell the FCC that the rules tied to lowest unit rates have always made it clear that they are available to a candidate’s use of station broadcast facilities. But they say the regulations have also not been detailed enough.
“While the FCC has never explicitly stated how much of an ad needs to be paid for by a candidate to qualify for the lowest unit charge, surely it must be more than a small fraction of the advertisement’s total,” they write in a letter to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel.
What little the FCC has said on the topic came in an August 2022 advisory on political ads, when the FCC said that only legally qualified candidates are eligible for lowest unit charges and comparable rates for their ads in the 45-days leading up to a primary, caucus or runoff election, and the 60-day period preceding a general or special election.
“The lowest unit charge requirements only apply to ads paid for and sponsored by legally qualified candidates,” it says. “They do not apply to issue ads (that is, political ads paid for and sponsored by non-candidate persons and entities).”
コメント