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      Level the Playing Field, et al. v. FEC

Level the Playing Field, et al. v. FEC 
 Summary
          
            Documents
 Summary

  
  
    On June 12, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment to the FEC in Level the Playing Field, et al. v. FEC, a case concerning the candidate selection criteria used for presidential debates.BackgroundThe FEC's regulations on candidate debates allow tax-exempt 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) organizations to serve as debate "staging organizations" provided that they "do not endorse, support, or oppose political candidates or political parties," and that they use "pre-established objective criteria to determine which candidates may participate in a debate." Further, a staging organization "shall not use nomination by a particular political party as the sole objective criterion to determine whether to include a candidate in a debate."In 2014 and 2015, Level the Playing Field, the Green Party of the United States, the Libertarian National Committee, and Dr. Peter Ackerman (collectively, plaintiffs) filed two administrative complaints with the FEC alleging that the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) violated the debate staging provisions. Level the Playing Field also filed a Petition for Rulemaking asking the FEC to revise its debate regulations to prohibit the use of a polling threshold as a criterion for accessing general election debates. The FEC dismissed both complaints finding no reason to believe that CPD violated the debate regulations. It also declined to initiate a rulemaking.On August 27, 2015, plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the FEC’s dismissals and the decision not to engage in a rulemaking.District court decisionsOn February 1, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia remanded the enforcement matters and petition for rulemaking back to the FEC for further consideration. Following the court’s remand, the FEC reconsidered the complaints and again found the allegations unpersuasive. The FEC also denied the petition for rulemaking a second time. After the district court granted leave, on August 11, 2017, the plaintiffs filed an amended supplemental complaint with the court challenging the FEC’s decisions on remand.On March 31, 2019, the district court granted the FEC’s cross-motion for summary judgment. The court found that the FEC applied the appropriate legal standard in reviewing the administrative complaints and that the FEC’s treatment of the evidence was not arbitrary or contrary to law. The court also found that the FEC reasonably concluded that CPD’s polling threshold was objective in that it was not so high that only major party nominees could satisfy it. The court also upheld the FEC’s second denial of the plaintiffs’ petition for rulemaking.Appeals court decisionThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment. The appeals court found that the plaintiffs failed to show that the FEC’s decision making was arbitrary or unreasonable, concluding that the polling threshold was objective even if it was difficult for independent candidates to surmount it since there is no “legal requirement that the Commission make it easier for independent candidates to run for President of the United States.”Finally, for the same reasons that the dismissal of the plaintiffs’ complaints was reasonable, the appeals court concluded that the FEC did not err by not initiating a rulemaking.Source: FEC Record — June 2020; April 2019; February 2017; September 2015; July 2015
 Documents

  
  
    Supreme Court (20-649)Court decisions:Letter from Clerk of the US Supreme Court regarding Order Denying Certiorari (03/22/2021)Related documents:Reply Brief for Petitioners (02/26/2021)Brief for the Respondent in Opposition (02/12/2021)Brief of Amicus Curiae Fairvote in Support of Petitioners (12/14/2020)Brief of Nonprofit Leaders, Scholars, and Practitioners as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners (12/11/2020)Brief of Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners of the Independent Voter Project, Admiral James Stavridis, Senator Joseph Robert Kerrey, Senator Joseph Isadore Lieberman, the Honorable Clarine Nardi Riddle, the Honorable David M. Walker, and the Honorable Christine Todd Whitman (12/10/2020)Petition for Writ of Certiorari (11/09/2020)Appeals Court (DC Circuit) (19-5117)Court decisions :Mandate (08/06/2020)Opinion (06/12/2020)Per Curiam Judgment (06/12/2020)Related documents:Reply Brief for Plaintiffs-Appellants (11/25/2019)Corrected Brief of Amicus Curiae Commission on Presidential Debates in Support of Defendant-Appellee and in Support of Affirmance (11/12/2019)Corrected Brief for the Federal Election Commission (11/05/2019)FEC Supplement to Joint Appendix (11/04/2019)Corrected Brief of Amici Curiae Independent Voter Project, Admiral James Stavridis, Senator Joseph Robert Kerry, Senator Joseph Isadore Lieberman, the Honorable Clarine Nardi Riddle, the Honorable David M. Walker, and the Honorable Christine Todd Whitman in support Appellants (09/27/2019)Corrected Brief of Amici Curiae Nonprofit Leaders, Scholars and Practitioners in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants (09/26/2019)Brief of Amicus Curiae Fairvote and the Coalition for Free and Open Elections in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants and in Support of Reversal (09/25/2019)Brief of Amici Curiae Independent Voter Project, Admiral James Stavridis, Senator Joseph Robert Kerry, Senator Joseph Isadore Lieberman, the Honorable Clarine Nardi Riddle, the Honorable David M. Walker, and the Honorable Christine Todd Whitman in support Appellants (09/25/2019)Corrected Brief for Plaintiffs-Appellants (09/19/2019)District Court (DC) (15-cv-1397)Court decisions:Order (03/31/2019)Memorandum Opinion (03/31/2019)Order (02/10/2017)Order (02/01/2017)Memorandum Opinion (02/01/2017)Related documents:Plaintiffs' Notice of Appeal (04/22/2019)Second Joint Appendix (12/22/2017)FEC's Reply in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment (12/08/2017)Plaintiffs Level the Playing Field, Peter Ackerman, Green Party of the United States, and Libertarian National Committee, Inc.'s Reply Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Further Support of their Motion for Summary Judgment and in Opposition to Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (11/10/2017)Brief of Amici Curiae Commission on Presidential Debates in Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (10/23/2017)FEC's Memorandum in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment and in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (10/13/2017)FEC's Motion for Summary Judgment (10/13/2017)Brief of Amici Curiae Nonprofit Leaders, Scholars and Practitioners in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (10/05/2017)Brief Amici Curiae Independent Voter Project, Admiral James Stavridis, Senator Joseph Robert Kerrey, Senator Joseph Isadore Lieberman, the Honorable Clarine Nardi Riddle, the Honorable David M. Walker, and the Honorable Christine Todd Whitman in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (10/04/2017)Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment (09/15/2017)Motion for Summary Judgment (09/15/2017)FEC's Answer to Plaintiffs' Amended Supplemental Complaint for Declaratory Injunctive Relief (08/25/2017)FEC's Notice of Filing of Certified List of Administrative Record Documents (08/24/2017)FEC's Certified List of Administrative Record Documents in MUR 6869R and 6942R (08/24/2017)FEC's Supplemental Certified List of Administrative Record Documents in REG 2014-06 (08/24/2017)Amended Supplemental Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (08/11/2017)Defendant FEC's Motion to Dismiss (07/25/2017)Supplemental Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (05/26/2017)Plaintiffs' Partial Opposition to Defendant's Motion for Clarification, Reconsideration, and/or Partial Extension of Time and Motion for Clarification or Reconsideration (02/09/2017)Defendant FEC's Motion for Clarification, Reconsideration, and/or Partial Extension of Time (02/06/2017)Defendant FEC's Reply Brief in Support of its Motion for Summary Judgment (07/13/2016)Plaintiffs Level the Playing Field, Peter Ackerman, Green Party of the United States, and Libertarian National Committee, Inc.'s Reply Memorandum of Points and Authorities in Further Support of their Motion for Summary Judgment and in Opposition to Defendant's Cross-Motion for Summary Judgment (06/08/2016)Brief of Amicus Curiae Commission on Presidential Debates in Support of Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (05/11/2016)Defendant FEC's Motion for Summary Judgment (05/04/2016)Amicus Curiae Brief of FairVote in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (04/13/2016)Brief of Amicus Curiae Independent Voter Project in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment (04/13/2016)Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment (04/06/2016)Defendant FEC's Answer to Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (01/19/2016)Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (01/05/2015)Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to File Second Amended Complaint (12/30/2015)Defendant FEC's Answer to Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (11/09/2015)Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (10/22/2015)Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (08/27/2015)District Court (DC) (15-cv-961)Court decisions:Order of Dismissal (08/31/2015)Related documents:Notice of Voluntary Dismissal without Prejudice (08/27/2015)Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (06/22/2015)


This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public. The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.


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