Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a decision vacating and remanding the FCC’s decisions to roll back several of its media ownership rules. The rules prohibited a single entity from owning too many newspaper, radio, and television stations within a local market. In vacating and remanding the FCC’s decisions, the Third Circuit specifically found that the FCC did not adequately consider the effect rolling back media ownership rules would have on broadcast ownership by women and people of color.

While the $250 million in election security spending approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee today is a step in the right direction, that amount still falls far short of the funding and assistance required by state and local election officials facing ongoing attacks from hostile foreign powers. The amendment that Sen. McConnell voiced support for is virtually identical to one he and nearly all Senate Republicans voted against a year ago. In that time, millions of Americans and tens of thousands of Common Cause supporters have contacted Senate Republican offices encouraging them to support additional election security funding. The House-passed $600 million in election security funding is much closer to what states need to update their voting machines and replace outdated equipment vulnerable to hacking. As the appropriations process proceeds, we encourage Congress to advance solutions that fully address the magnitude of threats our democracy faces.

Today, the Federal Communications Commission approved the proposed merger of Nexstar Media Group and Tribune Media Company. The approval gives Nexstar control of 144 stations in 115 markets, creating the largest broadcast conglomerate in the nation. Common Cause filed a petition to deny formally opposing the merger.

Today, as the House Judiciary Committee prepares to vote on an impeachment inquiry, Common Cause continued its call for Members to support the investigation in response to White House non-cooperation and stonewalling of any attempts to investigate past and current potential criminal conduct or wrongdoing by President Trump or members of his administration. Common Cause mobilized its 1.2 million members over the congressional recess to gain additional Member support for the impeachment inquiry in the U.S. House of Representatives.   

Today, Common Cause, Verified Voting, and The Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law released a report on Rhode Island’s pilot program to identify the most effective methods to implement the risk-limiting audits (RLA) required by the state for the 2020 election. The three organizations were part of a working group that helped the state design and run the pilots earlier this year.

Today, Common Cause urged President Donald Trump and the Senate to quickly nominate and confirm new commissioners to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to avert a crisis that would leave the agency largely powerless to enforce campaign finance laws without a quorum. The resignation of Vice Chairman Matthew S. Petersen, effective at the end of the month, will leave the FEC with only three commissioners, one short of the minimum required for the FEC to act and well short of the six required by statute. With the 2020 election cycle well underway, the letter urges the president to treat the situation as an emergency and fill the vacancies expediently.