District Court issues opinion in Level the Playing Field, et al. v. FEC

WASHINGTON – The United States District Court for the District of Columbia on Sunday issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order in Level the Playing Field et al. v. FEC (Case 1:15-cv-01397-TSC), denying the Plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment and granting the Commission’s cross-motion for summary judgment. The court also denied the Plaintiffs’ motion to supplement the record.

In September 2014, Level the Playing Field filed a Petition for Rulemaking with the Commission that asked the Commission to revise its debate regulations to prohibit staging organizations from using a polling threshold as the sole criterion for accessing general election presidential and vice-presidential debates. The Commission declined to initiate a rulemaking in response to Level the Playing Field's petition.

Plaintiffs filed suit challenging both the dismissal of their administrative complaints and the agency's decision not to engage in a rulemaking.