Supreme Court strikes down limits on party control of federal election advertising

• The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 that limits on party coordination of federal election spending violate the First Amendment.
• Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the majority opinion; she was joined by the other justices in striking down limits. The decision was described by JD Vance.
• The ruling could have major effects on how campaigns and outside groups spend money; it could allow parties to spend more than $4 million on television advertising.

The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that, as long as political parties comply with certain requirements, they can spend more on federal election advertising. The ruling was unanimous, with the majority opinion written by a justice.

The Supreme Court upheld a 6-3 decision. In a material NBC News noted that the author of the majority opinion was Brett Kavanaugh, who cited a grant of rights for political speech. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the majority opinion in the case. In 2022, the court ruled in favor of the decision.

AP also noted that the decision would be in line with a different precedent, Federal election spending commissions that violated the First Amendment by limiting coordination between parties and outside groups.

NBC News also noted that the court, which had previously ruled on a similar case, found that the law violated free speech. The court cited a 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, which overturned restrictions on independent spending by outside groups, allowing super PACs.

CNN noted that the ruling came on April 29, 2026, and that the Supreme Court had previously struck down the limit on coordination spending.

Tags: Economy/USA/Politics