FCC Political Window Opens Friday for Nov. 5 General Election

posted on 9.03.2024

The FCC-mandated political window for the Nov. 5 Texas general election opens Friday, Sept. 6.

It is an important date because most of the FCC's political broadcast rules apply during the political window, including the application of lowest unit charge for political broadcast time as placed by candidates or their authorized representative.

In addition to statewide elections for president and U.S. Senate, all 38 Texas congressional seats are up for election as are half of the seats in the Texas

Senate and all 150 seats in the Texas House of Representatives.

Early voting in the general election opens Monday, Oct. 21 and will close Friday, Nov. 1.

The last day to register to vote for the general election is Monday, Oct. 7.

The last day to apply for a ballot by mail for the general election is Friday, Oct. 25.

Other Elections on Nov. 5

There are two special elections for state and congressional offices that also take place Nov. 5.

One special election will fill the unexpired portion of the term left by the late U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, in the TX 18 congressional district.

The early retirement of St. Rep. Charles "Doc" Anderson, R-Robinson, led to a special election for HD 56 in the Waco area.

Both special elections will use the same dates above for the FCC political window, early voting, voter registration and application for a mail-in ballot.

A number of school boards and municipalities have other measures on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

For example, the Houston ISD will have a $4.4 billion school bond election on the ballot.

Several cities are seeking to amend their city charters, such as the City of Amarillo and City of Dallas.

One of the Dallas charter amendment proposals would decriminalize possession of less than four ounces of marijuana in the city.

Similar in-state pot initiatives in other cities have had mixed success.

Lubbock voters soundly trounced such a measure in the May uniform election.

Earlier this year, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the cities of Austin, Denton, Elgin, Killeen, and San Marcos for passing such ordinances.

TAB Member Station Resources for the Election Year

TAB has created a special page in the Members-Only portion of the TAB website to provide a full suite of resources to assist stations with the FCC's political broadcast obligations.

It's called the TAB Political Toolkit and you can access it here.

The TAB Political Toolkit includes:

• A recording of TAB's January FCC Political Broadcast Rules webinar featuring attorney Scott Flick of TAB's FCC legal counsel Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
• TAB's legal guide to the FCC's Political Broadcast Rules
• TAB's Political Forms
• TAB's 2024 Political Dates and Offices Up for Election Primer

If you have not used the Members section of the TAB website before, you will be prompted to set up your account to access these resources.

Additionally, the TAB legal hotline is available for Texas broadcasters' routine questions on compliance with the FCC's political broadcast regulations.

Questions? Contact TAB's Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.

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