Political and Issue Ad Rules

Political and issue ads carry rules that a hardware store ad never has to think about. Most of them are about one idea: the audience has a right to know who is talking. This lesson is general education on the rules as written in October 2026. Each rule is linked to its text. Read the text yourself before you rely on it, because laws and agency positions change, and this one has been changing fast.

The rules stack. Federal broadcast rules bind the station. Federal election law covers federal candidates and the outside groups that spend on those races. State law covers state and local races and measures, and platform policies govern online ads. An ad can pass one layer and fail another.

Sponsorship identification (every paid broadcast)

Any time a radio or TV station airs something it was paid to air, FCC rule 47 CFR 73.1212 requires an announcement that the content is paid and who paid for it. For political matter and controversial issues, the rule goes further:

• The announcement must name the true payer. If a front group buys for someone the station knows about, the real sponsor is named.
• When a corporation, committee or association buys political or controversial-issue time, the station must get a list of its chief officers or board and keep that list available to the public for two years.
• For TV ads about candidates, the sponsor must appear on screen in letters at least 4 percent of the vertical picture height, for at least 4 seconds.

The station is on the hook for this, so it will check your spot and reject it if the sponsor line is missing or too small.

The political file

Stations keep a political file under 47 CFR 73.1943 and 47 U.S.C. 315(e). It records every request to buy time by or for a legally qualified candidate, and requests about national political matters (a federal election, a national legislative issue): whether the station accepted it, the rate, when it aired, the class of time and who bought it. Records go in "immediately absent unusual circumstances" and stay for two years. It is online at publicfiles.fcc.gov, as the FCC's political programming page notes.

For a journalist, the political file shows who is buying airtime, how much and when, with no records request. For an ad producer, it means your buy is public. Assume the other side reads it.

Federal candidates: "stand by your ad"

Candidates for federal office (President, Senate, House) have extra rules under 52 U.S.C. 30120, from the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, and FEC rule 11 CFR 110.11. These do not apply to a city council race or a library levy.

• Radio: the candidate must personally say who they are and that they approved the ad. The FEC rule gives sample wording: "I am [name], a candidate for [office], and I approved this advertisement."
• TV: the candidate makes the statement either in an unobscured full-screen view or in voiceover with a clearly identifiable photo or image of the candidate (the FEC rule counts an image as clearly identifiable at 80 percent or more of the screen height). A written version must also appear at the end of the ad, in letters at least 4 percent of the vertical picture height, for at least 4 seconds, with reasonable color contrast.
• Who paid: the ad must also say who paid for it, for example "Paid for by Brandt for Congress."
• Outside groups running ads not authorized by any candidate must have a spoken statement that "[Name] is responsible for the content of this advertising," and, in the written disclaimer, the payer's full name plus street address, phone number or web address, and that no candidate authorized it.

As of October 2026 the Federal Election Commission has lacked a quorum since May 1, 2025, with two commissioners left and two nominees still waiting on the Senate, so it cannot open enforcement cases, issue advisory opinions or adopt rules. The law still applies, and stations still check for these statements. A stalled agency is not permission.

Idaho: identify who is responsible

For state and local races and ballot measures in Idaho, the main attribution rule is Idaho Code 67-6614A. When anyone spends money on communications "expressly advocating" the election or defeat of a candidate or the approval or defeat of a measure, through broadcast stations, newspapers, magazines, billboards, direct mail or other general public political advertising, the person responsible must be "clearly indicated" on the communication. The statute, titled "Publication or distribution of political statements," also covers candidates for precinct committeeman.

The statute does not prescribe exact words, size or duration. The Idaho Secretary of State's campaign finance manual gives "Paid for by Candidate X for Senate" as an example, and notes small items like buttons and pens are not covered. On broadcast, the FCC sponsorship rule above adds its own requirements on top. Penalties for violating the chapter are set by Idaho Code 67-6625: civil fines up to $250 for an individual and up to $2,500 for others. A knowing and willful violation is a misdemeanor that can add up to six months in jail.

A spoken "Paid for by [committee name]," plus the same words on screen at the 4 percent, 4 second standard for video, clears both the Idaho requirement and the station's FCC requirement.

Equal time and lowest unit charge

Both rules live in 47 U.S.C. 315 and mostly affect how candidates buy time.

Equal opportunities: if a station lets one legally qualified candidate "use" its airwaves (an ad, or an appearance that is not news), it must give that candidate's opponents for the same office an equal opportunity on the same terms. A station is not required to sell to every candidate in the first place (federal candidates have a separate "reasonable access" right under 47 U.S.C. 312(a)(7)). Appearances in bona fide newscasts, news interviews, news documentaries and on-the-spot news coverage do not count as uses. The station cannot censor a candidate's own ad. Equal time does not apply to ballot measures.

Lowest unit charge: in the 45 days before a primary and the 60 days before a general or special election, a station cannot charge a legally qualified candidate more than its lowest rate for the same class and amount of time. Outside those windows, candidates pay what comparable advertisers pay. Federal candidates keep this discount only if their TV ads that mention an opponent carry the 4 second image-and-statement approval and their radio ads carry the spoken approval. Issue groups and measure committees do not get lowest unit charge.

AI disclosure: what is actually in force (October 2026)

This part is unsettled, and it moves.

Idaho's synthetic media law

Idaho Code 67-6628A, added in 2024, lets a candidate whose speech or conduct is deceptively shown through synthetic media in an electioneering communication sue for an injunction and damages. Synthetic media here means realistic but false audio or video of a person, made with digital tools, that a reasonable person would take as real and that leaves a very different impression than the original would.

The law's disclosure, which serves as an affirmative defense, reads: "This (video/audio) has been manipulated."

• Video: the text must be easily readable by the average viewer and stay on screen for the whole video.
• Audio: spoken clearly at the start and end, and repeated at least every two minutes in anything longer than two minutes.

The law aims at the maker of the content, which it calls the information content provider, and generally not at the outlet that carries it. An outlet can be liable if it strips the disclosure or alters the content into synthetic media. A licensed broadcast station carrying a communication subject to 47 U.S.C. 315 is excluded even from that. The candidate suing must prove the synthetic media by clear and convincing evidence.

One open question: 67-6628A does not define "electioneering communication." Idaho's campaign finance definitions in 67-6602 define it as a communication that unambiguously refers to a candidate within 30 days before a primary or 60 days before a general election, and they exclude communications that already count as expenditures. Whether that narrow definition limits the synthetic media law appears unsettled. Do not build a plan on that gap.

The craft answer is simpler than the legal one. Do not make realistic fake audio or video of a real candidate. If an ad must show manipulated media, say because a deepfake is itself the subject, use the statute's wording exactly.