IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF VIRGINIA1Alexandria Division

E I L E

OCT 4 2012

CLERK. U.S. DISTRICT COURTALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA

THE HISPANIC LEADERSHIP FUND,

INC.,

Plaintiff,

v.

FEDERAL ELECTION

COMMISSION,

Defendant.

Case No. I:12cv893

MEMORANDUM OPINION

This federal election lawdeclaratory judgment case presents two unusual questions:

(i) Whether a plaintiff seeking a declaratory judgment that certain advertisementsto be published in the election season do not trigger the Federal ElectionCampaign Act's1 ("FECA") disclosure requirements meets Article Ill's standingand ripeness requirements where, as here, the Federal Election Commission("FEC") deadlocked on the advertisements and then voted 6:0 that it could notreach a conclusion on them; and,

(ii) Whether an advertisement that criticizes or targets the oil or healthcarepolicies of "the Administration," "the White House," or "the Government" makesit unambiguously apparent, by context, that the advertisement identifies a specificfederal candidate—President Obama—and thus constitutes an electioneeringcommunication under FECA.

For thereasons that follow, the ripeness and standing jurisdictional requirements are met

and some, but not all, of the advertisements at issue are "electioneering communications" subject

to FECA's disclosure requirements.

The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1972, Pub.L. 92-225, 86 Stat. 3 (codified as amended at2U.S.C. §§431 etseq.)

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