SECTIONS 20000-20010 - California Statutes

ELECTIONS CODE

SECTION 20000-20010

20000. This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the Truth in
Endorsements Law.

20001. The Legislature hereby finds the following to be true:
(1) The major political parties have become an integral part of
the American governmental system requiring regulation as to their
structure, governing bodies, and functions by state government in the
public interest.
(2) The Legislature has found it necessary and appropriate in the
regulation of political parties to create and provide for the
convening of state conventions, state central committees, and county
central committees for parties qualified by law to participate in the
direct primary election, by statute.
(3) Over the several years preceding the adoption of this section
organizations of electors using as a part of their names the name of
a political party qualified to participate in the direct primary
election have endorsed candidates for nomination of that party for
partisan office in the direct primary election and have publicized
and promulgated the endorsements in a manner that has resulted in
considerable public doubt and confusion as to whether the
endorsements are those of a private group of citizens or of an
official governing body of a political party.
(4) The voting public is entitled to protection by law from
deception in political campaigns in the same manner and for the same
reasons that it is entitled to protection from deception by
advertisers of commercial products.

20006. The superior court, in any case brought before it by any
registered voter, may issue a temporary or permanent restraining
order or injunction against the publication, printing, circulation,
posting, broadcasting, or telecasting of any matter in violation of
this chapter, and all cases of this nature shall be in a preferred
position for purposes of trial and appeal, so as to assure the speedy
disposition thereof.

20007. No candidate or committee in his or her behalf shall
represent in connection with an election campaign, either orally or
in campaign material, that the candidate has the support of a
committee or organization that includes as part of its name the name
or any variation upon the name of a qualified political party with
which the candidate is not affiliated, together with the words
"county committee," "central committee," "county," or any other term
that might tend to mislead the voters into believing that the
candidate has the support of that party's county central committee or
state central committee, when that is not the case.
This section shall not be construed to prevent a candidate or
committee from representing that the candidate has the support of a
committee or group of voters affiliated with another political party,
which committee or group is identified by the name of that party,
where the name of the committee or group also includes the name of
the candidate.
Any member of a county central committee or state central
committee may commence an action in the superior court to enjoin
misrepresentation by a candidate or committee in his or her behalf,
in the manner prohibited by this section, to the effect that the
candidate has the support of the state or county central committee
involved.

20008. Any paid political advertisement that refers to an election
or to any candidate for state or local elective office and that is
contained in or distributed with a newspaper, shall bear on each
surface or page thereof, in type or lettering at least half as large
as the type or lettering of the advertisement or in 10-point roman
type, whichever is larger, the words "Paid Political Advertisement."
The words shall be set apart from any other printed matter.
As used in this section "paid political advertisement" shall mean
and shall be limited to, published statements paid for by advertisers
for purposes of supporting or defeating any person who has filed for
an elective state or local office.

20009. (a) Every simulated ballot or simulated sample ballot shall
bear on each surface or page thereof, in type or lettering at least
half as large as the type or lettering of the statement or words or
in 10-point roman type, whichever is larger, in a printed or drawn
box and set apart from any other printed matter, the following
statement:

"NOTICE TO VOTERS
"(Required by Law)

"This is not an official ballot or an official sample ballot
prepared by the county elections official or the Secretary of State.
"This is an unofficial, marked ballot prepared by ____ (insert
name and address of the person or organization responsible for
preparation thereof)."

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require this notice
in any editorial or other statement appearing in a regularly
published newspaper or magazine other than a paid political
advertisement.
(b) No simulated ballot or simulated sample ballot referred to in
subdivision (a) shall bear any official seal or the insignia of any
public entity, nor shall that seal or insignia appear upon the
envelope in which it is mailed or otherwise delivered.
(c) The superior court, in any case brought before it by any
registered voter, may issue a temporary or permanent restraining
order or injunction against the publication, printing, circulation,
posting, or distribution of any matter in violation of this section,
and all cases of this nature shall be in a preferred position for
purposes of trial and appeal, so as to assure the speedy disposition
thereof.

20010. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), no person, firm,
association, corporation, campaign committee, or organization may,
with actual malice, produce, distribute, publish, or broadcast
campaign material that contains (1) a picture or photograph of a
person or persons into which the image of a candidate for public
office is superimposed or (2) a picture or photograph of a candidate
for public office into which the image of another person or persons
is superimposed. "Campaign material" includes, but is not limited to,
any printed matter, advertisement in a newspaper or other
periodical, television commercial, or computer image. For purposes of
this section, "actual malice" means the knowledge that the image of
a person has been superimposed on a picture or photograph to create a
false representation, or a reckless disregard of whether or not the
image of a person has been superimposed on a picture or photograph to
create a false representation.
(b) A person, firm, association, corporation, campaign committee,
or organization may produce, distribute, publish, or broadcast
campaign material that contains a picture or photograph prohibited by
subdivision (a) only if each picture or photograph in the campaign
material includes the following statement in the same point size type
as the largest point size type used elsewhere in the campaign
material: "This picture is not an accurate representation of fact."
The statement shall be immediately adjacent to each picture or
photograph prohibited by subdivision (a).
(c) (1) Any registered voter may seek a temporary restraining
order and an injunction prohibiting the publication, distribution, or
broadcasting of any campaign material in violation of this section.
Upon filing a petition under this section, the plaintiff may obtain a
temporary restraining order in accordance with Section 527 of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
(2) A candidate for public office whose likeness appears in a
picture or photograph prohibited by subdivision (a) may bring a civil
action against any person, firm, association, corporation, campaign
committee, or organization that produced, distributed, published, or
broadcast the picture or photograph prohibited by subdivision (a).
The court may award damages in an amount equal to the cost of
producing, distributing, publishing, or broadcasting the campaign
material that violated this section, in addition to reasonable
attorney's fees and costs.
(d) (1) This act shall not apply to a holder of a license granted
pursuant to the federal Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Sec.
151 et seq.) in the performance of the functions for which the
license is granted.
(2) This act shall not apply to the publisher or an employee of a
newspaper, magazine, or other periodical that is published on a
regular basis for any material published in that newspaper, magazine,
or other periodical. For purposes of this subdivision, a "newspaper,
magazine, or other periodical that is published on a regular basis"
shall not include any newspaper, magazine, or other periodical that
has as its primary purpose the publication of campaign advertising or
communication, as defined by Section 304.