chapter 7
Communications
Campaigns reach the voters through political communications including television, radio, and Internet advertising, mailers, billboards, precinct-walking, and flyers. The Political Reform Act (Act) requires that committees report most payments in connection with political communications as direct expenditures, nonmonetary contributions to the campaign, or independent expenditures. As discussed below, however, certain types of communications may not be reportable at all, or may be subject to special reporting requirements. This chapter reviews common communications in a campaign and how payments for the communications are reported. The Act also requires “paid for by” disclosures on campaign ads to inform voters who is paying for the communication. Chapter 7 discusses the disclosure requirements that apply to communications, including mass mailings, made by candidate controlled committees for their own election and communications made by non-controlled committees that are primarily formed to support or oppose a candidate. A. Payments for Communications Made by Candidate’s Campaign In most cases, a candidate’s campaign committee will be funding the bulk of the communications to elect that candidate to office. When a candidate’s campaign committee makes expenditures for communications in furtherance of the candidate’s election, the committee simply reports these direct expenditures. The expenditures are reported on the committee’s Form 460, Schedule E, as described in Chapter 8.
Fair Political Practices Commission advice@fppc.ca.gov
Chapter 7.1
Campaign Manual 2 August 2023 Page 250
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