SEIU Funded Ballot Question TV Ad Not in Compliance with State Election Law
The Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance sent a complaint letter to the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) alerting the regulatory agency that United for Justice, a ballot question committee funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and SEIU Local 32BJ, released a video advertisement in violation of state campaign finance law regulations. MassFiscal urged OCPF to take immediate action and remove the advertisement. A copy of MassFiscal’s complaint letter may be found by clicking here.
The ballot question committee funded by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and SEIU Local 32BJ, released a video that is currently airing. Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law requires television or internet advertisements purchased to influence or affect the vote on a ballot question to include a written statement at the bottom of the advertisement disclosing the top contributors to the entity that purchased the advertisement. According to state campaign finance regulations, the required disclaimer “must be of a size and contrasting color that will be legible to the average viewer.”
United for Justice provides the Top Contributor Disclaimer in a minuscule font, which is far smaller than is typically used for mandatory campaign finance disclaimers in television and video advertisements. The font is so small that it is extremely difficult to read on many screens and devices even while paused, and is nearly impossible to read while the advertisement is playing. United for Justice ballot question committee obfuscates who is funding the advertisement and violates OCPF regulations. To watch the United for Justice ad in violation of state campaign finance law, please click here. By contrast, to watch typical ad in compliance with the law, please click here.
“Not only are the merits of their advertainment misleading to the voters, but even their disclosure is intended to mislead the voters. Massachusetts voters should be warned, the union bosses who want to collect more union dues from the paychecks of people who work for themselves, will stop at nothing, including even taking the great step to distort their TV advertisements to mislead the public. State campaign finance regulators need to step in, and stop these misleading ads. They are not in basic compliance with state campaign finance rules and designed to mislead the public,” stated Paul Diego Craney, spokesman for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance.
“Massachusetts has campaign finance rules for moments just like this, when a powerful special interest group wants to mislead the public in order to get their vote on Election Day. It is beholden on OCPF to take immediate action before another voter is dupped by the union bosses misleading advertisements,” concluded Craney.