TITLE 1. ADMINISTRATION

STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS

Emergency Regulation

Title of Regulation: 1VAC20-90. Campaign Finance and Political Advertisements (adding 1VAC20-90-40).

Statutory Authority: §§ 24.2-103 and 24.2-956 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Dates: June 28, 2024, through December 27, 2025.

Agency Contact: Ashley Coles, Agency Regulatory Coordinator, Department of Elections, Washington Building, 1100 Bank Street, First Floor, Richmond, VA 23219, telephone (804) 864-8933, or email ashley.coles@elections.virginia.gov.

Preamble:

Pursuant to § 2.2-4011 A of the Code of Virginia, the State Board of Elections determined that these changes are necessitated by an emergency situation, consulted with the Attorney General, and received approval from the Governor to promulgate emergency regulations to address the emergency.

The purpose of the action is to, pursuant to Chapter 557 of the 2020 Acts of Assembly, guarantee that disclosure statements on certain political print media advertisements are displayed in a conspicuous manner and are proportionate to the size of the advertisement. The mandating statute allows a delayed effective date for the requirements of July 1, 2024, which requires emergency action in order to meet. The board is providing a further delayed enforcement of the new advertising standards until January 1, 2025. The requirements in the action are consistent with federal print media advertisement requirements established by the Federal Election Commission under 11 CFR § 110.11.

The action requires a disclosure statement on a political advertisement to (i) be a sufficient font size to be clearly readable by the recipient of the communication; (ii) be contained in a printed box set apart from the other contents of the communication; and (iii) have a reasonable degree of color contrast with the advertisement background.

1VAC20-90-40. Disclosure statement requirements; print media advertisements.

A. The following standards apply to print media advertisements under §§ 24.2-956 and 24.2-956.1 of the Code of Virginia.

B. Any disclosure statement required under either § 24.2-956 or 24.2-956.1 of the Code of Virginia must be presented in a clear and conspicuous manner to give the reader notice of the candidate, candidate campaign committee, person, or political committee who paid for and, where required, who authorized the communication. A disclosure statement is not clear and conspicuous if it is difficult to read or if the placement is easily overlooked.

C. The disclosure statement must be of sufficient type size to be clearly readable by the recipient of the communication. A disclosure statement in 12-point type size satisfies the requirements of this subsection when it is used for signs, posters, flyers, newspapers, magazines, or other printed materials that measure no more than 24 inches by 36 inches.

D. The disclosure statement must be contained in a printed box set apart from the other contents of the communication.

E. The disclosure statement must be printed with a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the disclosure statement. A disclosure statement satisfies the color contrast requirement of this subsection if it is printed in black text on a white background or if the degree of color contrast between the background and the text of the disclosure statement is no less than the color contrast between the background and the largest text used in the communication.

F. The disclosure statement need not appear on the front or cover page of the communication as long as it appears within the communication, except on communications, such as billboards, that contain only a front face.

G. A communication that would require a disclosure statement, if distributed separately, that is included in a package of materials, must contain the required disclosure statement.