Mainstream media is reporting in California that the
opposition to Proposition 64 is coming from law enforcement and their campaign
is poorly funded, compared to the millions already contributed by Sean Parker,
George Soros and others in the billionaire boys’ club, people who have no
empathy for the cannabis movement, but simply want to cash in and take over
California’s cannabis industry. What the mainstream is missing is that the primary
opposition to Proposition 64, or the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (AUMA), comes
from within the cannabis industry itself and from patient advocates. Spend any time on social or indy media
and you will see dozens of efforts to get the word out to “Vote No on AUMA,” or
“Stop Prop 64.”
The other thing the mainstream media is missing,
and what seasoned activists already know, is that one does not have to form a
political action committee or PAC to defeat Prop 64. All hail the Independent Expenditure.
In California citizens are allowed to campaign and
voice their support for or against a candidate or measure without forming a PAC as long as one individual spends less than
$1,000.00 of his or her own funds.
This allows a citizen to run a small grassroots campaign without going
through the effort of forming and filing reports for a PAC as required by
law.
A thousand dollars is generally not enough to
purchase billboards or send out mailers or run a phone bank or run ads on radio
or television, but it is plenty to print stickers, buttons, signs, posters and flyers
or send emails or run a website. The
rest is volunteer time. Here are
some simple rules.
1.) You are not allowed to take in funds for an independent
expenditure campaign. You can only
spend your funds not to exceed $1,000.00.
Taking in funds makes your effort a recipient committee and requires you
to file one once you accept $1,000.00 or more.
2.) If you distribute over a certain amount of
materials, you are required to include a disclaimer with that message. For example, distributing more that 200
door hangers, flyers, posters, and oversized campaign buttons (10” across or
larger) and stickers (60 sq. in. or larger) requires a disclaimer in 14-point,
bold, sans serif type in contrasting print color. That disclaimer should read “Paid for by (your name).”
3.) For websites and emails the disclaimer
statement must be in the same font size as the majority of the text and
displayed conspicuously near the ad, on the site or in the message.
4.) Posting video or audio messages online
requires a disclaimer. Video messages
require both written & spoken disclaimer at the beginning or end of the ad
not less than 4 seconds and must be large enough to be legible to the average
viewer. Audio messages must be at
least 3 seconds either at the beginning or end of the ad.
5.) There is a difference between purely
educational or conversational discussion about a candidate or measure and a
political statement. Once you
venture into the territory of “Vote No on…” or “Vote For…” you are safest by
following the disclaimer rules.
All of these rules can be found here: http://www.fppc.ca.gov/content/dam/fppc/NS-Documents/TAD/Campaign%20Manuals/Manual_4/Manual_4_Ch_9_Ad_Disclaimers.pdf
California is still getting caught up with the use
of social media for political purposes.
If you have any questions about independent expenditures or disclaimers,
contact the Fair Political Practices Commission at: http://www.fppc.ca.gov. Also, expenditures are cumulative, so if
one works on multiple independent expenditure campaigns, it’s best to confirm
your expenditures with the Fair Political Practices Commission to make sure you
have not reached a point where you need to file a committee.
So, don’t’ let anyone tell you a bad law can’t be
defeated because you don’t have a lot of money or you didn’t form a PAC. Our goal is to get everyone we know to
Vote NO. It worked in defeating
Prop 19. It can happen again… corrupt
billionaires be damned.
** This post is for educational purposes only and
not intended to support or oppose any candidate, measure or committee.
