Communications by City Candidate Committees for their own Election

I. Communications by City Candidate Committees for their own Election

The disclosure must include (unless otherwise noted):

“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.”

Example: “Paid for by Doe for Supervisor 2020. Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org.”

Communication	Disclaimer and Manner of Display
All mass mailings – more than 200 substantially similar pieces of mail sent within a calendar month	“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” – must be in at least 14-point bold font Committee name, address (as listed on Form 410), and SFEC website reference on outside of mailing in no less than 14-point, bold font and in contrasting print color Return envelopes (included in solicitation) – committee’s name, address and ID number are recommended but not required
All mass electronic mail – more than 200 substantially similar emails sent within a calendar month	“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” – must be in at least the same size font as a majority of the text (no address is required on mass electronic mailings)
Telephone calls (more than 500 calls made by vendors (“robo” calls) or paid individuals)	“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” – must be at least three (3) seconds either at the beginning of the call in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of the advertisement No disclaimer required for telephone calls personally dialed by candidate, campaign manager or volunteers
Radio	“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” – must be at least three (3) seconds at the beginning of the ad, read in a clearly spoken manner with pitch and tone substantially similar to the rest of advertisement
Television ads	“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” – must be displayed in writing at least four (4) seconds. Letters must be in a type size greater than or equal to four percent (4%) of the height of the screen. The required disclosure must also be spoken at the beginning of the advertisement. If the television ad is shorter than the required disclosure display time, the disclosure may be displayed for the length of the advertisement
Electronic media ads that are a graphic, image, animated graphic, or animated image that the online platform hosting the advertisement allows to link to an internet website not covered below (except for video ads, see above)	“Who funded this ad?” or “Paid for by” or “Ad paid for by” included or displayed as a hyperlink, icon, button or tab in a contrasting color and font size that is easily readable by the average viewer for the duration of the advertisement* o Must link to a website containing the “Ad paid for by” and “Not authorized by” disclosures in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font o “Not authorized by” disclosure may not appear in all capital letters o Must remain online until 30 days after the date of election*This text is not required if including it in 8-point font would take up more than one third (1/3) of the graphic or image. In such circumstances the ad need only include a hyperlink to a website containing the website disclosures
Social Media Ads	“Ad Paid for by [name of committee],” disclosure in a contrasting color that is easily readable by the average viewer and in no less than 10-point font on the cover or header photo committee’s profile, landing page, or similar location; disclosures are not required on each individual post or comment The disclosures must be visible on the cover or header photo when the profile, landing page, or similar location is viewed from any electronic device that is commonly used to view this form of electronic media including, but not limited to, a computer screen, laptop, tablet or smart phone. If this is impracticable only a hyperlink, icon, button, or tab to an internet website containing the required “Ad paid for by,” disclosure is permissible Not required when the only expense or cost of the communication is compensated staff time unless the social media account was created only for the purpose of advertisements under the Act
Website and email	“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” in a contrasting color and in no less than 8-point font at the top or bottom of the email message and every publicly accessible page of the website
Electronic media ads that are audio only	See disclaimer requirements for radio ads above
Print ads designed to be individually distributed including mailings, door hangers, flyers, faxes, posters, newspaper and magazine ads and oversized campaign buttons and bumper stickers (buttons 10 inches in diameter or larger and stickers 60 square inches or larger)	“Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” – must be in no less than 14-point, bold font and in a color that has a reasonable degree of contrast with the background of the advertisement
Print ads larger than those designed to be individually distributed, such as billboards and signs (including yard signs)	“Ad Paid for by [name of committee]” and “Financial disclosures are available at sfethics.org” – must be at least five percent (5%) of height of advertisement and in a color that has a reasonable degree of contrast with the background of the advertisement
Text messages sent using mass distribution technology	“Paid for by” or “With” followed by the name of the candidate followed by “For” followed by the name of the office sought If “With” is used: The individual sending the text shall identify themselves by including: “(name of the individual) with (name of the candidate) for (name of office).” A disclosure using “With” may appear anywhere in the text message, including conversational content, and need not appear as a separate statement apart from the content of the message For text message exchanges consisting of a sequence of multiple text messages sent on the same day the disclosure is only required on the first text message in the sequence that supports or opposes a candidate or measure Text required to be included in a text message must be in a color that reasonably contrasts with the background on which it appears and in a font size that is readable by the average viewer

The guidance above incorporates requirements imposed pursuant to state and San Francisco law. The information on this chart does not carry the force of law. If there are any discrepancies between the chart and state or local law or their corresponding regulations and opinions, the law, regulations and opinions will control.

Revised: March 2021

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City & County of San Francisco
San FranciscoEthics Commission

Ethics Commission
City and County of San Francisco