Foley: Mailers could mislead

Councilwoman Katrina Foley has taken issue with images of sample ballots on campaign mailers put out by rival candidates Jim Righeimer and Gary Monahan. She thinks they are violating election laws.

The California Election Code states that it is illegal to reproduce a ballot without putting a disclaimer on it notifying voters that it isn’t an official ballot.

The images on both men’s mailers are printed without disclaimers, but Righeimer says he thinks the law was probably aimed at those who reproduce full ballots that could be construed as legitimate.

The pertinent section of the code says that “any person who prints or otherwise duplicates, or causes to be printed or duplicated, a simulated ballot or simulated sample ballot that does not contain the statement required by Section 20009 or that uses an official seal or insignia in violation thereof, is guilty of a misdemeanor.”

The ballot on Monahan’s mailer lists nine candidates, but the names of six of the candidates were replaced by fake names that are only partially visible.

Righeimer’s mailer has a ballot that’s labeled “Official Ballot,” but has three slots with all but his name blurred out.

“They don’t want you to know that other people are on the ballot, otherwise why would they do that?” Foley said. “Their whole point is to mislead the voters.”

She says the reason the election code is so specific is because even seemingly benign literature could confuse people. On Monahan’s ballot her position is filled by one Dale Stumblefield.

Monahan and Righeimer say that the distinction is nitpicking.

“I’ve never heard that rule in my life,” Righeimer said. “I’ve seen it on campaign literature for years. Leave it up to lawyers to think that a picture of a ballot on a mail piece is really a ballot.”

The reason the law exists is because some people make their decisions and mark them on a sample ballot, then take it into the polls and recreate it, said Mark Rosen, a lawyer who specializes in election law.

The way he interprets the statute, though, is that it applies mainly to ballots that are reproduced in a full enough and realistic enough fashion that they could reasonably be seen as official.

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.