October 26, 2018 Re: Request to Rebut Presumption of Independent Expenditure – New England Citizens for Right to Work

Commission Meeting: 10/31/2018 Agenda Item #2

To: Commissioners From: Jonathan Wayne, Executive Director Date: October 26, 2018 Re: Request to Rebut Presumption of Independent Expenditure – New England Citizens for Right to Work

INTRODUCTION Independent expenditures (IEs) are payments for communications to voters expressly advocating for or against candidates. Most often, IEs are made by party committees and political action committees (PACs), but they may be made by individuals and organizations not registered with the Commission. Any person making an IE over $250 per candidate must file a report disclosing the amounts spent on the communications and containing a statement under oath whether the expenditure was made independently of the candidate.

After Labor Day during an election year, any expenditure for a communication which names or depicts a clearly identified candidate is presumed to be an IE. The spender may attempt to rebut the presumption by filing a request with the Commission within 48 hours of making the expenditure. The Commission must determine whether the spender incurred the costs of the communication with the intent to influence the election or defeat of the candidate.

New England Citizens for Right to Work, Inc. (NECRW) is a non-profit corporation organized in Manchester, New Hampshire advocating for right to work laws. It made a number of mailings on October 22, 2018 mentioning gubernatorial and legislative candidates and contrasting whether or not they expressed support for right to work laws in response to candidate surveys. NECRW states that the mailings are not IEs because

1 of 49 they are voter guides consisting primarily of candidates’ responses to questionnaires and contain no advocacy. NECRW also seeks to rebut the presumption that applies to post- Labor Day communications naming specific candidates.

LEGAL REQUIREMENTS Definition of an Independent Expenditure. An IE is defined as an expenditure for any communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate.1 From Labor Day through the general election, an independent expenditure is presumed when any communication names or depicts a clearly identified candidate. (21- A M.R.S.A. § 1019-B(1))

Duty to File IE Report. Any person that made an IE in excess of $250 per candidate between September 7 and October 23, 2018 was required to file an IE Report within two calendar days. (21-A M.R.S.A. § 1019-B(4), Comm. Rules Ch. 1, § 10(3))

Opportunity to Rebut Presumption. A person presumed to have made an IE may rebut the presumption by filing a signed written statement with the Commission within 48 hours of making the expenditure. The statement must state that the cost was not incurred to influence the election of a candidate and may be supported by any additional evidence. The Commission may gather any additional evidence to assist it in determining, by a preponderance of the evidence, whether the expenditure was incurred with the intent to influence a candidate election. (21-A M.R.S.A. § 1019-B(2), Comm. Rules Ch. 1, § 10(5))

Exception for voter guides. The IE reporting statute contains a number of exceptions, including for a “voter guide that consists primarily of candidates’ responses to surveys and questionnaires and that contains no advocacy for or against any candidate.” (21-A M.R.S.A. § 1020-A(5)(D))

1 Expressly advocate is defined in the Commission’s rules to mean any communication that includes certain words or phrases listed in the rule (e.g., “vote for the Governor,” “Jean Smith in 2002,” or “vote Pro- Choice”), or other communication that is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a clearly identified candidate. Comm. Rules Ch. 1, § 10(2)(B).

2 of 49 Late-filing procedures. If a person is late in filing the IE Report, the amount of the penalty is set by a formula which takes into consideration the amount of the transaction, the number of prior violations within a two-year period, and the number of days the report is late. (21-A M.R.S.A. § 1020-A(4-A))

NECRW’S REBUTTAL REQUEST On October 23, 2018, NECRW submitted to rebuttal request by email, which consisted of a cover letter and three “representative samples of our communications.” In the cover letter, NECRW explains the mailings’ purpose as:

The purpose of this [candidate survey] program is to inform and educate Right to Work supporters about their candidates’ positions on the forced- unionism issue and encourage them to lobby all of their candidates in support of Right to Work.

NECRW states the communications are covered by the exception for voter guides consisting primarily of candidate responses and containing no advocacy.

We believe these communications are covered by Exclusion D, that they consist primarily of candidates’ responses to surveys and contain no advocacy for or against any candidate, and as such aren’t even covered by the rebuttable presumption, but out of an abundance of caution, we’ve filed rebuttal statements.

Attached to each rebuttal statements are “representative samples” of the organization’s communications: • One mailing cites the right to work positions of gubernatorial candidates Shawn Moody (Republican) and Janet Mills (Democrat) (the header contains the label ME Gov 1R).

3 of 49 • One mailing pertains to Shawn Moody, Janet Mills, and the two major party nominees for Maine Senate, District 21: Nelson Peters (Republican) and Nathan Libby (Democratic) (ME SD 21_Gov_HD58 – 1R Lttr). • One mailing pertains to Shawn Moody, Janet Mills, and the two major party nominees for Maine House of Representatives, District 68: Richard Cebra (Republican) and Janice Barter (Democratic) (ME HD 68_Gov - 2R Lttr)

Each mailing contains a four-page letter from NECRW’s executive director, McKayne Boedeker. The letters describe Shawn Moody, Nelson Peters and Richard Cebra in favorable terms (“Good news”) because they have taken positions in favor of right to work laws and “more freedom, jobs and economic prosperity.” The letter explains that Janet Mills, Nathan Libby and Janice Barter have not taken a position in support of right to work and asks the recipients to write a personal letter or a postcard to the candidates urging them to oppose forced unionism.

Mr. Boedeker’s letters contain the “disclaimer statement” required for IEs stating who paid for the communication (NECRW), the organization’s top three funders, and a statement that the letter was not authorized by any candidate. In his cover letter to the Commission, he explains that NECRW decided to voluntarily abide by the disclaimer requirements.

The representative communications also include: • a questionnaire sent to candidates (the only questionnaire provided pertains to candidates for U.S. Senate) • a one-page summary of the responses by the gubernatorial and legislative candidates • images of sample postcards (the images provided are smaller than typical postcards, and it is unknown if the actual enclosures were made of cardstock suitable for mailing or simply regular office paper) • a reply memo for the recipient to return to NECRW reporting on their actions.

4 of 49 In response to correspondence from the Commission staff, this afternoon Mr. Boedeker provided a letter (attached) concerning the timing of the mailings and payments to vendors, and criteria for selecting legislative districts.

PRELIMINARY STAFF COMMENTS The rebuttable presumption was added to the independent reporting statute in 2003 to broaden the scope of independent expenditure reporting for candidate-related communications close to an election. (P.L. 2003, Ch. 448) Until the expansion, only communications which expressly advocated for or against candidates were subject to independent expenditure reporting. As many voters have experienced, it is relatively easy to prepare advertisements and mailings that cast candidates in a positive or negative light without explicitly urging a vote for or against the candidate.

The staff recommends considering (as NECRW has argued) whether the communications are exempt from independent expenditure reporting under the exception for voter guides. We have some doubts, however, because the communications do not consist primarily of candidates’ responses to questionnaires and – while the communications do not expressly advocate a vote for or against a candidate – they are supportive of some candidates over others.

You may wish to consider whether NECRW is time-barred from rebutting the presumption, because rebuttal requests must be submitted within 48 hours of making the expenditure and some of NECRW’s expenditures occurred during October 10-19. The rebuttal request was emailed on October 23, 2018.

If the rebuttal request is considered, we believe that NECRW has a colorable argument that one of the purposes of the mailings was to generate citizen communications. The circumstances of the mailings, however, may also suggest some intention to influence the election or defeat of candidates: • The mailings were apparently sent just 2½ weeks before the November 6 general election.

5 of 49 • Opposing candidates in the same race are presented in contrasting terms. The candidates supporting right to work are described in positive terms (“good news”), because they have taken “positions in favor of Right to Work -- and more freedom, jobs and economic prosperity.” • The very first sentence of the mailing speaks to the consequences of the upcoming general election in terms that are familiar for campaign communications (“Freedom, jobs and economic prosperity are all at stake this election year in Maine”). The “stakes” of “the November 6 General Election just around the corner” are also mentioned a second time, in two of the letters. • The mailings refer to the individuals as candidates, and provide a rationale for the recipients to prefer some candidates over others – even if the communications avoid express advocacy.

Our review of Commission records has found three attempts to rebut the presumption of an independent expenditure, since the presumption was enacted in Maine Election Law in 2003: • On October 15, 2004, the Commission considered a mailing that mentioned two opposing candidates for the Maine House of Representatives, paid for by a PAC (Business Minded Democrats). The Republican candidate requested a payment of matching funds under the Maine Clean Election Act program, because the mailing constituted an independent expenditure opposing him. The content of the mailing is not immediately available, but the Commission staff recalls that the mailing contrasted the two candidates’ voting records as elected officials on specific legislation. The Commission rejected the Business-Minded Democrats PAC’s contention that the mailing was not intended to influence the election. (The Commission staff is attempting to recover the paper file for the 10/15/2004 meeting from the State Record Center.) (https://www.maine.gov/ethics/pdf/meetings/old/20041015minutes.pdf) • At a meeting on May 27, 2010, the Commission determined that the cost of a telephone survey concerning primary election candidates for State Senate by a professional polling company sponsored by the Diamond PAC was not incurred

6 of 49 by the PAC to influence the nomination of the candidates. (https://www.maine.gov/ethics/pdf/meetings/20100527/item09.pdf) • At a meeting on December 8, 2016, the Commission did not consider a request to rebut the presumption submitted by the New England Opportunity Project (a non- profit led by State Rep. Larry Lockman) concerning a mailing about State Senate candidate Jeffrey McCabe. NEOP made the expenditure for the mailing on October 11, 2016, but did not file the rebuttal request until October 21, 2016, after receiving a phone call from Commission staff that the mailing might constitute an IE. The Commission assessed a late-filing penalty of $672.80 for not filing an IE report on time. (https://www.maine.gov/ethics/pdf/12082016_minutes_final.pdf)

If you would like more information concerning these decisions, please let me know.

PAC COMPLIANCE QUESTION If you determine that NECRW incurred the costs of the mailings with the intent to influence the election or defeat of candidates, it may be appropriate to consider whether NECRW was required to register as a PAC in order to disclose its expenditures to influence Maine elections and any contributions received for that purpose. The Commission staff did not schedule this compliance issue for your October 31 meeting, due to the shortness of time and because we did not want to prejudge the issue of the NECRW’s intention in preparing the mailings.

Thank you for your consideration of this memo.

7 of 49 8 of 49 9 of 49 10 of 49 11 of 49 12 of 49 13 of 49 14 of 49 15 of 49 16 of 49 17 of 49 18 of 49 19 of 49 20 of 49 21 of 49 22 of 49 23 of 49 24 of 49 25 of 49 26 of 49 27 of 49 28 of 49 29 of 49 30 of 49 31 of 49 32 of 49 33 of 49 34 of 49 35 of 49 36 of 49 37 of 49 38 of 49 39 of 49 40 of 49 41 of 49 Dear Mr. Wayne:

Thank you for your letter of October 25 in response to our letter and rebuttal statements.

You’d mentioned me sitting in on the hearing over the phone, and if that’s allowable, I’d prefer it.

Of course, in addition to your questions, I did want to ask whether the Commission planned to determine whether my communications are even covered under the rebuttable presumption.

As you know, 21-A MRS §1019-B, subsection 5 exempts “a voter guide that consists primarily of candidates' responses to surveys and questionnaires and that contains no advocacy for or against any candidate,” from the definition of potential independent expenditures.

But to answer your specific questions:

• The letters were delivered to USPS in Portland and Bangor on October 22. • With regards to vendor payment, we paid Bigeye for postage on October 10. For our mailings produced in-house, we’ve got a regular account with the Post Office in Manchester, NH from which funds were withdrawn, but we gave them paperwork on 10/19.

We paid Commercial Printing, Inc. of Elkridge, MD for the actual printing of letters, replies and rosters that were sent out of Bigeye on 10/19.

We paid Bigeye for shipping and mailshop work today, as well as Double Envelope of Gainesville, FL for envelopes used.

Due to a billing mixup, we expect to pay for paper and postcards in the next week, and we’ve paid for ink, equipment maintenance etc. as we’ve gone.

• In regard to our lobbying efforts, New England Citizens for Right to Work lobbies politicians prior to legislative sessions, during legislative sessions and after legislative sessions, including the periods just before elections.

42 of 49 The fact is that while many politicians pay more attention to citizen input while seeking votes, the impact of that input carries over to the period after the election period, including the legislative period.

Typically there is less general interest by the public in uncontested races or races that do not appear competitive, meaning that citizens in those situations are less likely to make their views known to their politicians.

In respect to the election season, we surveyed all major party candidates for Maine Legislature and Governor three times -- twice in the primary, once in the general election.

Given that there are fewer races and more general civic interest, we prioritized the Maine Senate over the House -- after all, we time these mailings as we do because elected officials are most responsive to constituents when they’re out looking for votes, and constituents are more apt to lobby in races of higher general interest.

Thus we eliminated our lobbying efforts in those races with little interest.

With the split mailings and Bigeye’s deadlines, we weren’t able to include a handful of surveys that came in late in this mailing -- we’d asked candidates to have their surveys in by 10/1.

On the House side, we only had time to write in a handful of districts, but our criteria were similar.

• There were no districts in the state of Maine where both candidates expressed support for Right to Work, so we didn’t have an opportunity to report that both candidates had done so.

Please let me know if you need anything else.

Sincerely,

McKayne Boedeker New England Citizens for Right to Work

43 of 49 21-A MRSA § 1019-B. REPORTS OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

1. Independent expenditures; definition. For the purposes of this section, an "independent expenditure": A. Is any expenditure made by a person, party committee, political committee or political action committee, other than by contribution to a candidate or a candidate's authorized political committee, for any communication that expressly advocates the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate; and [2003, c. 448, §3 (NEW).] B. Is presumed to be any expenditure made to design, produce or disseminate a communication that names or depicts a clearly identified candidate and is disseminated during the 28 days, including election day, before a primary election; during the 35 days, including election day, before a special election; or from Labor Day to a general election day. [2015, c. 1, §5 (AMD).] [ 2015, c. 1, §5 (AMD) .]

2. Rebutting presumption. A person presumed under this section to have made an independent expenditure may rebut the presumption by filing a signed written statement with the commission within 48 hours of making the expenditure stating that the cost was not incurred with the intent to influence the nomination, election or defeat of a candidate, supported by any additional evidence the person chooses to submit. The commission may gather any additional evidence it deems relevant and material and must determine by a preponderance of the evidence whether the cost was incurred with intent to influence the nomination, election or defeat of a candidate. [ 2003, c. 448, §3 (NEW) .]

3. Report required; content; rules. [ 2009, c. 524, §6 (RPR); T. 21-A, §1019-B, sub-§3 (RP) .]

4. Report required; content; rules. A person, party committee, political committee or political action committee that makes any independent expenditure in excess of $250 during any one candidate's election shall file a report with the commission. In the case of a municipal election, the report must be filed with the municipal clerk. A. A report required by this subsection must be filed with the commission according to a reporting schedule that the commission shall establish by rule that takes into consideration existing campaign finance reporting requirements. Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. [2011, c. 558, §2 (AMD).] B. A report required by this subsection must contain an itemized account of each expenditure in excess of $250 in any one candidate's election, the date and purpose of each expenditure and the name of each payee or creditor. The

44 of 49 report must state whether the expenditure is in support of or in opposition to the candidate and must include, under penalty of perjury, as provided in Title 17-A, section 451, a statement under oath or affirmation whether the expenditure is made in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, the candidate or an authorized committee or agent of the candidate. [2015, c. 350, §6 (AMD).] C. A report required by this subsection must be on a form prescribed and prepared by the commission. A person filing this report may use additional pages if necessary, but the pages must be the same size as the pages of the form. The commission may adopt procedures requiring the electronic filing of an independent expenditure report, as long as the commission receives the statement made under oath or affirmation set out in paragraph B by the filing deadline and the commission adopts an exception for persons who lack access to the required technology or the technological ability to file reports electronically. The commission may adopt procedures allowing for the signed statement to be provisionally filed by facsimile or electronic mail, as long as the report is not considered complete without the filing of the original signed statement. [2013, c. 334, §16 (AMD).] [ 2015, c. 1, §6 (AMD); 2015, c. 350, §6 (AMD) .]

5. Exclusions. An independent expenditure does not include: A. An expenditure made by a person in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate's political committee or their agents; [2011, c. 389, §21 (NEW).] B. A telephone survey that meets generally accepted standards for polling research and that is not conducted for the purpose of changing the voting position of the call recipients or discouraging them from voting; [2011, c. 389, §21 (NEW).] C. A telephone call naming a clearly identified candidate that identifies an individual's position on a candidate, ballot question or political party for the purpose of encouraging the individual to vote, as long as the call contains no advocacy for or against any candidate; and [2011, c. 389, §21 (NEW).] D. A voter guide that consists primarily of candidates' responses to surveys and questionnaires and that contains no advocacy for or against any candidate. [2011, c. 389, §21 (NEW).] [ 2011, c. 389, §21 (NEW) .]

SECTION HISTORY 2003, c. 448, §3 (NEW). 2007, c. 443, Pt. A, §20 (AMD). 2009, c. 366, §5 (AMD). 2009, c. 366, §12 (AFF). 2009, c. 524, §§6, 7 (AMD). 2011, c. 389, §§20, 21 (AMD). 2011, c. 389, §62 (AFF). 2011, c. 558, §2 (AMD). 2013, c. 334, §§15, 16 (AMD). IB 2015, c. 1, §§5, 6 (AMD). 2015, c. 350, §6 (AMD).

45 of 49 COMMISSION RULES, CHAPTER 1, SECTION 10. REPORTS OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

1. General. Any person, party committee, political committee or political action committee that makes any independent expenditure in excess of $250 per candidate in an election must file a report with the Commission according to this section.

2. Definitions. For purposes of this section, the following phrases are defined as follows:

A. “Clearly identified,” with respect to a candidate, has the same meaning as in Title 21-A, chapter 13, subchapter II.

B. "Expressly advocate" means any communication that

(1) uses phrases such as "vote for the Governor," "reelect your Representative," "support the Democratic nominee," "cast your ballot for the Republican challenger for Senate District 1," "Jones for House of Representatives," "Jean Smith in 2002," "vote Pro-Life" or "vote Pro- Choice" accompanied by a listing of clearly identified candidates described as Pro-Life or Pro-Choice, "vote against Old Woody," "defeat" accompanied by a picture of one or more candidate(s), "reject the incumbent," or communications of campaign slogan(s) or individual word(s), which in context can have no other reasonable meaning than to urge the election or defeat of one or more clearly identified candidate(s), such as posters, bumper stickers, advertisements, etc. which say "Pick Berry," "Harris in 2000," "Murphy/Stevens" or "Canavan!"; or

(2) is susceptible of no reasonable interpretation other than as an appeal to vote for or against a clearly identified candidate.

C. "Independent expenditure" has the same meaning as in Title 21-A §1019-B. Any expenditure made by any person in cooperation, consultation or concert with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate, a candidate's political committee or their agents is considered to be a contribution to that candidate and is not an independent expenditure.

3. Reporting Schedules. Independent expenditures in excess of $250 per candidate per election made by any person, party committee, political committee or political action committee must be reported to the Commission in accordance with the following schedule:

A. [Repealed]

B. [Repealed]

(1) 60-Day Pre-Election Report. A report must be filed by 11:59 p.m. on the 60th day before the election is held and be complete as of the 61st day before the election.

(2) Two-Day Report. From the 60th day through the 14th day before an election, a report must be filed within two calendar days of the expenditure.

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(3) One-Day Report. After the 14th day before an election, a report must be filed within one calendar day of the expenditure.

For purposes of the filing deadlines in this paragraph, if the expenditure relates to a legislative or gubernatorial election and the filing deadline occurs on a weekend, holiday, or state government shutdown day, the report must be filed on the deadline. If the expenditure relates to a county or municipal election, the report may be filed on the next regular business day.

C. Reports must contain information as required by Title 21-A, chapter 13, subchapter II (§§ 1016-1017-A), and must clearly identify the candidate and indicate whether the expenditure was made in support of or in opposition to the candidate.

D. A separate 24-Hour Report is not required for expenditures reported in an independent expenditure report.

E. An independent expenditure report may be provisionally filed by facsimile or by electronic mail to an address designated by the Commission, as long as the facsimile or electronic copy is filed by the applicable deadline and an original of the same report is received by the Commission within five calendar days thereafter.

4. Multi-Candidate Expenditures. When a person or organization is required to report an independent expenditure for a communication that supports multiple candidates, the cost should be allocated among the candidates in rough proportion to the benefit received by each candidate.

A. The allocation should be in rough proportion to the number of voters who will receive the communication and who are in electoral districts of candidates named or depicted in the communication. If the approximate number of voters in each district who will receive the communication cannot be determined, the cost may be divided evenly among the districts in which voters are likely to receive the communication.

[NOTE: FOR EXAMPLE, IF CAMPAIGN LITERATURE NAMING SENATE CANDIDATE X AND HOUSE CANDIDATES Y AND Z ARE MAILED TO 10,000 VOTERS IN X’S DISTRICT AND 4,000 OF THOSE VOTERS RESIDE IN Y’S DISTRICT AND 6,000 OF THOSE VOTERS LIVE IN Z’S DISTRICT, THE ALLOCATION OF THE EXPENDITURE SHOULD BE REPORTED AS: 50% FOR X, 20% FOR Y, and 30% FOR Z.]

B. If multiple county or legislative candidates are named or depicted in a communication, but voters in some of the candidates’ electoral districts will not receive the communication, those candidates should not be included in the allocation.

[NOTE: FOR EXAMPLE, IF AN EXPENDITURE ON A LEGISLATIVE SCORECARD THAT NAMES 150 LEGISLATORS IS DISTRIBUTED TO VOTERS WITHIN A TOWN IN WHICH ONLY ONE LEGISLATOR IS

47 of 49 SEEKING RE-ELECTION, 100% OF THE COST SHOULD BE ALLOCATED TO THAT LEGISLATOR’S RACE.]

5. Rebuttable Presumption. Under Title 21-A M.R.S.A. §1019-B(1)(B), an expenditure made to design, produce or disseminate a communication that names or depicts a clearly identified candidate and that is disseminated during the 28 days before a primary election, the 35 days before a special election or from Labor Day to the general election will be presumed to be an independent expenditure, unless the person making the expenditure submits a written statement to the Commission within 48 hours of the expenditure stating that the cost was not incurred with the intent to influence the nomination, election or defeat of a candidate.

A. The following types of communications may be covered by the presumption if the specific communication satisfies the requirements of Title 21-A M.R.S.A. §1019-B(1)(B):

(1) Printed advertisements in newspapers and other media;

(2) Television and radio advertisements;

(3) Printed literature;

(4) Recorded telephone messages;

(5) Scripted telephone messages by live callers; and

(6) Electronic communications.

This list is not exhaustive, and other types of communications may be covered by the presumption.

B. The following types of communications and activities are not covered by the presumption, and will not be presumed to be independent expenditures under Title 21-A M.R.S.A. §1019-B(1)(B):

(1) news stories and editorials, unless the facilities distributing the communication are owned or controlled by the candidate, the candidate’s immediate family, or a political committee;

(2) activity or communication designed to encourage individuals to register to vote or to vote if that activity or communication does not name or depict a clearly identified candidate;

(3) any communication from a membership organization to its members or from a corporation to its stockholders if the organization or corporation is not organized primarily for the purpose of influencing the nomination or election of any person for state or county office;

(4) the use of offices, telephones, computers, or similar equipment when that use does not result in additional cost to the provider; and

48 of 49 (5) other communications and activities that are excluded from the legal definition of “expenditure” in the Election Law.

C. If an expenditure is covered by the presumption and is greater than $250 per candidate per election, the person making the expenditure must file an independent expenditure report or a signed written statement that the expenditure was not made with the intent to influence the nomination, election or defeat of a candidate. The filing of independent expenditure reports should be made in accordance with the filing schedule in subsections 3(A) and 3(B) of this rule. Any independent expenditure of $250 or less per candidate per election does not require the filing of an independent expenditure report or a rebuttal statement.

D. If a committee or association distributes copies of printed literature to its affiliates or members, and the affiliates or members distribute the literature directly to voters, the applicable presumption period applies to the date on which the communication is disseminated directly to voters, rather than the date on which the committee or association distributes the literature to its affiliates or members.

E. For the purposes of determining whether a communication is covered by the presumption, the date of dissemination is the date of the postmark, hand-delivery, or broadcast of the communication.

F. An organization that has been supplied printed communications covered by the presumption and that distributes them to voters must report both its own distribution costs and the value of the materials it has distributed, unless the organization supplying the communications has already reported the costs of the materials to the Commission. If the actual costs of the communications cannot be determined, the organization distributing the communication to voters must report the estimated fair market value.

G. If a person wishes to distribute a specific communication that appears to be covered by the presumption and the person believes that the communication is not intended to influence the nomination, election or defeat of a candidate, the person may submit the rebuttal statement to the Commission in advance of disseminating the communication for an early determination. The request must include the complete communication and be specific as to when and to whom the communication will be disseminated.

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