Bill Text: CA AB730 | 2019-2020 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Elections: deceptive audio or visual media.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2019-10-03 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 493, Statutes of 2019. [AB730 Detail]

Download: California-2019-AB730-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  June 19, 2019

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2019–2020 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 730

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Introduced by Assembly Member Berman

February 19, 2019

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An act to amend Section 2194 of the Elections Code, and to amend Section 6254.4 of the Government Code, repeal and add Section 20010 of the Elections Code, relating to elections.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 730, as amended, Berman. Voter registration: preregistration.

Existing law prohibits a person or specified entity from, with actual malice, producing, distributing, publishing, or broadcasting campaign material, as defined, that contains (1) a picture or photograph of a person or persons into which the image of a candidate for public office is superimposed or (2) a picture or photograph of a candidate for public office into which the image of another person or persons is superimposed, unless the campaign material contains a specified disclosure.

This bill would repeal these provisions and instead prohibit a person, committee, or other entity, within 60 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, from knowingly or recklessly distributing deceptive audio or visual media of the candidate with the intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate, unless the media includes a disclosure stating that the media has been manipulated. The bill would define “deceptive audio or visual media” to mean an image or audio or video recording that has been intentionally manipulated in such a manner that it would falsely appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic record of the actual speech or conduct of the candidate depicted in the image or audio or video recording.

The bill would authorize a registered voter to seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the distribution of deceptive audio or visual media. It would also authorize a candidate whose voice or likeness appears in deceptive audio or visual media to bring an action for general or special damages against the person, committee, or other entity that distributed the media, and would authorize the court to award a prevailing candidate reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

The bill would provide an exemption for entities that routinely broadcast or publish news and commentary of general interest, and that distribute prohibited deceptive audio or visual media for the purpose of disseminating newsworthy facts, if the broadcast or publication clearly states that the media does not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the candidate.

Under existing law, a person may not be registered to vote except by affidavit of registration. Existing law authorizes a person who is at least 16 years of age and otherwise meets all voter eligibility requirements to preregister to vote by submitting his or her affidavit of registration, which, if properly executed, will be deemed effective as of the date the affiant will be 18 years of age.

Existing law provides that certain information on a voter’s affidavit of registration, including the voter’s home address and signature, is confidential and prohibits disclosure of the information except in specified circumstances.

This bill would additionally provide that the affidavit of registration of a preregistered person who is not yet a registered voter is confidential, and would prohibit its disclosure to any person without exception.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NO   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 20010 of the Elections Code is repealed.

20010.

(a)Except as provided in subdivision (b), no person, firm, association, corporation, campaign committee, or organization may, with actual malice, produce, distribute, publish, or broadcast campaign material that contains (1) a picture or photograph of a person or persons into which the image of a candidate for public office is superimposed or (2) a picture or photograph of a candidate for public office into which the image of another person or persons is superimposed. “Campaign material” includes, but is not limited to, any printed matter, advertisement in a newspaper or other periodical, television commercial, or computer image. For purposes of this section, “actual malice” means the knowledge that the image of a person has been superimposed on a picture or photograph to create a false representation, or a reckless disregard of whether or not the image of a person has been superimposed on a picture or photograph to create a false representation.

(b)A person, firm, association, corporation, campaign committee, or organization may produce, distribute, publish, or broadcast campaign material that contains a picture or photograph prohibited by subdivision (a) only if each picture or photograph in the campaign material includes the following statement in the same point size type as the largest point size type used elsewhere in the campaign material: “This picture is not an accurate representation of fact.” The statement shall be immediately adjacent to each picture or photograph prohibited by subdivision (a).

(c)(1)Any registered voter may seek a temporary restraining order and an injunction prohibiting the publication, distribution, or broadcasting of any campaign material in violation of this section. Upon filing a petition under this section, the plaintiff may obtain a temporary restraining order in accordance with Section 527 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(2)A candidate for public office whose likeness appears in a picture or photograph prohibited by subdivision (a) may bring a civil action against any person, firm, association, corporation, campaign committee, or organization that produced, distributed, published, or broadcast the picture or photograph prohibited by subdivision (a). The court may award damages in an amount equal to the cost of producing, distributing, publishing, or broadcasting the campaign material that violated this section, in addition to reasonable attorney’s fees and costs.

(d)(1)This act shall not apply to a holder of a license granted pursuant to the federal Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Sec. 151 et seq.) in the performance of the functions for which the license is granted.

(2)This act shall not apply to the publisher or an employee of a newspaper, magazine, or other periodical that is published on a regular basis for any material published in that newspaper, magazine, or other periodical. For purposes of this subdivision, a “newspaper, magazine, or other periodical that is published on a regular basis” shall not include any newspaper, magazine, or other periodical that has as its primary purpose the publication of campaign advertising or communication, as defined by Section 304.

SEC. 2.

 Section 20010 is added to the Elections Code, to read:

20010.

 (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), a person, committee, or other entity shall not, within 60 days of an election at which a candidate for elective office will appear on the ballot, knowingly or recklessly distribute deceptive audio or visual media, as defined in subdivision (e), of the candidate with the intent to injure the candidate’s reputation or to deceive a voter into voting for or against the candidate.

(b) (1) The prohibition in subdivision (a) does not apply if the audio or visual media includes a disclosure stating: “This _____ has been manipulated.”

(2) The blank in the disclosure required by paragraph (1) shall be filled with whichever of the following terms most accurately describes the media:

(A) Image.

(B) Video.

(C) Audio.

(3) (A) For visual media, the text of the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer and no smaller than the largest font size of other text appearing in the visual media. If the visual media does not include any other text, the disclosure shall appear in a size that is easily readable by the average viewer. For visual media that is video, the disclosure shall appear for the duration of the video.

(B) If the media consists of audio only, the disclosure shall be read at the beginning of the audio, in a clearly spoken manner and in a pitch that can be easily heard by the average listener.

(c) (1) A registered voter may seek injunctive or other equitable relief prohibiting the distribution of audio or visual media in violation of this section. An action under this paragraph shall have priority over other civil matters.

(2) A candidate for elective office whose voice or likeness appears in audio or visual media distributed in violation of this section may bring an action for general or special damages against the person, committee, or other entity that distributed the audio or visual media. The court may also award a prevailing plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. This subdivision shall not be construed to limit or preclude a plaintiff from securing or recovering any other available remedy.

(d) (1) This section shall not be construed to alter or negate any rights, obligations, or immunities of an interactive service provider under Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code.

(2) This section does not apply to a broadcasting station, including a cable or satellite television operator, programmer, or producer, an internet website, or a regularly published newspaper, magazine, or other periodical of general circulation, including an internet or electronic publication, that routinely carries news and commentary of general interest, and that broadcasts or publishes deceptive audio or visual media prohibited by this section for the purpose of disseminating newsworthy facts, if the broadcast or publication clearly states that the deceptive audio or visual media does not accurately represent the speech or conduct of the candidate.

(e) As used in this section, “deceptive audio or visual media” means an image or audio or video recording that has been intentionally manipulated in such a manner that it would falsely appear to a reasonable observer to be an authentic record of the actual speech or conduct of the candidate depicted in the image or audio or video recording.

(f) The provisions of this section are severable. If any provision of this section or its application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application.

SECTION 1.Section 2194 of the Elections Code is amended to read:

2194.

(a)Except as provided in Section 2194.1, the affidavit of voter registration information identified in Section 6254.4 of the Government Code:

(1)Shall be confidential and shall not appear on any computer terminal, list, affidavit, duplicate affidavit, or other medium routinely available to the public at the county elections official’s office.

(2)Shall not be used for any personal, private, or commercial purpose, including, but not limited to:

(A)The harassment of any voter or voter’s household.

(B)The advertising, solicitation, sale, or marketing of products or services to any voter or voter’s household.

(C)Reproduction in print, broadcast visual or audio, or display on the Internet or any computer terminal unless pursuant to paragraph (3).

(3)Shall be provided with respect to any voter, subject to the provisions of Sections 2166, 2166.5, 2166.7, and 2188, to any candidate for federal, state, or local office, to any committee for or against any initiative or referendum measure for which legal publication is made, and to any person for election, scholarly, journalistic, or political purposes, or for governmental purposes, as determined by the Secretary of State.

(4)May be used by the Secretary of State for the purpose of educating voters pursuant to Section 12173 of the Government Code.

(b)(1)Notwithstanding any other law, the California driver’s license number, the California identification card number, the social security number, and any other unique identifier used by the State of California for purposes of voter identification shown on the affidavit of voter registration of a registered voter, or added to voter registration records to comply with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), are confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person.

(2)Notwithstanding any other law, the signature of the voter shown on the affidavit of voter registration or an image thereof is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person, except as provided in subdivision (c).

(3)Notwithstanding any other law, the affidavit of voter registration for a person who has submitted an affidavit pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2102, but who is not yet a registered voter, is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person.

(c)(1)The home address or signature of any voter shall be released whenever the person’s vote is challenged pursuant to Sections 15105 to 15108, inclusive, or Article 3 (commencing with Section 14240) of Chapter 3 of Division 14. The address or signature shall be released only to the challenger, to elections officials, and to other persons as necessary to make, defend against, or adjudicate the challenge.

(2)An elections official shall permit a person to view the signature of a voter for the purpose of determining whether the signature matches a signature on an affidavit of registration or an image thereof or a petition, but shall not permit a signature to be copied.

(d)A governmental entity, or officer or employee thereof, shall not be held civilly liable as a result of disclosure of the information referred to in this section, unless by a showing of gross negligence or willfulness.

(e)For the purposes of this section, “voter’s household” is defined as the voter’s place of residence or mailing address or any persons who reside at the place of residence or use the mailing address as supplied on the affidavit of registration pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4) of subdivision (a) of Section 2150.

SEC. 2.Section 6254.4 of the Government Code is amended to read:

6254.4.

(a)The home address, telephone number, email address, precinct number, or other number specified by the Secretary of State for voter registration purposes, and prior registration information shown on the affidavit of registration, is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person, except pursuant to Section 2194 of the Elections Code.

(b)For purposes of this section, “home address” means street address only, and does not include an individual’s city or post office address.

(c)The California driver’s license number, the California identification card number, the social security number, and any other unique identifier used by the State of California for purposes of voter identification shown on an affidavit of registration, or added to the voter registration records to comply with the requirements of the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. Sec. 20901 et seq.), are confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person.

(d)The signature of the voter that is shown on the affidavit of registration is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person.

(e)The affidavit of voter registration for a person who has submitted an affidavit pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 2102 of the Elections Code, but who is not yet a registered voter, is confidential and shall not be disclosed to any person.