North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.14A. Evidence that communications are “to support or oppose the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.”
(a) The following shall be means of proving that an individual or other entity acted “to support or oppose the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates”: presenting evidence of financial sponsorship of communications to the general public that use phrases such as “vote for”, “reelect”, “support”, “cast your ballot for”, “(name of candidate) for (name of office)”, “(name of candidate) in (year)”, “vote against”, “defeat”, “reject”, “vote pro-(policy position)” or “vote anti-(policy position)” accompanied by a list of candidates clearly labeled “pro-(policy position)” or “anti-(policy position)”, or communications of campaign words or slogans, such as posters, bumper stickers, advertisements, etc., which say “(name of candidate)’s the One”, “(name of candidate) ’98”, “(name of candidate)!”, or the names of two candidates joined by a hyphen or slash.
(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this section, a communication shall not be subject to regulation as a contribution or expenditure under this Article if it:
(1) Appears in a news story, commentary, or editorial distributed through the facilities of any broadcasting station, newspaper, or magazine, unless those facilities are owned or controlled by any political party, affiliated party committee, or political committee;
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.14A
- affiliated party committee: means a General Assembly affiliated party committee as established by N. See North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.6
- broadcasting station: means any commercial radio or television station or community antenna radio or television station. See North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.6
- election: means any general or special election, a first or second primary, a run-off election, or an election to fill a vacancy. See North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.6
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- individual: means a single individual or more than one individual. See North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.6
- labor union: means any union, organization, combination or association of employees or workmen formed for the purposes of securing by united action favorable wages, improved labor conditions, better hours of labor or work-related benefits, or for handling, processing or righting grievances by employees against their employers, or for representing employees collectively or individually in dealings with their employers. See North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.6
- political committee: includes the campaign of a candidate who serves as his or her own treasurer. See North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.6
- political party: means any political party organized or operating in this State, whether or not that party is recognized under the provisions of N. See North Carolina General Statutes 163-278.6
(2) Is distributed by a corporation solely to its stockholders and employees; or
(3) Is distributed by any organization, association, or labor union solely to its members or to subscribers or recipients of its regular publications, or is made available to individuals in response to their request, including through the Internet. (1999-453, s. 3(a); 2008-150, s. 6(b); 2015-258, s. 3(k); 2017-6, s. 3; 2018-146, s. 3.1(a), (b).)