The New Hampshire Department of Justice has ordered out-of-state political and printing firms to stop distributing anonymous campaign mailers that lack the required disclosure information about who paid for the material.
In a press release, the Attorney General’s office said it sent cease-and-desist letters to Pinpoint Campaigns — which it said commissioned the mailers — and Massachusetts-based Journeyman Press, which printed and mailed them.
The Department of Justice’s Election Law Unit said it received several complaints in recent days from New Hampshire residents who say they received the political mailers. All three of the mailers focused on U.S Senate candidates John Sununu, a Republican, and Edmond LaPlante, who is running on the Constitution Party platform — either attacking Sununu, or promoting LaPlante’s candidacy.
“These mailers do not contain information identifying the person or entity responsible for the advertising — known as ‘paid for’ disclaimers — that are required by New Hampshire and federal law,” the justice department said in a press release.
State law requires that all political advertisements disclose who paid for it and if the advertisement was authorized by a candidate or political committee.
“The purpose of these requirements is to ensure that voters are able to know the source of the political advertising when they are assessing the credibility of the advertising and the weight to give to the claims in the advertising,” the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office said.
The office said it contacted the Sununu and LaPlante campaigns, the campaign of Democratic Senate candidate Congressman Chris Pappas, and the state Democratic and Republican parties: “All have stated that they had no prior knowledge of or coordination with the Journeyman Press or Pinpoint Campaigns in conjunction with the production of the anonymous mailers,” the Attorney General’s office said.
The state Election Law Unit continues to investigate the mailers. In the cease-and-desist letters sent Friday to Pinpoint Campaigns and Journeyman Press, the Attorney General’s office noted that each violation of the required disclosure for political advertising could carry a $1,000 penalty.
