§ 24.2-959 — Requirements for campaign telephone calls sponsored by a candidate or candidate campaign committee

Virginia § 24.2-959

• Jurisdiction: Virginia
• Title 24.2: Elections
• Ch. 9.5: Political Campaign Advertisements
• Art. 5: Campaign Telephone Call Requirements

Text

It shall be unlawful for any candidate or candidate campaign committee to make campaign telephone calls without disclosing, before the conclusion of each telephone call, information to identify the candidate or candidate campaign committee who has authorized and is paying for the calls unless such call is terminated prematurely by means beyond the maker's control.

The person making the telephone call shall disclose the name of the candidate.

It shall be unlawful for any candidate or candidate campaign committee making campaign telephone calls to intentionally modify the caller identification information of any campaign telephone call for the purpose of misleading the recipient as to the identity of the caller. If the call is made from an automatic dialing-announcing device and caller identification information includes a name associated with the telephone number, then the caller identification information shall include either the name of the candidate or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization that has authorized and is paying for the calls, or the vendor conducting the calls on behalf of the candidate or candidate campaign committee. "Automatic dialing-announcing device" means the same as that term is defined in § 59.1-518.1.

It shall also be unlawful (i) for any candidate or candidate campaign committee who contracts for campaign telephone calls to fail to provide to the persons making the telephone calls the identifying information required by this section or (ii) for any person to provide a false or fictitious name or address when providing the identifying information required.

Legislative History

2000, c. 874, § 24.2-1014.1; 2006, cc. 787, 892; 2010, c. 323; 2020, c. 615.