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Oregon Secretary of State Elections Division

Political Communication Disclosures

This information is intended to provide guidance for disclosures required to be included on political materials under Oregon law. This document should not be construed as legal advice. For authoritative information see ORS 260.266 and OAR 165-012-0525.

The Elections Division does not review or approve political materials created by non-governmental entities.

Other federal and/or local disclosure laws and rules may also apply.

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Generally, communications supporting or opposing a clearly identified candidate must state the name of the person who paid for the communication and their top contributors.

​Communications Made By:
​Required Disclosure(s):
​Candidate Committee
  • ​Full name of the committee making the communication as registered in ORESTAR
​
​PAC or Petition Committee
​
  • Full name of the committee making the communication as registered in ORESTAR
  • Names of the top five contributors
  • See ​Who Is Considered a Contributor for Disclosure? section ​below for more information
​
Individual, a For-Profit Business or a Candidate or the Principal Campaign Committee of a Candidate
  • Name of the person making the communication
    ​Communications by Other People or Entities Not Outlined Above
    • Name of the person making the communication
    • Names of the top five contributors
    • See ​Who Is Considered a Contributor for Disclosure? section below for more informatio​n.​

    The communication is considered an in-kind contribution to the candidate and is “Paid for by” the candidate’s principal campaign committee when a communication is made with the cooperation or with the prior consent of, or in consultation with, or at the request or suggestion of, a candidate or any agent or authorized committee of the candidate. 


    ​

    ​​​Exempt Entities​

    ​​​​​The following entities are not required to comply with state disclosure laws, but may still be required to comply with federal or local laws and rules:

    See the ​ Campaign Finance Manual​ for information on the exemptions listed above.

    ​ ​​If a committee or independent expenditure filer exceeds amounts​ listed above, they must include the appropriate disclosure on any communication made after exceeding the applicable threshold.​

    Communications in support of or in opposition to measures are not required to comply with state disclosure laws, but may still be required to comply with federal or local laws and rules. ​​

    Exempt Communications​

    The following communications are exempt from disclosure requirements even when the entity making the communication is normally required to comply with disclosure requirements.​

    • Statements or arguments filed in the voters' pamphlet;
    • ​Communications excluded from the definition of "expenditure"​ under ORS 260.007;
    • ​News stories, newspaper editorials, magazine articles;
    • ​Text messages;
    • ​Printed advertisements or communications made via telephone with a fair market value less than $500 which includes costs relating to printing, designing, and set up of phone banking systems;
    • ​Items of de minimis value such as lawn signs (up to 6 square feet) and wearable merchandise.​
    ​

    Exceptions for Short Communications

    The table below specifies the requirements and exceptions to including both audible and written disclosures in short communications.

    ​​​​​​Length of Communication​​Audio Disclosure​Written Disclosure
    ​Longer than 30 secondsEntire disclosure​Entire disclosure​
    30 seconds or less​"Paid for by" followed by required information​"Paid for by" followed by required information

    "The top donors are" or "The top contributors are" followed by required information
    Additional option for digital communications that are 30 seconds or less​​"Paid for by" followed by required information​​​"Paid for by" followed by required information

    Written link to a website that displays the top contributors if the information on the website is prominent and can be viewed with minimal effort; the link must meet the same requirements for legibility as the rest of the communication

    ​

    • Must include the words “Paid for by" followed by the required information
    • If required to disclose donors or contributors, must include the words "The top donors are"​ or "The top contributors are" followed by the required information
    • Disclosure​ must be in a readily legible font, size, and color
    • Font color must have a reasonable degree of color contrast between the background and the text
    • ​Communications longer than 30 seconds must include a disclosure in whatever format the message is conveyed in. For example, if a digital communication contains an audible and a written message, the disclosure must also be audible and in writing.​ ​
      • ​Review exemptions to this requirement on the “What Candidates or Political Efforts are Exempt” page. ​
    ​​​Type of Communication
    		Disclosure Specifications In Addition to the Above
    ​Mailers, postcards, flyers and similar communications
    • ​Font size must be no smaller than 10-point font
    ​Large signs and similar communications larger than 6 square feet

    Font size must be no smaller than:

    • Three inches tall, or
    • One-fourth of the font size of the largest font size in the communication
    ​Television
    • ​Appear at the end of the communication for at least four seconds and occupy at least four percent of the vertical picture height
    • Clearly audible
    Phone Calls
    Radio/Streaming Audio
    • Clearly audible
    ​​​​Digital Communications (including videos posted on websites or social media platforms)
    • The font size must be in letters at least as large as the majority of text in the communication
    • ​Include closed or text captioning where possible
    • Instead of listing the top contributors on the communication, may include a written link to a website that displays the top contributors if the information on the website is prominent and can be viewed with minimal effort; the link must meet the same requirements for legibility as the rest of the communication
    ​
    ​
    ​

    When identifying the top contributors:

    • Identify all contributors who have given aggregate contributions of $10,000 or more in the election cycle during which the communication is made. Disclose the names of the top aggregate contributors. If more than five qualify as the largest aggregate contributors, disclose the contributors that made their contributions closest to the date of initial printing or transmission of the communication.​
    • Contributors listed on communications must be accurate as of 10 days before the most recent payment to print or transmit the communication.

    The current election cycle began on November 6, 2024, and ends on November 3, 2026.​

    Example: A committee receives the following contributions:

    $20,000 from Contributor A on January 1
    $15,000 from Contributor B on February 1
    $10,000 from Contributor C on March 1
    $10,000 from Contributor D on April 1
    $10,000 from Contributor E on May 1
    $10,000 from Contributor F on June 1

    If the committee transmits a qualifying communication on June 5, the top contributors required to be listed are Contributors A, B, D, E and F.

    Example: If a person makes an expenditure for a mailer, then makes a subsequent expenditure to order more of the same mailers, the names of the top contributors must be accurate as of 10 days before the most recent order even if payment is made later.

    Contributors excluded from disclosure:

    • Donations from an affiliated 501(c)(3) organization.
    • Donations and grants received from foundations and other persons that may not be used to make political communications.
    ​

    ​​​​​​​​​​
    • Failure to include the required information on a communication in support of or in opposition to a clearly identified candidate may result in a civil penalty of 150 percent of the total cost of printing, transmitting or distributing the communication.
    • Any Oregon voter may file a written complaint if they believe a violation of the law has occurred. The complainant must include evidence and provide detail about the alleged violation. The complaint must be in writing, must be signed, and must not be anonymous. Complaints can be sent by email, to ​elections.sos@sos.oregon.gov​; fax to 503-373-7414; or mail to 255 Capitol Street NE, Suite 126, Salem OR 97310. ​

    ​

    ​An anonymous donation of $1,000 or more may not be used to make communications to support or oppose a candidate.

    ​​ ​​ Candidate Committees, PACs, and Petition Committees may never accept anonymous contributions.​

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