Virginia Law

Article 4. Radio Advertisement Requirements.

A. Radio outlets and online platforms shall not be liable under this article for carriage of political advertisements that fail to include the disclosure requirements provided for in this article. This provision supersedes any contrary provisions of the Code of Virginia.

B. The person accepting an advertisement for a radio outlet shall require, and for one year shall retain a copy of, proof of identity of the person who submits the advertisement for broadcast. Proof of identity shall be submitted either (i) in person and include a valid Virginia driver's license, or any other identification card issued by a government agency of the Commonwealth, one of its political subdivisions, or the United States, or (ii) other than in person, in which case, the person submitting the advertisement shall provide a telephone number and the person accepting the advertisement may phone the person to verify the validity of the person's identifying information before broadcasting the advertisement.

C. Any disclosure statement required by this section shall be communicated in a conspicuous manner.

D. An advertisement that is in audio format and is placed or promoted for a fee on an online platform shall be subject to the same disclosure requirements to which radio advertisements are subject pursuant to this article.

2002, c. 487, § 24.2-944; 2004, cc. 55, 457; 2005, c. 369; 2006, cc. 787, 892; 2020, c. 551.

It shall be unlawful for a candidate or a candidate campaign committee to sponsor a radio advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) unless all of the following requirements are met:

1. The advertisement shall include the statement "Paid for by ______ [Name of candidate or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]." Alternatively, if the advertisement makes no reference to any clearly identified candidate other than the candidate who is sponsoring the advertisement or whose campaign committee is sponsoring the advertisement, then the statement "Paid for by ______ [Name of candidate or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]" may be replaced by the statement "Authorized by ______ [Name of candidate or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]."

2. If the advertisement supports or opposes the election or nomination of a clearly identified candidate other than the sponsoring candidate or supports or opposes the election or nomination of the sponsoring candidate and makes reference to another clearly identified candidate, it must include a disclosure statement spoken by the sponsoring candidate containing at least the following words: "I am (or 'This is ______ ') [Name of candidate], candidate for [Name of office], and this ad was paid for by (or 'sponsored by' or 'furnished by') [Name of candidate or candidate campaign committee as it appears on the statement of organization]."

3. The disclosure statement shall last at least two seconds and the statement shall be spoken so that its contents may be easily understood. The placement of the oral disclosure statement shall also comply with the requirements of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317.

4. In its oral disclosure statement, the candidate or the candidate campaign committee may choose to identify an advertisement as either supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.

5. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall include the names of all the sponsors and the candidate shall be the disclosing individual. If more than one candidate is the sponsor, at least one of the candidates shall be the disclosing individual.

2002, c. 487, § 24.2-944; 2004, cc. 55, 457; 2005, c. 369; 2006, cc. 787, 892; 2020, c. 615.

It shall be unlawful for a political committee to sponsor an advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) unless the following requirements are satisfied:

1. A radio advertisement supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates (i) shall include a disclosure statement, spoken by the chief executive officer or treasurer of the committee, containing at least the following words: "This ad was paid for (or 'sponsored by' or 'furnished by') [Name of political action committee]." (ii) The disclosure statement shall last at least two seconds and the statement shall be spoken so that its contents may be easily understood. (iii) The placement of the oral disclosure statement shall also comply with the requirements of the Communications Act of 1934, 47 U.S.C. §§ 315 and 317.

2. In its oral disclosure statement, a political committee may choose to identify an advertisement as either supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.

3. If the advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall name all of the sponsors and the disclosing individual shall be one of those sponsors.

2002, c. 487, § 24.2-944; 2004, cc. 55, 457; 2005, c. 369; 2006, cc. 787, 892.

A. It shall be unlawful for a person to sponsor an advertisement that constitutes an expenditure or contribution required to be disclosed under Chapter 9.3 (§ 24.2-945 et seq.) unless the following requirements are met:

1. Radio advertisements purchased by an individual supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the individual containing at least the following words: "I am [individual's name], and I sponsored this ad."

2. Radio advertisements purchased by a corporation, partnership, business, labor organization, membership organization, association, cooperative, or other like entity supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates shall include a disclosure statement spoken by the chief executive of the sponsor containing at least the following words: "[Name of sponsor] paid for (or 'sponsored' or 'furnished') this ad."

B. In its oral disclosure statement, a person may choose to identify an advertisement as either supporting or opposing the nomination or election of one or more clearly identified candidates.

C. If an advertisement is jointly sponsored, the disclosure statement shall include the names of all the sponsors.

2002, c. 487, § 24.2-944; 2004, cc. 55, 457; 2005, c. 369; 2006, cc. 787, 892.