Don’t be fooled by deceptive mailers; somebody is making money on them

Re “Mailer to Latinos from ‘nonpartisan’ group worries Democrats” (Page 3A, May 18): I read your article on deceptive election practices with great interest. I would like to point out another somewhat deceptive election practice.

Fliers are mailed by various groups which appear to be endorsements of candidates and propositions. However, they are simply paid political mailers. Three I have seen recently were titled, “Budget Watchdogs Newsletter.” the “Republicans Election Day Voting Guide” and “California Senior Advocates League.” Each had recommendations of candidates and propositions to support.

The problem is that these mailers are structured to make it appear the organization is supporting their named candidates and propositions, until you read the fine print. Each contained the same statement: “Appearance in this mailer does not necessarily imply endorsement of others appearing in this mailer, nor does it imply endorsement of, or opposition to, any issues set forth in the mailer. Appearance is paid for and authorized by each candidate and ballot measure which is designated by an *” Virtually all of the candidates and all the propositions on each mailer were designated by an *. Don’t be fooled by these deceptive mailers.

This story was originally published May 22, 2018 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Don’t be fooled by deceptive mailers; somebody is making money on them."