Grand Rapids Press calls for laws to regulate robocalls

In an editorial Tuesday celebrating Sunshine Week, the Grand Rapids Press editorial team has called for amendments to the state’s campaign finance rules to require disclosure on robocalls flooding the state.

Current campaign laws do not require disclosure either on the calls or in campaign records filed with the Secretary of State’s office. But federal law does require disclosure of who is placing the call and how to contact them, Messenger reported last week.

In recent weeks, Republican and Democratic candidates for governor have been attacked through anonymous, automated phone messages, known as robo-calls. The calls make claims about the candidates, who naturally dispute the claims. So it goes in election years, and so it should go in a society that values freedom of speech.

The crucial point for voters on the receiving end of these attacks is that they don’t know the origin of the calls. State law conveniently doesn’t require that disclosure. Contrast that to other media such as television or newspaper advertisements, in which candidates are supposed to include taglines that say, “Paid for by the campaign to elect So and So.” The state’s Campaign Finance Act needs to be updated so robo-calls and other new media are similarly disclosed.

Michigan Messenger has reported on the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial candidate robocalls. In addition to reporting on the calls themselves, Messenger has also fact checked the calls claims. For the facts on the Democratic primary calls, check out this report. For the fact checking on the calls attacking Rick Snyder, a GOP candidate for Governor, check out this report.