The "pre-campaign period" for the 2022 General Local Elections begins Monday, July 18 and runs until Sept. 16, 2022.
Elections BC advertising rules come into effect at the start of the pre-campaign period and last until the municipal election on Oct. 15.
"Elector organizations, prospective candidates and third parties that sponsor election advertising during the pre-campaign or campaign period must include their name and contact information on all of their ads, in addition to other requirements. Third-party election advertisers must register with Elections BC," stated the election regulator in a news release.
During the pre-campaign period, election advertising is defined as "any public communication that promotes or opposes, directly or indirectly, the election of a candidate or an elector organization endorsing a candidate."
This includes sponsored social media posts on Facebook, Instagram and the like.
During the campaign, election advertising also includes "communications that take a position on an issue associated with a candidate or elector organization," stated Elections BC.
So what will this mean for the anonymous group Squamish Voices, which has run an attack campaign against four current District council members?
According to the social media company, the group paid $65,526 on Facebook advertisements alone between its launch in March of 2021 and July 14, 2022.
It spent $9,474 between July 8 to Jul 14, 2022.
There have also been several mail campaigns. The amount spent on those mailouts is unknown.
Asked specifically about the Squamish Voices page and ads, Elections BC's Melanie Hull told The Squamish Chief that, come Monday, "any third party sponsoring election advertising must be registered with Elections BC and include their name and contact information on all advertising."
"They must also be independent and not sponsor advertising on behalf of, or together with, a candidate or elector organization, and file a disclosure statement within 90 days after General Voting Day," she said.
In addition, they must not spend more than the expense limits during the campaign period, which runs from Sept. 17 to Oct. 15, 2022.
But this does not mean the old Squamish Voices posts have to come down.
"Any communications transmitted before the start of the pre-campaign period are not considered election advertising and do not require sponsorship information. This group would not be required to remove any social media posts or pages created before the start of the pre-campaign period," Hull said.
Free social media posts — meaning not paid advertisements — are not considered election advertising.
"However, if an advertiser runs any social media ads or print campaigns during the pre-campaign or campaign periods, they would be required to register with us as a third party sponsor."
Any instances of advertising violating the rules under the Local Elections Campaign Financing Act will be investigated to enforce the rules and bring participants into compliance, Hull added.
Please see https://elections.bc.ca/resources/investigations/our-investigation-process/ for more information.
A PDF list of third-party advertising sponsors is updated daily.
~With files from Graeme Wood/Glacier Media
