Chapter Four: Slate Mailers
By F.E.C. Nerd
I hadn’t intended to write about this topic since Slate Mailers have become rare in this day of social media campaigning. But a friend from Woodland sent me two examples and asked: “What gives?” So, in case you have been getting multi-candidate-multi-proposition mailers, here’s how to figure out what is behind them.
History of Slate Mailers: Decades ago, slate mailers became quite prominent in California political campaigns. So prominent that the State ultimately passed legislation to regulate them. Why? Because many commercial slate mailers “impersonated” political party endorsements and led to great voter confusion. Commercial slate mailer operators would use the words “Democrat” or “Republican” in their names and/or display a Donkey or Elephant logo on the mailer. There were repeated instances where a commercial slate mailer would use a Party’s name or logo, and include multiple candidates or ballot measures that Party did endorse, but then for some local races the mailer would feature a candidate of the Opposing Party or a ballot measure position the Party did not endorse. So, a law was passed to prohibit commercial slate mailers from using a Political Party’s name or imitation of its logo.
The law also sought to alert voters as to the true nature of the mailing by requiring certain disclaimers on the slate mailer. Because candidates became furious if they bought onto a commercial slate mailer that also endorsed/featured another candidate or a ballot measure position that the first candidate did not agree with; the disclaimer must also make it clear that not all featured positions are inter-related. California’s Political Reform Act Government Code Section 84305.5 provides in part:
(2) At the top or bottom of the front side or surface of at least one insert or at the top or bottom of one side or surface of a postcard or other self-mailer, there is a notice in at least 8-point roman boldface type, which shall be in a color or print which contrasts with the background so as to be easily legible, and in a printed or drawn box and set apart from any other printed matter. The notice shall consist of the following statement:
NOTICE TO VOTERS
THIS DOCUMENT WAS PREPARED BY (name of slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to support or oppose one or more ballot measures), NOT AN OFFICIAL POLITICAL PARTY ORGANIZATION. 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 this mailer. Appearance is paid for and authorized by each candidate and ballot measure which is designated by an *.(3) The name, street address, and city of the slate mailer organization or committee primarily formed to sup- port or oppose one or more ballot measures as required by paragraph (1) and the notice required by paragraph (2) may appear on the same side or surface of an insert.
(4) Each candidate and each ballot measure that has paid to appear in the slate mailer is designated by an * . Any candidate or ballot measure that has not paid to appear in the slate mailer is not designated by an * .
With this background in mind, let’s examine the two different mailers my friend shared.
Above is the “front” or “addressee” side of a fold-over, card-stock, self-mailer sent out by COPS Voter Guide, Inc. a project of the COPS Action Fund. It is a commercial slate-mailer. Note the disclaimer across the bottom that it “does not represent any public safety personnel.”
Below is the opposite (exterior) side of the COPS Voter Guide commercial slate mailer.
Note at the bottom of the above side is the NOTICE TO VOTERS that is required by the law. (I make no representation regarding whether the notice is in full accordance with the law or not.) Also, in the very bottom left-hand corner in fine print is the admonition: “Advertisement.” Looking at this page with multiple positions represented, you can see that ALL of the ballot measure positions have paid to appear on the slate mailer. The two candidates featured have not. There may be various reasons behind why those two were chosen to get a “free ride” this time.
The “front page” has a banner in the upper-left-hand corner urging recipients to “Look Inside.” If you pull apart the slick card-stock mailer you will see that inside there are additional recommendations that appear in the “bottom” portion, while there is general sloganeering in the “top” portion, which is represented as a “COPS Action Fund Newsletter” (“Published Irregularly”). Take a close look at the positions shown on the bottom portion. We can see there are five total, two are the same two candidates from the outside who did not pay to appear because there is no asterisk (*) next to them. Two local candidates and one statewide proposition (Prop. 2) paid to have their messages appear. The two candidates are Eric Jones and Dotty Pritchard. You are likely familiar with Eric Jones due to his saturation advertising, but Davisite readers likely do not know that Dotty Pritchard is running for County Supervisor in a district anchored in Woodland, where my friend lives. (Unless they drive to Costco along County Rd. 102, where there are plenty of signs for Dotty and her opponent Mayra Vega.)
Since Eric Jones paid to have his message included on this commercial slate mailer, we can research to see how much he paid; as well as find out who else has paid for appearance in one of the many versions of the COPS Voter Guide slate mailer. Start by going to the Secretary of State’s website and then click to go to Cal-Access. Then search for “COPS Voter Guide, Inc.” and you should see the following page, if you click on “Electronic Filings” rather than “General Information.”
As you scroll down you will see there are A LOT of reports, so this is a major commercial slate mailer operation. They put out numerous versions of their slate mailer, changing out paying local candidates and ballot measures depending on the voter’s residence. Click on any of the linked items to bring up the underlying report. Then toggle back, scroll down, and click on a different link to see that report. I had to scroll all the way down to find out that back on 9/28/2026, Eric Jones’ agent “Smart Marketing” paid $3,500.00 for Eric Jones’ inclusion in this slate mailer.
I determined that Smart Marketing was, indeed, Eric Jones’ agent by checking Eric Jones’ campaign filings on the FEC’s website, which showed numerous payments totaling in excess of $20,000.00 to “SMART Marketing & Public Affairs” in the weeks prior to Smart Marketing paying COPS Voter Guide.
Around the same time (on 9/22/2026) Josh Hoover, a Republican Assemblymember running for re-election in the eastern Sacramento County area, also paid ($5,204.00) to appear on a different version of the COPS Voter Guide.
COPS Voter Guide, Inc. is just a commercial slate mailer operation with a catchy name.
It shares that cachet with campaigns that are willing and able to pay the asking price.
The second slate mailer shared by my Woodland friend is not a commercial slate mailer, but instead the voter guide put out by the Yolo County Democratic Party organization. It is a card-stock two-sided mailer with no paid advertising and looks like this on the addressee side.
The opposite side looks like the copy below, but lays out at a 90-degree-angle. It is not a commercial slate mailer and does not have purchased positions, but instead represents the recommended candidates and measures of the Yolo County Democratic Central Committee for the Woodland area. As can be seen, it is paid for by that committee, which is both state registered and federally registered.
CONCLUSION TO CHAPTER FOUR: Hopefully, this has helped you to understand slate mailers and the different types and financing for such electioneering vehicles.
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