Candidate Campaign Ads: Captioning is the Law
The Minnesota legislature passed the Campaign Ad Captioning Law in 2008. All state candidates who accept a public subsidy are required to:
- caption their online and televised ads and
- post transcripts of their radio ads
This law provides equal access to voters who are deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing. Deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing people make up 20% of the population. Voters need access to their candidates' platform in order to make a self-informed decision about their votes.
Are you a member of the public who has noticed that a candidate needs to make his or her ads accessible? Notify candidates of their responsibility and share this page with them. Additionally, you may contact the Commission at mn.commission@state.mn.us and let us know of campaign ads that should be closed-captioned.
Minnesota Captioning Legislation Video
Senator Ann Rest is featured in a video that explains about the Campaign ad Captioning Law. This video was produced by Senate Media Services and is shared with permission.