Griset

Government Code section 84305 requires candidates for public office, and individuals or groups supporting or opposing a candidate or ballot measure, to identify themselves on any mass mailings they send to prospective voters. In Griset v. Fair Political Practices Com. (1994) 8 Cal.4th 851, 855 [ 35 Cal.Rptr.2d 659 , 884 P.2d 116 ] (Griset I), this court unanimously upheld the statute’s validity as to candidates and candidate-controlled committees. Because that holding resolved the case before us, we, unlike the Court of Appeal, did not address the broader question of the constitutional validity of section 84305 with respect to persons and entities other than candidates and candidate-controlled committees.

After our decision in Griset I became final and after the United States Supreme Court denied plaintiffs’ petition for a writ of certiorari, plaintiffs, in the same action, again asked the superior court to declare section 84305 unconstitutional. Plaintiffs relied on a decision by the United States Supreme Court, McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Comm’n (1995) 514 U.S. 334 [ 115 S.Ct. 1511 , 131 L.Ed.2d 426 ], which held unconstitutional the imposition of a fine on an…