Seeing double, seeing red: Moore demands Question 3 opponents halt lookalike ad

A new ad that urges residents to vote against a constitutional amendment that would loosen standards for congressional redistricting has drawn the attention of — and a cease and desist demand from — Gov. Wes Moore.

The ad, produced by the super PAC Truth for Maryland, uses fonts and colors similar to those used by the Moore campaign in an attempt to trick voters, lawyers for the governor said. The ad asks voters to oppose ballot Question 3 — which the governor supports.

“The website and advertisement are simply a cynical political ploy to try to trick Marylanders into misinterpreting the Governor’s position on Question 3, which he unequivocally supports,” lawyers for the Moore campaign wrote in a letter Wednesday.

“There is a substantial likelihood of confusion between your communications and the Governor’s campaign, which appears to be the point. A lay person watching the advertisement or going to the website would assume Governor Moore was involved with the committee,” the letter said.

Moore’s letter demands the PAC immediately remove the ad and stop using Moore’s likeness or his campaign font and colors. It also said the ad was referred to state elections officials for potential violations of laws regarding campaign misinformation.

Moore, in recent days, has appeared in ads backing the proposed amendment. For over a year, he has advocated for midcycle congressional redistricting, including a failed attempt to pass a bill and new maps earlier this year.

In a social media post Wednesday evening, Moore characterized the group behind the ad as “MAGA Republicans.”

But Andrew Brightwell, chair of the PAC, insisted in a text Wednesday that his is a “grassroots organization” that is “dedicated to re-electing Governor Wes Moore.” Brightwell, who was a spokesperson earlier this year for Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Hale, said the group was “deeply disappointed to receive such a threatening letter from his [Moore’s] paid legal representation.”

“Sadly, it appears the weaponization of our legal system has expanded well beyond the walls of the White House and Congress and made its way to our very own State House. Nevertheless, we remain steadfast in our support of our great governor and our commitment to end extreme partisan gerrymandering,” Brightwell’s text said. “We will neither cease nor desist – we will persist.”

The 30-second ad uses Moore’s image as well as fonts and the purple-and-gold color scheme of his reelection campaign. It also parrots slogans used by Moore, while not explicitly stating his position on the ballot question.

“Marylanders never follow blindly. We make up our own minds and protect our rights,” a narrator says in the commercial. “That’s why we know extreme gerrymandering is wrong. No politician should have unchecked power, but that’s what Question 3 does: Rewriting our constitution, ending fair elections and taking away our voice permanently. Governor Moore fights for every Marylander. Let’s do the same. Vote yes for Wes and against Question 3. Together, we’ll leave no one behind.”

The cease and desist letter demands the group “immediately remove” the video from the internet and that it also stop using the Moore’s name, likeness and image.

Jim Astrachan, a copyright and First Amendment lawyer in Columbia, said Moore’s cease and desist demand may run afoul of free speech protections.

“Political speech is the height of the First Amendment,” Astrachan said. “Speech that is generally regulated is going to be commercial speech. Commercial speech is a stepchild of the First Amendment, but political speech is the main event.”

Similarly, claims of misinformation in campaign ads could also run afoul of speech protections.

“People lie all the time in politics,” Astrachan said. “Can you imagine if the court had jurisdiction over lying and deception in political advertising? My God, they would never stop hearing cases. I’ll just say political speech is protected.”

He noted that Vice President JD Vance recently implied Texas Democratic U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico was a pedophile while offering no proof.

“They’re going to get away with it,” Astrachan said of Vance. “He can’t sue them for defamation. He can’t sue them to stop the conversation.”

But Astrachan said a copyright violation lawsuit could be possible if Moore’s campaign could show that images used in the ad were neither in the public domain nor owned by Truth For Maryland.

“You’d have to go to federal court,” he said. “That wouldn’t be election law.”

Moore’s own campaign has used images of other candidates.

Earlier this year, Moore’s camp ran an ad during the Republican primary that criticized Dan Cox as too conservative for Maryland. The ad, which ran on Fox News, tied Cox to Trump.

Political observers said the ad was seen as a way to drive votes from Hale to Cox by solidifying Cox’s ultraconservative bonafides in a primary, where the most conservative tend to vote.

Cox won the primary.

The latest ad represents a new front in the battle over hyperpartisan redistricting and a proposed amendment to the Maryland Constitution that removes restrictions on how congressional districts are drawn in the state.

Moore has called for redrawing the state’s eight congressional districts. He has called it an attempt to ensure electoral competitiveness, but any redistricting would likely create a map that could eliminate the only district in the state held by a Republican.

Recent polling suggests that a plurality of Maryland voters oppose the amendment.

Truth for Maryland, which entered the fray Tuesday, became the second group campaigning against Question 3. The first was Protect Maryland Voters.

Truth for Maryland formed Oct. 14 and is registered to an address in Southern Maryland. A report filed with the Maryland State Board of Elections shows the PAC has no money. Brightwell said “the overwhelming majority of our donors are from Maryland.”

Another group, Fight Back Maryland, supports the amendment. That group is backed by Democrats, including Moore.

Todd Eberly, a political science professor at St. Mary’s College of Maryland, said in a social media post that Moore’s attempt to remove the ad from public view may backfire.

“I suspect we’re going to see the Streisand effect play out here,” Eberly wrote, referring to a 2003 lawsuit the singer filed over an aerial photo of her home. The photo had been viewed a handful of times before the suit was filed, after which hundreds of thousands of people saw it.

Eberly said the ad Moore is “trying to stop will now be viewed by far more people as a result — and at no cost to Truth for Maryland.”