20.06.030 Voter Pamphlets.
(1) If in the opinion of the Election Board any statement offered for inclusion in the Voters’ Pamphlet in support of or opposition to a Candidate contains obscene matter or matter that is otherwise prohibited by law from distribution through the mail, the Election Board may petition the Cowlitz Tribal Court for a judicial determination that the statement may be rejected for publication or edited to delete the matter. The court shall not enter such an order unless it concludes that the matter is obscene or otherwise prohibited for distribution through the mail.
(2) No later than five calendar days following submission of Candidate statements pursuant to Chapter 20.06.020, the Election Board shall cause the statements to be provided to all Candidates.
(3) A Candidate's statement submitted for inclusion in the Voters’ Pamphlet shall not contain false or misleading statements about any Candidate. A false or misleading statement shall be considered "libel or defamation per se" if the statement tends to expose the Candidate to hatred, contempt, ridicule, or obloquy, or to deprive the Candidate of the benefit of public confidence or social intercourse, or to injure the Candidate in their business or occupation. If a Candidate believes their opponent has libeled or defamed them, the Candidate may commence an action under subsection (4) of this section.
(4)
(a) A Candidate who believes that they may be defamed by a statement offered for inclusion in the Voters’ Pamphlet may petition the Cowlitz Tribal Court for a judicial determination that the statement may be rejected for publication or edited to delete the defamatory statement.
(b) The court shall not enter such an order unless it concludes that the statement is untrue and that the petitioner has a very substantial likelihood of prevailing in a defamation action.
(c) An action under this subsection (4) must be filed and served no later than the tenth day after the deadline for the submission of the statement to the Election Board.
(d) The Election Board shall not publish any statement which has been subject to an order prohibiting publication by the Tribal Court. Neither the Cowlitz Indian Tribe nor the Election Board is liable for damages resulting from publication of the statement.
(5) Parties to a dispute under this section may agree to resolve the dispute by rephrasing the statement, even if the deadline for submission to the Election Board has elapsed, unless the Election Board determines that the process of publication is too far advanced to permit the change.
(6) In an action under this section the Candidate must be named as a defendant, and may be served with process by certified mail. The Election Board shall be a nominal party to an action brought under subsection (4) of this section, solely for the purpose of determining the content of the Voters’ Pamphlet. The Tribal Court shall give such an action priority on its calendar. [Res. 22-148, 2022.]