Politicians and special-interest groups don't have to tell you that they're the ones filling your mailbox with campaign propaganda this election season.

Under little-noticed legislation passed on the final day of the 2008 session and signed into law by Gov. Sonny Perdue, candidates and "independent" groups backing candidates no longer have to disclose who they are on their mailings.

The law that took effect July 1 lets candidates for state and local offices, and groups trying to influence races, send out attack brochures with relative impunity.

The lawmaker who pushed the change says anonymous speech is protected by the U.S. Constitution.

"I believe those in office and those running for office should not be afraid of an anonymous attack," said state Sen. John Wiles (R-Marietta), who worked to amend House Bill 1112 to wipe out the disclosure provision.

"The public is smart enough to judge who is making the attack, and if they don't know who is making the attack, the public usually discounts anonymous attacks."

Lawmakers, campaign watchdog groups and political consultants contacted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution about the disclosure change in HB 1112 said they hadn't heard of it. The bill passed the Senate 50-1 and the House 143-1.

"That wasn't even on my radar," said Mark Rountree, a top Republican strategist. "It's pretty obviously a bad idea."

Rep. Austin Scott (R-Tifton), a co-sponsor of House Bill 1112, said he didn't know about the change until he was asked about it by the AJC.

Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) voted for the bill, but he said he didn't know about the disclosure provision, either. He said he opposes it.

"Whatever you do in a political campaign, you need to have the courage to take responsibility for it," Reed said. "Anybody who is trying to influence an election ought to be prepared to stand before the voters of the state and let them know they are trying to influence an election."

House Bill 1112 was an otherwise routine piece of legislation from Secretary of State Karen Handel's office that clarified and simplified the election code. Such measures are typically called agency "cleanup" bills because they tweak language in existing laws but generally don't make major policy.

But by the time HB 1112 passed the Senate in the final week of the session, it wiped out a part of state law that says mailings must bear the name and address of the person or organization distributing the material.

Disclosures on campaign mailings are required in federal races.

Independent groups supporting or opposing candidates often spend big money on campaigns. For instance, the Georgia Association of Realtors spent more than $200,000 through an independent committee to help Casey Cagle get elected lieutenant governor in 2006. Another independent group called the Safety and Prosperity Coalition raised more than $1.6 million trying unsuccessfully to oust Georgia Supreme Court Justice Carol Hunstein that same year.

Wiles contends that mandating disclosure of the person or group responsible for mailings is unconstitutional. He said anonymous political speech has a long history in this country. Wiles cited the Federalist Papers, a series of essays advocating ratification of the U.S. Constitution that appeared in newspapers under the name Publius.

"People should be allowed to anonymously complain about their government," Wiles said.

Common Cause Georgia, an ethics watchdog group, said Wiles' change just makes it harder for the public to know who is behind the campaign messages they are receiving in the mail.

"By masquerading as a neutral group, you can send a message that is actually from a candidate," said Bill Bozarth of Common Cause. "It's just one more way to make it more difficult to know where the money is coming from and who is paying for the message."

Handel, whose office oversees elections, did not support Wiles' change and may ask lawmakers to revisit the issue next year. She'll have some support in the General Assembly. Scott said he would probably support changing the law back. Reed said he would, too.

"That's just not the direction Georgia should be going in at all," Reed said. "I think that's wrong, and I think it's unhealthy for the election process."