EDITORIAL OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS TOUGH TRUTH-IN-CAMPAIGNING LAW NEEDED.

A janitor might joke that she is a custodial-arts practitioner when meeting new people. It's a harmless euphemism, and it isn't even necessarily wrong.

However, the creative writing that some political candidates engage in when describing their professions on the ballot is another story. These embellishments are not intended as small self-esteem boosts or humorous rejoinders to snide remarks. They are intended to mislead voters.

How else might one explain how state Assembly candidate Tom Dolz describes himself as a "national security analyst" on the ballot when he writes unpaid articles for anti-immigration groups? That's more than just a resume touch-up and closer to an outright lie.

Incumbents can be just as shifty. In his bid to become state controller, state Sen. Abel Maldonado must be trying to distance himself from the massively unpopular Legislature on which he serves. In his statement on the June primary ballot, he didn't mention his current job, but some fishy-sounding "controller" position with a family business.

One might imagine it is only a very lazy voter who would choose an elected representative from the profession he lists on the ballot. But certainly that information comes into play. Who isn't more inclined to vote a teacher onto the school board than a crane operator? An accountant for the treasurer job as opposed to a puppeteer?

Voters should be able to expect that the information printed on state ballots has some sort of fiction filter, or at least basic fact checking. It does not. The secretary of state does not investigate the veracity of the candidate's stated occupation. Typically, it falls to a political rival to challenge the job statement in court.

This obfuscation amounts to an occupational hazard for voters. And if the state can't guarantee some sort of truth in advertising when it comes to the basic candidate information on ballots, then it should remove the professional designation altogether.