DEFINITION
Organizations operated for charitable purposes under section 501(c)(3) of the IRS Code may provide certain voter education activities. The IRS requires organizations to conduct these activities in a non-partisan manner. Such activities may include the presentation of public forums, publication of voter education guides, voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives.
KEY TERMS
“Action” organization: [PAC: Actions subject to tax!] The IRS says this organization is not operated exclusively for one or more exempt purposes because a substantial part of the organizations’ activities consist of carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation (unless the organization elects to conduct limited lobbying activities); or the organization directly or indirectly intervenes or participates in any political campaign for or against any candidate for public office.
Candidate for Public Office: An individual who offers him or herself, or is proposed by others, as a contestant for a national, State, or local elective public office.
BEST PRACTICE: The determination as to whether the activities of a qualified 501(c)(3) organization qualify as voter education activities, rather than activities directly or indirectly intervening or participating in a political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate is very subjective. As such, voter education activities must be examined based on all the facts and circumstances of each case.
Organizations conducting voter education should make it clear in all their printed and online materials, as well as oral statements, that they are conducting activities for the purposes of civic education of voters/future voters. Certain specific voter education activities will not constitute prohibited political activities because those activities are conducted in a non-partisan manner. Other voter education activities may be proscribed by statute.
How Organizations Provide Voter Education
Voter Education, Voter Registration, and Get Out the Vote Drives:
The IRS permits qualified 501(c)(3) organizations to conduct certain voter education activities, including the presentation of public forums and the publication of voter education guides, and also permits the use of voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, conducted in a non-partisan manner. If any of these activities are conducted in a way that is biased towards any candidate, they are prohibited.
Compilations of voting records and candidate positions are permitted as long as they do not show bias or preference in content or structure with respect to the views of a particular candidate.
Do’s and Don’ts
- Do provide information about the upcoming election, your organization, and how to register to vote.
- Don’t make reference to any political party or candidate in the upcoming election.
- Don’t stress the importance of voting based on a voter’s response to an issue involved in an upcoming election.
Other information the IRS will want to know includes but is not limited to:
- Where an organization conducts drives and how the organization chooses locations and populations that are encouraged or registered to vote.
- How an organization prepares voter guides and how the organization determines what issues will be addressed in the guide.
- If an organization prepares questionnaires to determine candidate positions.*see IRS letter
- Copies of materials distributed.
Candidate Appearances
Qualified 501(c)(3) organizations can invite political candidates to speak at their functions, both in their capacity as candidates and in their individual capacities. Candidates may appear with an invitation or at events open to the general public.
Public forums or debates are a recognized method of educating the public. These are not specifically prohibited. If an organization holds forums or debates to educate and inform voters, and treats all candidates fairly and impartially, hosting a forum or debate is not intervention or participation in a political campaign.
Political candidates will attend organizational events for many reasons other than running for office. The organization might invite a candidate to speak because he is celebrity. The candidate might attend an event that is open to the public – a lecture or a worship service.
Factors used to determine whether organization intervened/participated in a campaign when a candidate/s appears at an organization function:
- Has an equal opportunity to speak been provided to all candidates?
- Was a candidate/s speaking for reasons other than candidacy for public office?
- Were questions non-partisan and topics of interest to the public?
- Did the organization indicate support for/opposition to any candidate or was any mention made of his/her candidacy?
- Did political fundraising occur and was a nonpartisan atmosphere maintained?
Organizational Leadership and Stance
The free speech of charitable organizations and their leaders is not restricted by the political campaign intervention prohibition. Leaders and organizations can speak for themselves about political matters and about issues of public policy. Leaders cannot make partisan comments in official organization publications or at official organization functions. Organizations can state their position on an issue if they state that position regularly and not in relation to a campaign/election. The IRS considers these factors in determining whether an organization’s communication results in a campaign intervention:
- Did the statement:
- Identify any candidate/s for public office?
- Express approval/disapproval for any candidate/s’ position/actions?
- Make reference to voting or an election?
- Occur close in time to the election?
- Did the communication talk about debated issues in the election?
- Is this something the organization addresses regularly or is the timing related to something besides the election?
Communications must be considered in context. Communications are even more risky when they make reference to candidates or voting in a specific upcoming election.
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