Some nonprofits like the League of Women Voters have engaged in these nonpartisan efforts for decades. Others, like Nonprofit Vote and Rock the Vote, seek to motivate people of color and young voters to cast their ballots.
It’s hard to find data on how much charitable money funds these causes. But there’s no shortage of conjecture about its possible impact.
The Republican Party has long seen nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote campaigns as being somehow tied to the Democratic Party or more helpful for turning out votes for Democratic candidates than Republican hopefuls. As far back as the 1960s, Republican representatives accused the Ford Foundation of using voter registration in what they alleged was a partisan manner.
Because it’s against the law for charities to overtly engage in political activity, any direct politicking tied to these nonpartisan registration drives could jeopardize their tax-exempt status.
These “organizations may encourage people to participate in the electoral process through voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, conducted in a non-partisan manner,” the Internal Revenue Service states. “On the other hand, voter education or registration activities conducted in a biased manner that favors (or opposes) one or more candidates is prohibited.”
In practice, that means it’s OK if a charity sets up a voter registration booth at a state fair and registers anyone who comes to the booth, regardless of their political leanings. But if a charitable organization runs a phone bank that encourages people to vote only if they agree with a particular candidate’s position, that would break the law.
The Center for American Progress, a progressive think tank, isn’t allowed to endorse President Joe Biden’s reelection bid. Nor is The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, at liberty to urge voters to support his Republican rival.
Some nonprofits like the League of Women Voters have engaged in these nonpartisan efforts for decades. Others, like Nonprofit Vote and Rock the Vote, seek to motivate people of color and young voters to cast their ballots.
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