Nonprofit Voter Engagement

Feb 8, 2016

Top 400 Taxpayers See Tax Rates Rise, But There’s More to the Story

As Americans were gathering party supplies to greet the New Year, the Internal Revenue Service released their annual report of cumulative tax data reported on the 400 tax r...

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Feb 4, 2016

Chlorine Bleach Plants Needlessly Endanger 63 Million Americans

Chlorine bleach plants across the U.S. put millions of Americans in danger of a chlorine gas release, a substance so toxic it has been used as a chemical weapon. Greenpeace’s new repo...

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Jan 25, 2016

U.S. Industrial Facilities Reported Fewer Toxic Releases in 2014

The Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) data for 2014 is now available. The good news: total toxic releases by reporting facilities decreased by nearly six percent from 2013 levels. Howe...

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Jan 22, 2016

Methane Causes Climate Change. Here's How the President Plans to Cut Emissions by 40-45 Percent.

UPDATE (Jan. 22, 2016): Today, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions...

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Renewed Focus on Voting Reform

Apr 24, 2009 by Lateefah Williams*

Recent efforts have renewed focus on voting reform efforts. Voter registration reform, a major issue highlighted in the 2008 election, is receiving attention from key legislators. According to the National Journal, Sen. Charles Schumer ( D-NY), chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, will introduce a bill later this year that addresses concerns with the voter registration system.

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Supreme Court to Decide on Key Provision of 1965 Voting Rights Act

Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 (NAMUDNO) v. Holder, a U.S. Supreme Court case in which a small utility district in Texas is challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is scheduled for oral argument on April 29. Section 5, reauthorized in 2006, applies to all or part of 16 states, and it applies to nine states in their entirety. It requires those states to get federal approval before changing election rules or procedures, due to past laws and practices that discriminated against and disenfranchised racial minorities. This provision is referred to as the "preclearance" provision.

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Will Obama's Presidency Impact Key Voting Rights Case?

Apr 17, 2009 by Lateefah Williams*

Northwest Austin Municipal Utility District No. 1 v. Holder, a U.S. Supreme Court case where Texas is challenging Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, is scheduled for oral arguments on April 29. Section 5, which was reauthorized in 2006, applies to all or part of 16 states and it applies to nine states in their entirety. It requires those states to get federal approval before changing election rules or procedures, as a result of past laws and practices that discriminated against and disenfranchised racial minorities.

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Is the Time Ripe for Clear IRS Rules on Political Activity?

Apr 10, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

A BNA Money and Politics ($$) report addressed a Feb. 20 technical advice memorandum (TAM 200908050) discussing whether a 501(c)(3) organization had intervened in a political campaign by including partisan content from an affiliated 501(c)(4) on its website.

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IRS Unsure When PACI Report Will be Released

Apr 8, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

According to BNA Money and Politics ($$), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) annual report on the political activity compliance initiative project (PACI) for the 2008 campaign season "is in abeyance." The PACI report details cases that were examined for any possible campaign intervention.

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James Madison Center Files Suit Against IRS over Electioneering Rules

The James Madison Center (the Center) filed two federal lawsuits on April 3 challenging the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) definition of "political intervention." In Christian Coalition of Florida v. USA, the Center charges that the Christian Coalition of Florida (CC-FL) was denied 501(c)(4) status by the IRS because the agency claimed CC-FL engaged in activities that constitute political intervention. In the second lawsuit, Catholic Answers and Karl Keating v. USA, the Center is assisting a 501(c)(3) organization that is challenging a fine imposed by the IRS after the agency determined two "e-letters" posted in 2004 were "political expenditures" that might have influenced the presidential election.

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Citizens United Case Offers Insight on Court's Approach to Campaign Finance Law

On March 24, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (FEC), a case that could overturn or limit portions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), commonly called the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. Citizens United, a 501(c)(4) organization, produced a 90-minute film, Hillary: The Movie, which was highly critical of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The case challenges as unconstitutional FEC electioneering communications rules as applied to the movie and to ads promoting the movie. It also challenges as unconstitutional donor disclosure rules as applied to the ads.

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Report Demonstrates Continued Importance of Nonprofit Voter Engagement at Election Time

WASHINGTON, March 25, 2009—Today, OMB Watch released a report, How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2008, that demonstrates the continued importance of nonprofit voter engagement in the United States.

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How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2008

How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2008 showcases specific examples to illustrate how nonprofit organizations stepped to the plate to help voters and communities. The report describes nonprofit efforts to make the election process seamless from state to state and to promote fair environments for constituents to vote in the 2008 election.

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Court Decision Will Have Impacts on Voting Districts

On March 9, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Bartlett v. Strickland that will impact voting districts nationwide. In Bartlett, the Court held in a 5-4 plurality decision that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 does not require state officials to draw election lines to create a crossover district when racial minorities comprise less than 50 percent of the district's voting-age population.

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