Nonprofit Voter Engagement

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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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Voting/Nonprofits/ & Issues That Matter: Voter-Mobilization 2008

Aug 8, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Working Assets, the phone company that helps people donate to nonprofit groups when they use their services, has begun a nationwide effort to register new voters. Working Assets has partnered with nonprofits Women's Voices. Women Vote. - WVWV - (www.wvwv.org) and Project Vote (www.projectvote.org) to register new voters in 2008. This partnership is meant to reach a diverse population to increase voter registration and participation. "With the presidential campaigns heating up earlier than ever before, the stakes have never been higher, so it's important that people have a say in the outcome."

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Panel Discussion Focuses on Need for Clear Rules for 501(c)(3) Groups at Election Time

On Aug. 3, OMB Watch sponsored a panel discussion to address the pros and cons of creating a bright line rule defining what is and is not prohibited partisan intervention in elections by charities and religious organizations. The panelists addressed problems created by the current "facts and circumstances" test, which allows the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to apply its interpretation of the standard on a case by case basis. They also discussed action the nonprofit sector can take to propose and promote a bright line test.

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Senate Bill Bans States from Limiting Nonprofit Voter Registration Drives

On July 25, the Senate Rules Committee held a hearing on an election reform bill that includes a provision that would prevent states from placing undue restrictions on voter registration drives by nonprofits. During the last several years, there has been an increase in the number of voters registered through voter registration drives conducted by charities and other third parties, such as the League of Women Voters and ACORN. Discussion of the bill before the committee — the Ballot Integrity Act of 2007 (S.

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How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2006

Aug 3, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Today OMB Watch has released a new report on the role of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations in elections. How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2006 describes nonprofits' electoral engagement during the 2006 election and their preparation for upcoming elections. The work of nonprofits is vital to increase civic participation, and nonprofits should be encouraged to continue this type of activity as the election season looms near. Read How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2006

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Handouts for August 3rd Panel: The Pros and Cons of an IRS Bright Line Rule for Campaign Activities

Rev. Rul. 2007-41 Greg Colvin, "Safe Harbor: Nonpolitical Speech By Exempt Organizations" July 2006 OMB Watch Report The IRS Political Activities Enforcement Program for Charities and Religious Organizations: Questions and Concerns Legal Rules for Nonpartisan Voter Education, Outreach, and Participation by Nonprofits OMB Watch report: How Nonprofits Helped America Vote: 2006

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Senate Bill Protects Nonprofit Voter Registration Drives

Jul 27, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

Last June OMB Watch was very concerned about rules in Florida that would make voter registration drives very difficult and risky. The law was later overturned as unconstitutional, but one can argue damage was done and a trend of regulating voter registration drives continued. The issue of protecting nonprofits' ability to conduct such valuable efforts has resurfaced.

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FEC Will Draft Rule Allowing Issue Advocacy Broadcasts

Following the June U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Federal Election Commission vs. Wisconsin Right to Life, Inc., which found the federal electioneering communications ban unconstitutional when applied to genuine issue ads, there has been a fast-paced effort to tie up loose ends in related cases and set the stage for the 2008 election. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced that it will issue a proposed rule in August to incorporate the decision into its regulations. In two related court cases, the FEC conceded that certain ads in question were genuine issue ads, including one that was critical of a senator's position on a bill. The "electioneering communications" provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA) prohibits corporations, including nonprofits, from paying for broadcasts that refer to a candidate for federal office within 30 days of a primary and 60 days of a general election.

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Attention Advocacy Groups Working To Protect Voters' Rights

Jul 18, 2007 by Amanda Adams*

One of the new commissioners on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) seeks input from voter rights organizations. If you would like to provide such a contribution, see this press release from EAC Vice-Chair Rosemary E. Rodriguez. "I seek to gauge whether there is interest in participating in monthly brownbag lunch discussions about issues that impact voters as we approach the 2008 election. I also seek input on the agenda, including the topics of discussion, for these sessions, which would take place at EAC's office in Washington, D.C."

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States Failing to Implement National Voter Registration Act

In its biennial report to Congress on the status of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) provided data showing that states have failed to fully implement the 1993 law.

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Aftermath of Supreme Court's Ruling Exempting Grassroots Lobbying from Campaign Finance Restrictions

Reactions to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life (WRTL) include dire predictions of massive amounts of soft money spent on sham issue ads before the 2008 elections, and even the end of the entire campaign finance regulatory regime. But the actual impact of the decision, which exempts grassroots lobbying broadcasts from the "electioneering communications" ban on corporate funded broadcasts that refer to federal candidates within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary, is likely to be much more limited. The Federal Election Commission (FEC) must decide whether or not it will establish a rule implementing the decision, while a similar case has been sent back to a lower court for a ruling consistent with the Supreme Court's opinion.

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Resources & Research

Living in the Shadow of Danger: Poverty, Race, and Unequal Chemical Facility Hazards

People of color and people living in poverty, especially poor children of color, are significantly more likely...

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A Tale of Two Retirements: One for CEOs and One for the Rest of Us

The 100 largest CEO retirement funds are worth a combined $4.9 billion, equal to the entire retirement account savings of 41 percent of American fam...

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Blowing Smoke: Chemical Companies Say “Trust Us,” But Environmental and Workplace Safety Violations Belie Their Rhetoric

Large chemical companies a...

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Gasping for Support: Implementation of Tougher Air Quality Standards Will Require New Funds for State Agencies

New scientific research shows that the current levels of...

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