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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FEC Ruling Offers New Way for Wealthy to Become Involved in Elections

Oct 1, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) decided with a 4-1 vote that a consulting firm, Black Rock Group, can act as a vendor for individuals who want to run political advertisements without violating campaign finance law.

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Supreme Court Rehears Citizens United Case; Decision Could Impact Nonprofits

Citizens United, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization, developed and sought to run a film about candidate Hillary Clinton during the 2008 presidential primary. The group also wanted to promote the film with several ads. The highly critical movie was partially funded by corporate contributions, which the Federal Election Commission (FEC) said was a violation of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). In a federal lawsuit recently reheard by the U.S. Supreme Court, Citizens United charges that ads for the film should not be subject to donor disclosure and disclaimer requirements and that the BCRA provisions enforced by the FEC are unconstitutional.

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Anxiously Awaiting Citizens United Arguments

Sep 4, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

In preparation for the Supreme Court's special session to rehear the Citizens United case, the news media and advocacy groups have provided an abundant amount of reading material.

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Group Formed to Modify Voter Registration

Sep 1, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Committee to Modernize Voter Registration has been formed to work on overhauling the nation's voter registration system. The group consists of bipartisan members led by co-chairs Trevor Potter, general counsel for Senator John McCain's (R-AZ) presidential campaigns, and Marc Elias, lawyer for Senator Al Franken (D-MN) during the recount. The two charge that their campaign experiences have led them to believe that the country needs to move toward a more automated registration system.

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Public Citizen Launches Don'tGetRolled.org to Highlight Citizens United Case

Aug 20, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Public Citizen launched a campaign to bring attention to the potentially significant consequences of the Citizens United case, which the Supreme Court will rehear very soon on Sept. 9. Public Citizen warns that the Court may "roll back - a century's worth of legal precedents designed to curb corporate influence over federal elections."

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McCain and Feingold Introduce a Bill to Replace the FEC

Aug 18, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russ Feingold (D-WI) introduced a bill (S.1648) on Aug. 7 to replace the current Federal Election Commission (FEC) with a new three member administrative body, called the Federal Election Administration. The measure would replace the current six member bipartisan FEC with a three member agency. The bill is the latest version of a similar proposal which was first introduced in 2003, but no congressional action has ever taken place.

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Real Truth About Obama Again Denied Request for Preliminary Injunction

Aug 6, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

In a case from the 2008 campaign, the Real Truth About Obama (RTAO) lost its bid for a preliminary injunction. RTAO is a 527 organization that wanted to run ads examining then presidential candidate Barack Obama's position on abortion and other policy issues.

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Over 40 Briefs Filed In Citizens United

Aug 5, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

As the Supreme Court prepares to potentially alter the campaign finance system, over 41 briefs have been filed to weigh in on the Citizens United case. BNA Money and Politics ($$) considers the brief that stands out the most was filed by the AFL-CIO, which called for elimination of the ban on corporate and union funding of electioneering communications.

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Judge Rules New Mexico Nonprofits Are Not Political Committees

Aug 4, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

A federal court ruled that New Mexico state officials were wrong to order two nonprofits to register as political committees and disclose the funding of mailers the groups sent out two months before the 2008 primary. The New Mexico Independent reports that the judge found that the materials were not unambiguously campaign related. "Therefore, she wrote, the nonprofits were not subject to a state law that would have required the nonprofits to register as a political committee."

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Procedural Issue Ends IRS Exam into Possible Partisan Intervention

Jul 31, 2009 by Amanda Adams*

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has closed an investigation into Warroad Community Church in Warroad, Minnesota regarding a sermon the pastor delivered that criticized both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. According to the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), the IRS began an audit of the church in August 2008, and the IRS has now stated "that it is closing its examination of the sermons due to a procedural problem."

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