Two presidential campaigns are facing challenges about their ties to nonprofit groups. The Bush campaign's appeals to churchgoers to recruit from their congregations, and the Ralph Nader campaign's office rental agreement with a 501(c)(3) group founded by him, both raise the possibility that charitable or religious resources are being used for partisan purposes. Both are the subject of a complaint filed at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) that alleges illegal coordination between the campaigns and two nonprofits in Oregon working to get Nader on the state ballot. FEC Complaint Against Bush, Nader Campaigns, and Two Nonprofits On June 30 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a nonprofit that "focuses on government officials, who sacrifice the common good to special interests" through litigation, filed an FEC complaint alleging illegal coordination between two Oregon nonprofits, the state's Republican Party, the Bush campaign and the Nader campaign. CREW also alleges the nonprofits, Citizens for a Sound Economy and the Oregon Family Council, made prohibited corporate contributions to the Nader campaign. The primary issue is whether the parties violated FEC regulations defining prohibited coordination between campaigns and outside groups. CSE and OFC operated a phone bank urging conservatives to sign petitions to put Ralph Nader on the presidential ballot in Oregon, saying "If Ralph Nader gets on the ballot he would pull thousands of liberal votes that would otherwise go to Kerry and perhaps cause President Bush to win the election." CREW says the effort was coordinated with the state Republican Party and Bush-Cheney campaign and used their resources. CSE's press release responding to the charge said there was no illegal contribution because the group did not expressly advocate election or defeat of a federal candidate. CSE is a 501(c)(4) organization that can be involved in partisan electioneering, but support for federal candidates must be paid for from a separate segregated fund. Their statement did not address whether the funds used came from such a fund. The complaint says the Oregon Family Council is also a 501(c)(4) organization. More recently the Detroit Free Press reported that the state Republican Party is collecting signatures to put Nader on the Michigan ballot. Recruiting Church Members The Bush-Cheney re-election campaign is targeting religious voters by asking church members to recruit volunteers from the ranks of their congregations and post campaign information in church facilities. A recent action plan sent to volunteers lists 22 "duties" to be carried out over the summer. For example, by July 31 volunteers are asked to "send your Church Directory to your State Bush-Cheney '04 Headquarters or give to a Bush-Cheney Field Rep.," and "Talk to your Pastor about holding Citizenship Sunday for Voter Registration Drives." By August 15, they are to "talk to your Church's seniors and 20-30 something group about Bush-Cheney '04 and recruit 5 or more people in your church to volunteer for the campaign." The Washington Post obtained a copy of the packet and reported that it does not contain any information warning volunteers not to endanger their church's tax-exempt status by involving it in partisan activities. (Religious organizations, like all groups exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the tax code, are prohibited from supporting or opposing candidates, but are allowed to engage in nonpartisan voter education and mobilization activity.) The IRS said it would not comment on the issue, since limited facts are available. However, last month the IRS wrote a letter to national political parties warning against involving 501(c)(3) organizations in campaigns after the Bush campaign sent emails asking volunteers to identify "Friendly Congregations" for the campaign. The Bush campaign's efforts have been criticized by the conservative Southern Baptist Convention, which objected to using religious groups for political purposes, and the liberal Americans United for Separation of Church and State, which called it a misuse and abuse of churches for partisan ends. Nader Campaign Office Rental Deal Subject of FEC Complaint CREW has also filed complaints at the FEC and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against the Nader campaign, saying the campaign is receiving discounted office space and telephone service from a 501(c)(3) organization, Citizen Works, which Nader had founded in 2001. In June, the Washington Post reported that FEC records show rental payments from the campaign to Citizen Works. A common receptionist works for both groups, as well as other sub-tenants. Citizen Works' president, Theresa Amato, is Nader's campaign manager. If the rent is found to be below market rate, or if other services are provided at a discount, Citizen Works will have made an illegal in-kind contribution to the Nader campaign and endangered its tax-exempt status. To date no action has been taken by the FEC or IRS.