RFK Jr. on voting machines

Another interesting piece from my former law professor on elections... this time on voting machines. This is a follow-up to his previous article Was the 2004 Election Stolen?. Check out, Will The Next Election Be Hacked? in the latest Rolling Stone.

IRS looking at churches

Interesting NYT article today:

I.R.S. Eyes Religious Groups as More Enter Election Fray

Of particular note:

“We became concerned in the 2004 election cycle that we were seeing more political activity among charities, including churches,” said Lois G. Lerner, the director for exempt organizations at the I.R.S. “In fact, of the organizations we looked at, we saw a very high percentage of some improper political activity, and that is really why we have ramped up the program in 2006.”

Churches are public charities, and for years have, to many, received a certain degree of a free pass from the IRS. After the release of Pub 1828 (PDF) and the PACI report (PDF) in February, the tide seems to be turning. It will be interesting to see how many religious organizations are the subject of audits for this election year. I have seen a lot of rather well-designed "how to avoid problems in your election-related activities" guides from left and right. It seems with the new attention, the faith-based community is also educating itself on the rules... which I chalk up as a good thing.

Charity or foundation?

The Washington Post called the world's largest private foundation a charity today. Seriously, not a big deal in the grand scheme of things... but also a fairly simple distinction.

Interesting how the terms "foundation" and "charity" are seemingly interchangeable, when they represent two very different types of entities. I suppose the foundation community might have spurred this on a bit by referring to grant-making public charities as "public foundations."

News of the day

Voting issues in MD and DC (about those electronic ballots...)

Colorado changes its rules (again)

Ohio, remarkably not imploding in the election-law sense... at least for today. Anything is possible with a Secretary of State policing his own gubernatorial election... we all know where I stand on that.

Also... Prof. Fran Hill lashes out at the IRS... for being too harsh on a nonprofit? Of course she's right in this instance, but I'm surprised by her stance to a certain degree. The last time I crossed paths with Fran -- whom I admire and respect greatly -- she was testifying before the FEC (PDF) that the IRS is not a good enough enforcer of its laws against 501(c)(3)s...

I know, I know... apples... oranges... just thought I'd mention it. It's that kind of blog post.

501(c)(3)s and elections

I just learned of this education opportunity for anyone wishing to learn more about the IRS rules on election-season activity by 501(c)(3) organizations. The teleclass is run by the IRS, and is broken up into two 1-hour sessions on September 19 and 20. For more information, check out the announcement here. Registration is required.

I will be producing a short session on election activity for 501(c)(3)s, and will post it here on the blog and at the nonprofit & political law section of tim-mooney.com within the next week or so. Stay tuned...

Chad Vader, Episode 3

A quick break from the world of nonprofit and political law to make way for the continuing saga of Chad Vader... Day Night Shift Manager