[EL] more news 5/13/13

Mon May 13 13:33:42 PDT 2013

    ABC News Posts Some of the Leaked TIGTA Report on IRS Tea Party Mess
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50250>

Posted on May 13, 2013 1:32 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50250> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here 
<http://abcnews.go.com/images/Politics/Appendix%20VI%20and%20Appendix%20VII.PDF>.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off

    Democracy 21 Statement Calls IRS "Dead Wrong" to Target Conservative
    Groups, But.... <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50247>

Posted on May 13, 2013 1:30 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50247> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

notice the almost exclusive focus on the other wrongs Democracy 21 has 
called out in the past, and no endorsement of hearings on the targeting 
of conservative groups:

    *Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer on IRS
    Improperly Targeting Conservative Groups and Groups Improperly
    Claiming 501(c)(4) Tax Status*

    The IRS was dead wrong to target conservative groups claiming
    tax-exempt status as section 501(c)(4) "social welfare"
    organizations based on their names and identified interests. This
    never should have happened and steps should be taken to ensure it
    does not happen again.

    At the same time, however, it is clear that a number of groups have
    improperly claimed tax-exempt status as section 501(c)(4) "social
    welfare" organizations in order to hide the donors who financed
    their campaign activities in the 2010 and 2012 federal elections.

    Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, sent a series of
    letters to the IRS, starting in October  2010 asking for
    investigations and appropriate action against certain groups that
    clearly appeared to be improperly claiming tax-exempt status as
    501(c)(4) groups.

    The groups included Crossroads GPS, the pro-Republican group created
    by Karl Rove, Priorities USA, the pro-Obama group created by former
    Obama White House officials, American Action Network, a
    pro-Republican group, and Americans Elect, an independent group
    seeking to run an independent for President in 2012.

    In each of these cases, we provided information that documented the
    groups were not 'social welfare" organizations and not entitled to
    501(c)(4) tax status.

    It is these groups and others like them that should have been the
    focus of the IRS's attention.

    To date, however, the IRS has taken no action against these groups
    who are improperly claiming tax status as section 501(c)(4) "social
    welfare" organizations.

    We believe the information and supporting materials we sent to the
    IRS documented an overwhelming case that both Crossroads GPS and
    Priorities USA are not "social welfare" organizations within the
    meaning of the Internal Revenue Code and are therefore not eligible
    for section 501(c)(4) tax status.

    Similarly, we believe the cases are open and shut that the American
    Action Network and Americans Elect are not entitled to section
    501(c)(4) tax status.

    For example, as we informed the IRS, an article from the Center for
    Public Integrity's /iWatch News /(October 31, 2011)
    <http://www.publicintegrity.org/2011/10/31/7205/fine-line-between-politics-and-issues-spending-secretive-501c4-groups> reported
    that American Action Network spent $30 million in 2010.

    According to the article and federal campaign finance reports, $26
    million of the $30 million spent by American Action Network in 2010
    was spent for "independent expenditures" and "electioneering
    communications," as defined by federal campaign finance laws. The
    article stated:

    The conservative American Action Network, a leading independent
    player in last year's election, poured $26 million -- out of some
    $30 million in spending -- from secret donors into political ads and
    activities to help Republican candidates. . . .

    As required by law, the network reported the $26 million it spent on
    political activities to the Federal Election Commission before
    Election Day.

    Our letter to the IRS noted that this means that /87 percent /of
    American Action Network's expenditures in 2010 were made for
    campaign-related activities reported to the FEC under the campaign
    finance laws. The article further stated:

    "If over 80 percent of a group's expenditures are for political
    purposes that require reporting to the FEC, then that organization
    will not qualify for tax exempt status under section 501(c)(4),"
    Marc Owens, who was director of the IRS exempt organizations
    division for a decade, told /iWatch News. /

    Our IRS letter stated that no one understands the tax laws to say
    that an organization is eligible for section 501(c)(4) tax-exempt
    status if /87 percent /of its expenditures are made for
    campaign-related activities reported under the nation's campaign
    finance laws.

    In the case of Americans Elect, we informed the IRS that this group
    was registering as a political party around the country in order to
    provide the opportunity for an independent candidate to run for
    President. At the same time, the group was claiming to be a
    501(c)(4) "social welfare" organization so they could keep their
    donors secret. It is an oxymoron for an organization to be
    registered as a political party and also to claim to be a 501(c)(4)
    "social welfare organization.

    There is absolutely no basis on which a registered political party
    can qualify as a 501(c)(4) "social welfare" organization.

    These four cases and others like them must not be ignored or swept
    under the rug because of the wrongful actions of the IRS in the case
    of the conservative groups who were targeted.

    The congressional committees that have announced investigations of
    the IRS treatment of conservative groups must also investigate the
    failure of the IRS to address the blatant abuses by groups that have
    improperly claimed section 501(c)(4) tax-status.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off

    "What Does the IRS Scandal Have to Do with SuperPAC's?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50244>

Posted on May 13, 2013 1:08 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50244> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I spoke with Warren Olney 
<http://www.kcrw.com/news/programs/tp/tp130513is_the_pentagon_losi> on 
"To the Point" about the IRS Mess (listen at 1:42 mark).

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off

    "Pelosi Injects Campaign Finance Debate Into IRS Scandal"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50241>

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:29 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50241> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call reports. 
<http://blogs.rollcall.com/goppers/pelosi-injects-campaign-finance-debate-into-irs-scandal/>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off

    NYT Public Editor Skewers Paper's Coverage of IRS Mess
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50238>

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:19 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50238> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Margaret Sullivan 
<http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/13/readers-are-bothered-by-i-r-s-coverage-an-amanda-knox-feature-and-too-thin-models/?smid=tw-share>: 
"Many on the right -- as noted last week 
<http://publiceditor.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/is-the-times-really-ignoring-benghazi/> 
in my blog posts about Benghazi -- do not think they can get a fair 
shake from The Times. This coverage won't do anything to dispel that 
belief."

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off

    "Enfranchising Persons with Disabilities: Continuing Problems, an
    Old Statute, and a New Litigation Strategy"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50235>

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:10 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50235> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Michael Ellement has posted this draft 
<http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2264345> on SSRN.  
Here is the abstract:

    Despite strides in the modern-era, voting continues to present
    barriers for persons with disabilities. Many in the disability
    rights community saw promise on the horizon with the passage of The
    Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002. HAVA focused on updating
    voting machines across the country, and additionally enacted
    standards for disability access to voting locations. However, HAVA
    failed to contain a private right of action to remedy violations. As
    many commentators have discussed, this failure to permit persons
    aggrieved by violations of HAVA to sue for those violations has left
    many of HAVA's promises unfulfilled.
    Under-analyzed is the potential use of § 504 of the Rehabilitation
    Act (RA) to enforce voting rights for persons with disabilities
    post-HAVA. The RA's § 504 prohibits any "otherwise qualified
    individual with a disability" from "be[ing] excluded from the
    participation in, be[ing] denied the benefits of, or be[ing]
    subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving
    Federal financial assistance . . ." The RA provides a private right
    of action, for damages, to parties aggrieved under § 504. This
    includes suits against state agencies and government, as § 504
    contains a valid exception to the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
    This Article suggests that § 504 may provide a de-facto private
    right of action for enforcing the promises of HAVA.

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Posted in voting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31> | Comments Off

    "Congressmen Seek Constitutional Guarantee of the Right to Vote"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50233>

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:08 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50233> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

John Nichols reports 
<http://www.thenation.com/blog/174303/congressman-seek-constitutional-guarantee-right-vote#>.

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Posted in voting <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=31> | Comments Off

    "President Obama waited 3 days to address the IRS scandal. Why?"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50231>

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:07 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50231> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Fix reports 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2013/05/13/president-obama-waited-3-days-to-address-the-irs-scandal-why/>.  
Expect one or more firings or resignations from the IRS.

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off

    "Obama denounces reported IRS targeting of conservative groups"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50229>

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:06 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50229> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo reports. 
<http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-denounces-reported-irs-targeting-of-conservative-groups/2013/05/13/a0185644-bbdf-11e2-97d4-a479289a31f9_story.html?hpid=z1>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off

    Common Cause Calls for House, Senate Hearings on IRS Controversy
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50226>

Posted on May 13, 2013 12:03 pm <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50226> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Press release 
<http://www.commoncause.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=4773613&ct=13131511>:

    Common Cause called Monday for hearings in the US House and Senate
    to explore the Internal Revenue Service's admission that it targeted
    certain groups for review, as well as the broader problem of the
    agency's lax enforcement of political groups masquerading as
    tax-exempt social welfare groups.

    "The IRS admission raises serious questions about political bias and
    demands a full airing," said Arn Pearson, vice president of policy
    and litigation. "But its sweeping failure to enforce tax laws to
    prevent partisans from cynically misusing social welfare
    organizations to hide the identities of political mega-donors is
    just as problematic."

Very glad to hear this, as Common Cause on Friday was not willing to 
call for hearings on political bias.  Now waiting to see if other reform 
groups step up, as they definitely should.

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
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    Harsher than the FEC (or IRS) <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50223>

Posted on May 13, 2013 7:52 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50223> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ahmadinejad could face 74 lashes 
<http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/world/2013/05/13/Iran-s-Ahmadinejad-could-face-74-lashes-over-election-violation-.html>for 
election law violation.

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Posted in Uncategorized <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1> | Comments Off

    The Question Everyone's Been Asking on the IRS
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50220>

Posted on May 13, 2013 7:22 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50220> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Kevin Drum 
<http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2013/05/irs-shoots-itself-foot-then-reloads>:

    Here's the thing that really puzzles me about this whole business of
    the IRS targeting tea party groups for extra scrutiny: the agency's
    clumsy handling of the whole thing. And I'm being charitable by
    calling it "clumsy." I mean, did they really think they could just
    announce this during an ABA conference on Friday morning and that
    would be the end of it? Of course not. It's explosive. So why were
    they seemingly so unprepared for any followup questions? It's very
    peculiar. Especially since the evidence suggests this affair
    probably wasn't quite as outrageous as it seems at first glance.

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    "Political Intelligence: The New Oxymoron"
    <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50217>

Posted on May 13, 2013 7:12 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50217> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Eric Wang oped 
<http://www.rollcall.com/news/political_intelligence_the_new_oxymoron_commentary-224727-1.html?zkPrintable=true>.

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Posted in conflict of interest laws 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>, ethics investigations 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42> | Comments Off

    Bob Bauer on the IRS Mess <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50214>

Posted on May 13, 2013 7:05 am <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=50214> by 
Rick Hasen <http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Here. 
<http://www.moresoftmoneyhardlaw.com/2013/05/irs-and-tax-exempt-politics/>

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Posted in campaign finance <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, tax law 
and election law <http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=22> | Comments Off

-- 
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu
http://law.uci.edu/faculty/page1_r_hasen.html
http://electionlawblog.org

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