[EL] Chronicle of Higher Education: How colleges can get involved in elections

Sat Aug 11 16:00:57 PDT 2018

Allow me to be the tax geek that I am.  To be technical, the issue is not nonprofit status. which is a matter of state law, but tax exemption and the prohibition on section 501(c)(3) organizations engaging in campaign intervention for elected office, the rule that has come to be called the Johnson Amendment. (Not all nonprofits are tax-exempt, and nonprofits may be tax-exempt under provisions other than section 501(c)(3) - section 501(c) has 29 subdivisions.  I also note that many public universities have applied for and received recognition under section 501(c)(3).)

But not to worry - the conclusion that voter education, voter registration, get-out-the vote efforts are permissible so long as conducted in a non-partisan manner is correct.

If anyone would like to have it, pages 3-4 of Revenue Ruling 2007-41 provide authority:

  https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rr-07-41.pdf

The IRS has also stated informally that universities can have Democratic and Republican student organizations.  Liberty University at one point announced that it was not going to allow a Democratic student organization, but changed its mind when made aware of the tax issue such an action would raise.

More than you probably wanted to know.

   Ellen

----

Ellen P. Aprill

John E. Anderson Professor of Tax Law

Loyola Law School

919 Albany Street

Los Angeles, CA 90015

213-736-1157

https://hq.ssrn.com/submissions/MyPapers.cfm?partid=231928

________________________________
From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> on behalf of Margaret Groarke <margaret.groarke at manhattan.edu>
Sent: Saturday, August 11, 2018 3:18 PM
To: Mark Scarberry
Cc: Election Law Listserv
Subject: Re: [EL] Chronicle of Higher Education: How colleges can get involved in elections

Yes, it is clearly permissible for a non-partisan, non-profit institution like a university to encourage its students to participate in politics -- to register, to vote, and to discuss political issues. In some states, like mine, colleges and universities are required to offer voter registration to their students (as part of the state's commitment to the NVRA).

It's particularly important because good civic engagement habits developed in one's early adult years will lead to a lifetime of civic engagement. And because in some states and localities, election officials discourage college students from registering to vote locally, and distance may complicate a student's effort to register and vote back home. So whichever students choose to do, it helps to send a message that it is an important activity worth taking the time to do and do correctly, and to assist students with the process.

Margaret Groarke
Associate Professor, Political Science
Coordinator, Community Based Learning
[http://home.manhattan.edu/collegerelations/email_logo.jpg]
Riverdale, NY 10471
Phone: 718-862-7943
Fax: 718-862-8044
margaret.groarke at manhattan.edu<mailto:name.name at manhattan.edu>
www.manhattan.edu<http://www.manhattan.edu/>

On Sat, Aug 11, 2018 at 2:19 PM, Mark Scarberry <mark.scarberry at pepperdine.edu<mailto:mark.scarberry at pepperdine.edu>> wrote:
>From the Chronicle of Higher Education:

Here’s How Colleges Can Get More Involved in Elections — and Not Just in the Midterms
By Claire Hansen AUGUST 09, 2018
College-age voter turnout is low. Political discord is high. What role can colleges play in the discussion around elections, and how can they stay active in the issues those discussions represent?

A new report released on Thursday from the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University’s Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life, tries to answer that question. The report draws on years of research, including IDHE’s data on college voter registration and turnout, said Nancy Thomas, director of the institute.

The report, titled “Election Imperatives,” describes 10 things college leaders can do not only to improve civic engagement on campus, but to use elections to further educational goals — things like increasing classroom discussions and empowering student activism.

The report is endorsed by numerous higher-education groups, including the American Association of State Colleges and Universities and the Associate of American Colleges & Universities.

[end of excerpt]

https://www.chronicle.com/article/Here-s-How-Colleges-Can-Get/244219?cid=trend_au&elqTrackId=dbfa2f18fdc84bfda38b93698d52fb2f&elq=7b27d99217514ac3aab0ee0095b77e59&elqaid=20083&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=9361

Clearly permissible for a nonprofit, right?

Mark

Prof. Mark S. Scarberry
Pepperdine University School of Law
________________________________

_______________________________________________
Law-election mailing list
Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu<mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
https://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election

--
Margaret Groarke
Associate Professor, Government
[http://home.manhattan.edu/collegerelations/email_logo.jpg]
Riverdale, NY 10471
Phone: 718-862-7943
Fax: 718-862-8044
margaret.groarke at manhattan.edu<mailto:name.name at manhattan.edu>
www.manhattan.edu<http://www.manhattan.edu/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20180811/20d53395/attachment.html>