On this episode of Rules of the Game, we’ll take a look at the ways nonprofits can work with newly elected officials to advance missions and policy agendas. Now that all votes have been cast, we have to begin looking forward to what’s ahead and what we want our local, state, and federal policymakers to consider over the comings months and years.

Direct download: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/rulesofthegame/ROTG-newly-elected-officials.mp3

Our attorneys for this episode

Leslie Barnes

Natalie Ossenfort

Shyaam Subramanian

Shownotes

How 501(c)(3) public charities can build relationships with newly elected officials and their staff to amplify the organization’s mission and advance community’s policy priorities

• Congratulate or acknowledge those who won their elections
• Take care not to take credit for victory or “flipping the state”
• Can discuss how c3 registered “x” number of voters
• Can discuss how c3 increased voter turnout
• Can share why it’s good/bad X was elected
• Can share issues your organization hopes to work on with new official
• Remind officials what they promised during campaign
• Identify likely allies

During a site visit or meet-n-greet with new official a 501(c)(3) public charity may do the following:

• Inform official of organization’s mission
• Inform official of community’s policy priorities
• Share statistics on number of community served by organization
• Shine light on issues of importance
• Make budgetary asks or legislative requests (lobbying-IRS purposes)

501(c)(3) public charities can lobby a limited amount.

Lobbying is defined as activities designed to influence legislation, for IRS purposes.

501(c)(4) social welfare groups can lobby an unlimited amount.

Private foundations cannot lobby without incurring a steep excise tax, but they can engage in the following non-lobbying activities:

• Congratulate newly elected officials
• Hold elected officials accountable
• Schedule meet-n-greets
• Share funding interest
• Share foundation’s mission
• Build relationships
• Influence executive orders, rules, regulations (not IRS lobbying)
• Join us for future episodes of funding advocacy AND direct advocacy

Advocating on Executive Orders

• Don’t involve legislative action, therefore NOT IRS lobbying
• Safe for 501(c)(3) public charities and private foundation alike
• Gov. Newsom’s moratorium on death penalty
• Pres. Trump’s ban on gender & racial diversity training that conflicts with administration’s view of country’s founding

Resources

• Can We Really Say That: Post Election Advocacy for 501(c)(3) Organizations.
• Transition Team Advocacy
• Private Foundations May Lobby
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org
• Our website is org

Tim, Natalie and Leslie discuss the role nonprofits are playing the day after the 2020 election, including examples of messaging now, a look ahead to what may come, plus a look back at the remarkable work nonprofits did to get out the 2020 vote.

Our attorneys for this episode

Leslie Barnes

Tim Mooney

Quyen Tu

Shownotes

• Reminder: 501(c)(3)s cannot support or oppose candidates
• Nonpartisan motivations to advocate in contested elections
  • Proper administration of the election under the law
  • Ensuring all legal votes are counted
  • Protecting the will of the electorate/upholding democratic principles
  • No IRS guidance on this, but it’s consistent with approved pre-election and election days advocacy
  • Example: Brennan Center’s work in 2000
  • Amicus brief in Bush v. Gore
  • Partisan and nonpartisan interests can legally coexist
  • While the Brennan Center argued for the same thing as the Gore campaign, its work was still nonpartisan because the arguments were centered on voters’ fundamental constitutional rights and not the partisan interests of the campaign. 
• Other examples
  • Common Cause’s work in the Georgia gubernatorial election in 2018
  • Minnesota nonprofits’ work in the US Senate race in 2008
• What kinds of advocacy are available to nonprofits in a contested election?
  • Administrative advocacy, including advocacy around secretary of state certifications of the winners, and the process of counting of ballots. 
  • Ballot chasing and curing. If a voter submits a ballot that fails to meet requirements under state law (i.e. stray marks, wrong envelopes, their signature doesn’t match the one on file, etc.), nonprofits can contact those voters and help them fix the problem within the time limits set by state law.
  • Litigation, including requests for emergency injunctive relief on and after Election Day, and submitting friend-of-the-court briefs before state and federal appellate courts.
  • Protests and other public gatherings, demanding proper administration of all ballot counts and fidelity to election procedures under the law. 
  • Direct advocacy to members of legislative bodies or governors when they are making decisions that are critical to the disposition of an election. This includes lobbying for emergency legislation, calls for oversight, or weighing in on a state legislature’s efforts to directly submit a slate of presidential electors in the event of perceived voting irregularities or a natural disaster.

• 501(c)(3)s can do any of these things for nonpartisan motivations
• 501(c)(4)s and other nonprofits can do these things with nonpartisan motivations, or with partisan reasons (tax law limits how much). Election laws dictate the rest.
• 501(c)(3)s can work in coalitions with other nonprofits that are doing nonpartisan motivated work
• Presidential election dates to know
  • December 8 – Safe Harbor
  • December 14 – Electoral College votes
  • January 6 – Joint session of the new Congress meets to certify the Electoral College vote
  • January 20 – POTUS term ends at noon ET, and the winner as certified by Congress, or as chosen by Congress in a contingent election, or person designated by the Presidential Succession Act to be acting President takes the oath of office as POTUS.

Resources

• What Nonprofits Can Do in a Contested Election  
• The Connection 
• Accountability Advocacy for 501(c)(3)s 
• 501(c)(3) Contact with Parties and Candidates Concerning Election Protection Efforts 
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org
• Our website is bolderadvocacy.org

On this episode, we look at how nonprofits can continue to advocate for a fair and safe election during election days. We intentionally say “days” because many states are offering vote-by-mail (“VBM”, also known as “absentee voting”) or offer early in-person voting well before Nov 3rd, 2020. States took these measures to mitigate some of the challenges presented by the COVID pandemic that we talked about in Part 1 of this series.  

Our attorneys for this episode 

 Leslie Barnes 

Tim Mooney 

Quyen Tu 

Shownotes 

Because voting doesn’t just happen one day this year, here are things that 501(c)(3)s, as trusted messengers, can do during the voting days to support a free and fair election. 

• Encourage people who are not at high-risk to COVID-19 to step up and work as poll worker and early voting officials More Than a Vote – https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=322130045738998 

• Educate your community and constituents about their different voting options. It is important to note that these rules will vary by states and sometimes even by counties! 

• • Preparing for in-person voting 
  • Vote-by-mail rules and deadlines 
  • Provisional ballots and what that means 

• Facilitate voting by offering rides to polls, childcare services, translation services, pay off fines. 

• Promote election protection: be a poll monitor or staff voter protection hotline. 

• Have a game plan to address voter intimidation. 

• Help people understand that we likely won’t have definitive elections results the night of Nov. 3rd, especially in close races. 

• Litigation 

• Mobilize public support for safe and fair election (including protests) when anything happens that will prevent voting or the administration of voting. 

 A special note for private foundations: 

It’s not too late, you can fund all nonpartisan efforts except for voter registration drives. This is the rainy day that you’ve been saving for! 

 A special note for 501(c)(4)s: 

501(c)(4)s can do everything we’ve covered in this episode and you could do one of these activities in a partisan manner as long as it is your secondary activity. 

Resources 

•  Appendix B of Rules of the Game: Permissible Nonpartisan 501(c)(3) and Partisan Campaign Contact on Voter Engagement and Protection Efforts 
• Election Protection by c3s 
• Texas Civil Rights Project stopped voter “purges” that would have affected many naturalized citizens. https://www.bolderadvocacy.org/story/legal-advocacy-in-action-texas-civil-rights-project/ 
• Bolder Advocacy’s TA hotline: 866-NP-LOBBY 
• Email us at advocacy@afj.org 
• Our website is bolderadvocacy.org 

 Non-Bolder Advocacy Resources: 

• Voter Registration Deadlines by State (Vote.org) 

• State Compendium of Election Worker Laws and Statutes (U.S. Election Assistance Commission) 
• Do you want to be a poll worker? Learn more here: https://www.powerthepolls.org/ 
• Check out how a 501(c)(4) is feeding people waiting in line to vote! https://polls.pizza/ 
• Election Protection: https://866ourvote.org/ 
• Paying off fines: https://wegotthevote.org/finesandfees/ and article on Mike Bloomberg paying off fines for former felons in Florida so they can vote 
• Art pieces around voting: https://www.planyourvote.org/artist-works