Under the law, organizations described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that are exempt from federal income tax are prohibited from directly or indirectly participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office. Charities, educational institutions and religious organizations, including churches, are among those that are tax-exempt under this code section.
If the IRS finds a section 501(c)(3) organization engaged in prohibited campaign activity, the organization could lose its tax-exempt status and be subject to an excise tax on the amount of money spent in that activity.
...and...
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-utl/eo_letter.pdf
Whether a tax-exempt charitable organization is engaging in prohibited political
campaign activity depends upon all the facts and circumstances in each case. For
example, organizations may encourage people to participate in the electoral process by
sponsoring debates or forums to educate voters, distributing voter guides, or conducting
voter registration or get-out-the-vote drives. If the debate or forum, voter guide, or voter
registration or get-out-the-vote drive shows a preference for or against a certain
candidate or party, however, it becomes a prohibited activity.
...so...
Handing membership lists to only one political party is probably a violation.
Jerry Johnson
>>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] 07/02/04 11:35AM >>>
I don't think it's illegal. The state may not endorse a specific
religion, but there's nothing illegal AFAIK about religions endorsing a
specific state.
--BenD
Larry C. Lyons wrote:
> Anyone notice that the Bush campaign is trying to get church
> membership lists and encouraging them to vote for the Shrub. According
> to a report today on the Dianne Reame show on NPR, apparently the
> reelection campaign has also contacted the Vatican to enlist them to
> pressure catholics to vote for Shrub.
>
> Isn't this illegal, and doesn't it jeopardize the tax exempt status of
> any participating church.
>
> larry
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