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Electioneering/Voter Engagement

Electioneering is to work actively for a campaign or political party. Non profits have certain guidelines they must follow to engage in electioneering because they do not pay taxes and therefore cannot operate with partisan goals. According to the Federal Election Committee, Qualified Nonprofit Corporations (QNC) may produce electioneering communications including cable, broadcast, or satellite advertisements. To qualify as a QNC, the organization must be a nonprofit corporation that is ideological in nature and qualifies for exemptions. These advertisements can refer to a specific candidate within 60 days of a general election or 30 days of a primary. If a QNC makes electioneering communications that are more than $10,000 in cost over a year, it must prove that it is eligible for QNC exemption. However, a QNC cannot contribute to federal political committees and no QNC that accepts corporate or labor contributions can make these advertisements. 14 Most community groups are not QNC’s, but membership organizations can communicate with their members about political issues as long as this is a regular activity of the organization and the language does not favor one political candidate over another.

In Chicago, if a non-profit accepts contributions or makes donations for or against public officials, candidates, or public policy issues, or produces electioneering communications that exceed $5,000 within 12 months, it must file a Statement of Registration for Non-Profit Organizations with the Board of Elections. After the statement is filed, the organization must file the same set of forms as a political committee. 15 However, organizations may use tools for voter engagement, including voter registration and mobilization.

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Community Tips from Organization of the North East (One) Chicago

  • A non-profit should be conscious of the rules about what they can do in a non-partisan way. Alliance for Justice in Washington, D.C. has published, The Rules of the Game, a book on federal tax and election laws, which One Chicago has often used.
  • Non-profits should also focus on mobilizing voters around issues rather than specific politicians. This creates a constituency of voters aligned on specific issue areas that politicians need to care about. Politicians will notice if a precinct has far more voters one year than the last year, and they will be concerned about what happened in the precinct to create the change.
  • One Chicago has tried to use the same tools that precinct organizers use, like building strong relationships with constituents by going door to door and getting to know who the voters are and what causes they care about. They pick specific precincts to target and send volunteers to those areas, with the intention of getting to know the voters as well as a precinct captain would.
  • The goal is to get voters registered and mobilize them to go to the polls. One Chicago attempts to contact each voter four times, in person, over the phone, or through mailings.
  • It is also important to connect local voter mobilization efforts to wider campaigns. For example, Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) has a massive get out the vote campaign focused on immigrant rights. One Chicago partners with ICIRR so voters can see how their local efforts can connect to regional action.
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14: “Electioneering Communications.” March 2009. Federal Election Commission. 16 Oct 2009.
“Non-Profit Registration Form.” Illinois State Board of Elections. 16 Oct 2009.