Although Wyoming is a small state with relatively easy access to politicians, we often see a disconnect between policies on important issues and the desires of Wyoming’s people.  How can this be changed?

An Equality State Policy Center project launched last year focuses on the citizens’ ultimate power – the vote. The Calendar of Election Activities for Non-Profit Organizations, published in September 2004, is a guide for ESPC member organizations and others involved in public interest advocacy.  

The Calendar outlines what various non-profit groups like the ESPC and its member organizations can do during the election cycle without running afoul of federal laws and rules. 

The Wyoming Outdoor Council, as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, can actively work to educate voters about its most important issues. It can support or oppose ballot measures as part of its lobbying work. It can educate and help voters register and it can help get voters to the polls. 

WOC  cannot recruit or endorse candidates as an organization; however, individual members of the group certainly can do so on their own time and if they’re on their own dime.

The Calendar outlines a work program based on Wyoming’s two-year election cycle.  The Calendar outlines what kind of activities can be conducted by three classes of non-profit organizations operating under rules governed by the IRS:

501(c)(3)s – These are groups – the ESPC and WOC are examples – most limited by IRS rules because contributions to them are tax-deductible. They cannot engage in partisan politics, but still can contribute significantly to the effort to make the system function better for all citizens.  They can conduct voter education, registration and get-out-the-vote activities.

501 (c)(4)s, (5)s and (6)s – Contributions to these groups are not tax-deductible. They can engage in partisan political activities, including candidate recruitment and endorsement. They also can raise money from their members for affiliated political action committees, subject to additional state laws and rules. They can recruit volunteers to help candidates and their campaigns. Organizations such as the Sierra Club, the Wyoming Education Association and the Wyoming Trial Lawyers Association function as C4s, 5s or 6s.

Political Action Committees – This type of organization has the broadest range of activity.  PACs can endorse and contribute to candidates and otherwise assist them with their campaigns.  They can run advertising for or against a candidate.  Contributions to PACs are not tax-deductible.
 
To find a path through the rules governing these organizations, the ESPC committee working on this project consulted with three premier political attorneys: 

• Laurence E. Gold, associate general counsel for the AFL-CIO;
• Richard L. Thomas, counsel for the Federation of State Conservation Voter Leagues; 
• John Pomeranz, former counsel with the Alliance for Justice in Washington, D.C.

Members of the ESPC staff are available to work with groups to help them understand their range of permissible electoral activities. 

(Dan Neal is the executive director of the Equality State Policy Center.)