MInnesota Family Institute Nonprofit Electioneering

Updated:

Just before a contentious primary race in Senate District 12, the Minnesota Family Institute sent a mailing to area residents indicating opposition of openly gay Republican incumbent Paul Koering and support for his primary challenger, Kevin Goedker. The mailings were unsuccessful, and Koering won the Republican primary. The Minnesota Family Institute is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and used its nonprofit mailing permit to distribute the mailings. The Minnesota Family Council is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization, and no distinction between the two are made in the mailing.

The mailing includes an article titled "Koering supports same-sex unions; refuses MN Marriage Amendment" and compares Paul Koering and his primary opponent, Kevin Goedker, on the Minnesota Marriage Amendment. The piece says: "GOP primary voters have a clear choice between a candidate who supports gay civil unions and one who is committed to protecting marriage," said Chuck Darrell, director of communications for the Minnesota Family Council.

United States statutes say that a 501(c)3 organization can use the mailing permit as log as it "does not participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office."

Even without using the nonprofit mail permit, the Minnesota Family Institute may have run afoul of IRS laws just by distributing the mailer so close to an election. According to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits:

"It is especially important during election years that your issue advocacy is done in a nonpartisan way and that there is no “ramping up” of your organizations activities. You should not be creating new fact sheets which are special for the election. Rather, you should continue to use materials that were put together prior to the election season or develop your materials well in advance of the election so as to avoid the appearance of electioneering."

According to the guidelines developed to assist Minnesota nonprofits from violating IRS laws, the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits outlines 6 steps to ensure that nonprofits doing voter education do not violate IRS 501(c)3 laws. The Minnesota Family Institute seems to have overstepped 3 of the guidelines:

1. The voting records of all incumbent members of the legislative body who represent the region (e.g. Minnesota or Minneapolis) you’re working in should be represented. You may NOT limit your voting or scorecard to a particular swing district.

The Minnesota Family Institute limited their mailing to just SD 12.

2. The report should not identify legislators as candidates for reelection.

The mailing identifies both Koering and Goedker as candidates for the primary.

3. The voting records should not be linked to any election campaign.

The mailing explicitly links Koering's voting record to the election.

The Minnesota Family Institute is not a member of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits. If any complaints are filed with the IRS, it's likely a letter of admonishment will be sent for such a small violation. Scans of the mailing can be seen at Lloydletta's Nooz and Comments.

Update: I erred in the name of the 501(c)3. The correct name is Minnesota Family Institute. Regardless, its name was on the mailer supporting Goedker and opposing Koering.