Leadership & Strategy
What charities may and may not do on Election Day, with the Johnson Amendment still in force
A Texas court threw out an IRS deal to loosen the rule for churches, so every 501(c)(3) is still barred from backing candidates. What the IRS allows, and what it bars.
By The Editors · The Game of Giving
A 501(c)(3) charity can register voters, remind people to vote and offer rides to the polls on Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, as long as it does so without favoring a candidate. Federal tax law still bars it from supporting or opposing anyone on the ballot.
That bar is known as the Johnson Amendment, a 1954 provision of the tax code. The IRS says on its page on campaign activity that 501(c)(3) organizations are "absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign." It applies to houses of worship as well as to food banks, hospitals and universities.
Is the Johnson Amendment still in force today?
Yes. A 2025 attempt to loosen it for churches has not taken effect. On July 7, 2025, the IRS and the groups suing it, the National Religious Broadcasters, two Texas churches and Intercessors for America, asked a federal court in Texas to enter a consent judgment. It would have let houses of worship address electoral politics with their congregations during religious services.
On March 31, 2026, U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker of the Eastern District of Texas dismissed the case without prejudice. He held that the court lacked jurisdiction to approve the deal, citing the Tax Anti-Injunction Act and the tax exception in the Declaratory Judgment Act, and wrote that Congress "is the appropriate body to weigh the relevant, policy-laden considerations." The plaintiffs appealed to the Fifth Circuit. In a brief filed September 21, 2026, the Justice Department asked the appeals court to reverse on narrow grounds, while the appellants want the law itself declared unconstitutional. We found no appellate ruling as of Election Day.
What can a charity do, and what crosses the line?
The test is whether an activity favors or opposes a candidate. The IRS's main guidance, Revenue Ruling 2007-41, works through 21 example situations. The table is our selection and summary of nine of them.
| What the charity does | IRS conclusion | Situation |
|---|---|---|
| Runs a voter registration booth that names only itself, the election date and the chance to register | Allowed | 1 |
| Phone bank offers rides to the polls only to voters who agree with one candidate's position | Prohibited | 2 |
| Its CEO endorses a candidate in an ad the campaign pays for, with title "for identification purposes only" | Not the charity's act | 3 |
| Its president endorses a candidate in his column in the official newsletter, even paying for that page himself | Prohibited | 4 |
| Its minister endorses a candidate at a campaign press conference, not at a church function or with church assets | Not the church's act | 5 |
| Its board chair urges members at an official meeting to vote for a candidate | Prohibited | 6 |
| Its director, at the annual dinner shortly before the election, takes a side on an issue that divides the candidates and tells guests to use that power at the polls | Prohibited | 16 |
| Rents its hall to a candidate at the standard fee, first come, first served | Allowed | 17 |
| Rents its mailing list to one campaign and turns down the others | Prohibited | 18 |
The pattern is consistent: leaders keep their own voice, but the organization's name, meetings, publications and assets cannot carry an endorsement. Forums are allowed on the same terms; see our guide to how a charity can host a candidate forum.
Can a charity campaign for or against a ballot measure?
Yes, within lobbying limits. The IRS counts as legislation any action "by the public in referendum, ballot initiative, constitutional amendment, or similar procedure," so ballot measure advocacy is lobbying, not campaign intervention. A 501(c)(3) can lobby as long as it is not a substantial part of its activities. We explained how to measure that in Yes, a charity can lobby.
What happens if a charity crosses the line?
The IRS says violations "may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes." Revenue Ruling 2007-41 stresses that it weighs all the facts and circumstances, and that combining several activities can change the answer.
What should a board check before polls close?
In our view, three things. Any Election Day email, post or ride program should go to everyone, with no candidate or party named. Staff who post about candidates should do it on personal accounts, not the organization's. And anything the charity sells or rents to campaigns, from a hall to a list, should be offered to every candidate at the usual price. What changes after Tuesday is the officeholders, not this rule.
General information for donors and nonprofit leaders, not legal or tax advice. How we report is set out in our editorial guide.
