Election 2008: Are You Ready?

Election Resources for Nonprofits Election Day Involvement Encourage employee participation in the election process. Know the Rules As you consider how to get your organization involved, check the rules and learn what you can -- and can’t -- do during the election cycle. (IS Member Password Required) Nonprofit Initiatives Nonprofit organizations are increasingly raising awareness of their issues and spurring citizen engagement in the election process. Find out what our members are doing. Other Resources Helpful related resources. News and Events Read up on the latest IRS news alert. Find Your Polling Place: ----- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Voting in Your State: ---- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Powered by

• GoVote.org provides a short route to information in English and Spanish on when and where to vote and what identification to bring to the polls.
• Vote411.org and NonprofitVote.org provide even more information, including sample ballots, absentee voting, and other helpful resources, such as ideas of things you can do now to increase voter participation in your community.

Getting Involved
Many nonprofit organizations have stood on the sidelines during election season, due in large part to fears that they could violate legal restrictions -- but the law clearly allows 501(c)(3) nonprofits to engage in voter education, voter registration, and get-out-the-vote activities. There is one overriding rule: The activities must be nonpartisan, which simply means a nonprofit cannot show or state a preference for or against a particular candidate or candidates, a particular political party, or candidates or parties who have taken particular positions.

The pages in this section provide information about what your organization can do to get involved in the upcoming elections, as well as ideas about how nonprofits are working to help all citizens express their opinions in the 2008 elections.

Member Initiative of the Month

GoVote.org is a nonpartisan website created by CREDO Mobile supported by the Tides Foundation and the New Organizing Institute to help bridge key information barriers to voting. GoVote.Org is a national site where voters can enter their zip code and find: a Google map showing where and when to vote early; a polling place locator for their state/country, with Google maps coming in key states; a list of ID to take to the polls; Spanish-language translations for all key information; student specific information searchable by campus in key states; and an invitation to add even more information through crowdsourcing and wiki-like approach to data gathering.

Please share your own organization's activities or any resources, online or otherwise, that would help other nonprofits encourage voter participation and raise the visibility of issues important to them during this election season.