NEW: Campaign Legal Center files IRS complaint against True the Vote over the nonprofit’s illegal political activities

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Campaign Legal Center (CLC) filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) against True the Vote, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, for allegedly providing illegal in-kind contributions to the Georgia Republican Party during the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections. 

In December 2020, True the Vote announced that it had received a request from the Georgia Republican Party to provide signature verification training, a 24x7 vote hotline, ballot-curing support, and more in connection with the Senate runoff election process. The press release announcing this partnership quoted the Georgia GOP Chairman noting that the party was “grateful” for True the Vote’s help. Days after announcing its partnership with the Georgia GOP, True the Vote challenged the eligibility of more than 360,000 Georgia voters. 

In doing so, True the Vote appears to have violated Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)’s prohibition against intervening or participating in a political campaign by making in-kind contributions to the Georgia Republican Party to influence the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia. 

“The actions of True the Vote during the 2021 Senate runoff in Georgia represented an aggressive disregard for the laws intended to protect the integrity of our elections and keep voters informed about who is spending money to influence their ability to vote.” says Erin Chlopak, senior director for campaign finance at Campaign Legal Center. “True the Vote exacerbated this harm to voters and our election process by abusing its status as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. 501(c)(3) groups like True the Vote are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers for their charitable work — and are thus barred by law from engaging in partisan political activities. The IRS must not delay in investigating.” 

Nonprofit 501(c)(3) organizations receive subsidies from taxpayers to engage in charitable work aimed at advancing their respective missions. They are not vehicles for wealthy special interests to engage in partisan political activities aimed at influencing our elections. Those who violate these laws risk fines or having their 501(c)(3) status revoked altogether. The IRS must investigate the activities of True the Vote.