OMD Election Resources
Elections and the democratic process are important to UU Congregations. However, as religious groups with non-profit status there are rules all congregations must follow to protect your tax status. Here are some recommended resources from the UUA's Washington Office.
The Unitarian Universalist Association is pleased to announce two important resources to help congregations carry out effective,nonpartisan electoral activities in 2008 and beyond.
"Elections are a great opportunity for Unitarian Universalists to get out into the community and make an impact, from registering andmobilizing voters to raising important issues," says Rob Keithan,Director of the Association's Washington Office for Advocacy. "The IRS places certain restrictions on what congregations can do, and thoseboundaries need to be respected. However, there is a wide range of totally acceptable activities, and I sincerely hope that manycongregations will choose to get involved. These two resources should help."
1. Updated Version of "The Real Rules" Now Available
In order to provide congregations with the best guidance possible, theUUA has released an updated edition of "The Real Rules: Congregations and IRS Guidelines on Advocacy, Lobbying, and Elections." The newversion provides clear, up-to-date information on what congregations can and cannot do, drawing heavily on a binding decision issued by the IRSin June 2007. Most of the text comes straight from IRS publications, with sources clearly footnoted. Please discard previous editions and usethe new one! You can access "The Real Rules" and other key social justice resources (see http://www.uua.org/socialjustice/resources/64711.shtml) online.
2. Election-Year Resources and Opportunities from Faithful Democracy
Faithful Democracy (http://www.faithfuldemocracy.org/) is a nonpartisan online clearinghouse made up of national faith-based organizations. The goal of Faithful Democracy is to educate and engage people of faith about the role they can and should play in the democratic process, thereby increasing the number of informed faith-based voters in elections.
The Faithful Democracy website features resources from member organizations on what religious groups can do and how they can do it, including voter registration, education, mobilization, and poll monitoring. The site also features theological reflections from a variety of religious leaders on the connections between civic participation and religious values. The Unitarian Universalist Association helped to found Faithful Democracy in 2004 and remains an active participant.
