Re: Questions for candidates

[Magdalen Berns <m berns thismagpie com>]

Hi Karen,

Thanks for your input.

> > Also, we are not allowed to work for or against specific candidates
> > for office.

> I think you are correct about this. Am I right in assuming that only
> applies to political parties in the USA, then?

I don't know -- for that you should check with a lawyer.

As I recall the regs are silent as to whether the restriction on endorsing or opposing political candidates is limited to the US. I once found some IRS guidance that said that that it is applicable internationally too. I would definitely consult a lawyer before any United States c3 charity takes on any political activity.

I think we signed up to the EU "fix my documents" initiative and I would really hope we could continue to support work like that without it being an issue. My guess would be that putting our name to that sort of campaign should be okay, since advocating a legislative amendment does not cost us anything, is not strictly endorsing a specific political party and is hopefully not likely to be considered a significant enough kind of lobbying activity, but do you think it would be a good idea for us to check with a Lawyer before doing that sort of thing, in future?

I am now also wondering whether I should write to the California Department of Justice to double check that directors are allowed to be a member of a political party outside the USA just in case I manage get elected onto the board. Does this seem like a sensible idea? As disclosed in my candidacy statement, I am a member of the Scottish National Party who run the Scottish Government which can sometimes mean being personally involved with election campaigns, proposing amendments and voting on proposals as a delegate on behalf of my ward.

Magdalen