December 28, 2020

VIA E-MAIL: eoclass@irs.gov

IRS EO Classification
Mail Code 4910DAL
1100 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75242-1198
Re: Tax-Exempt Organization Complaint Against True the Vote, Inc.
(EIN: 27-2860095)
Dear Sir or Madam:

Campaign for Accountability (“CfA”) 1 respectfully submits this Tax-Exempt Organization

Complaint (Referral) and supporting documentation to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”)
regarding the activities of True the Vote, Inc. (EIN: 27-2860095), a Texas nonprofit corporation
and tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
amended (the “Code”). Form 13909 is enclosed with this letter.

Background
True the Vote, Inc. (“TTV”) was established as a Texas nonprofit corporation effective
June 7, 2010. The IRS determined that the TTV was exempt from taxation under Code Section
501(c)(3) in 2013. TTV’s mission, as stated in its 2018 Form 990 is “[t]o equip citizens to take a
stand for free and fair elections.”2 Notwithstanding this mission statement, TTV has engaged in
activity that appears to constitute participation in, or intervention in political campaigns on
behalf of (or in opposition to) candidates for public office, within the meaning of Code Section
501(c)(3).
On December 14, 2020, TTV issued a press release (the “Press Release”), attached as
Exhibit A, that detailed TTV’s partisan activity, through extensive collaboration and partnership
with the Georgia Republican Party, for the purpose of influencing the outcome of political
campaigns and elections. 3 The Press Release included the following political statements, making
specific reference to partisan activity and the partnership with the Republican party:

• “True the Vote Partners with Georgia GOP to Ensure Transparent, Secure Ballot Effort for
Senate Runoff Elections”

1
CfA is a Code Section 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization (EIN: 81-4080431) that serves as a non-partisan,
nonprofit ethics watchdog.
2
TTV 2018 Form 990 at Part I, Line 1 and Part III, Line 1
3
TTV December 14, 2020 Press Release, available at https://truethevote.org/true-the-vote-partners-with-georgia-
gop-to-ensure-transparent-secure-ballot-effort-for-senate-runoff-elections/
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• “True the Vote today announced its partnership with the Georgia Republican Party to assist
with the Senate runoff election process”

• “We have focused our ‘Eyes On Georgia’ in these critical final days before the runoff, and
we are thrilled to partner with the Georgia Republican Party, Chairman Shafer. . .”

• “‘We are grateful for the help of the True the Vote team in the fight for election integrity,’
said Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer.”

These statements indicate that TTV is partnering with a single political party, the Republican Party
or GOP, in Georgia to engage in activities that constitute participation in, or intervention in
political campaigns and elections, namely influencing the outcome of the Georgia 2020 runoff
elections, among other potential political campaign activities.

The Press Release is not TTV’s only statement suggesting that it partners directly with the
Republican party, and opposes the Democratic party, to engage in activities that constitute
participation in, or intervention in political campaigns. On December 21, 2020, TTV sent a letter
via email to Georgia County Election Boards (the “Letter”), attached as Exhibit B, which details
TTV’s partisan efforts to specifically oppose the Democratic party and liberals. The letter included
the following political campaign statements that indicate the partisan nature of TTV’s activities:

• “It has been alleged by Democrat lawyers and their liberal allies, including Marc Elias and
the ACLU Georgia,3 that Section 230 violates federal law which regulates voter registration
lists, the National Voter Registration Act (“NVRA”). This is not true.”

• “In light of the threats from Mr. Elias and the ACLU Georgia, we understand that True the
Vote is willing to provide representation to any county election board that suffers any sort
of legal action for complying with the requirements of Georgia law regarding these
challenges or that True the Vote is willing to file an amicus brief on their behalf—showing
why any challenge by Democrat lawyers or their liberal allies has no legal merit, that the
NVRA does not bar county election boards from complying with Georgia law, and that
reliance on the NCOA is a legally sufficient basis for taking action.”

These statements indicate that TTV is operating as an organization that specifically opposes the
Democratic party, and, as a result, intends to engage in activities in Georgia that constitute
participation in, or intervention in political campaigns, in order to influence the outcome of
elections in favor of Republicans and in opposition to Democrats.

TTV’s brazen 2020 forays into political and partisan activity may have been portended by
the gradual breakdown of the quality of its reporting with respect to program service
accomplishments on TTV’s Forms 990. For the first several years of its existence, TTV’s Forms
990 described its program service accomplishments in a remarkably detailed and careful manner.
The descriptions appeared carefully phrased and crafted to demonstrate that the primary program
services qualified as Code Section 501(c)(3) exempt activities. Furthermore, there were specific
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descriptions that TTV engaged in no partisan, political activity because it advocated for the rights
of all voters, regardless of political affiliation (e.g., in the 2012 Form 990 at Part III, Line 1 and
Schedule O).

• TTV’s 2010 Form 990-EZ at Part III noted that TTV’s “mission is to educate/inform and
register voters” and Part III, Line 28 noted that TTV’s program service achievement was
that it “educated, informed, and registered voters.”

• TTV appears not to have filed a 2011 Form 990 or Form 990-EZ.

• TTV’s Form 2012 Form 990, Part III, Lines 1 and 4 refers to Schedule O, where there is a
remarkably detailed description providing:

o Regarding TTV’s mission:

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o Regarding TTV’s program service accomplishments:

• TTV’s 2013 Form 990, Part III, Line 4, dramatically condensed but was largely consistent
with the detailed reporting from the prior year, regarding voter education and election
security efforts:

• TTV’s 2014 Form 990, Part III, Line 4 description was identical to that provided in 2013:
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• TTV’s 2015 Form 990, Part III, Line 4 description was significantly briefer, but remained
broadly consistent with reporting in 2013 and 2014, regarding voter education and election
security efforts:

• TTV’s 2016 Form 990, Part III, Line 4 description took a hard turn towards incoherence,
potentially indicating a breakdown in its reporting and activity monitoring processes:

• TTV’s 2017 Form 990, Part III, Line 4 description remained nearly as incoherent as the
description from 2016:

• TTV’s 2018 Form 990, Part III, Line 4 description eliminated the prior two years of less
coherent descriptions and took brevity to an extreme because it was completely blank:
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The gradual decline in the quality of TTV’s reporting on its activities might indicate that it has
begun to engage more regularly in partisan political campaign activity and is unsure how to report
its program service activities on its Forms 990 without admitting to impermissible political
campaign participation or intervention. While in its 2012 Form 990 TTV specifically claimed that
it sought to protect the rights of voters, regardless of political affiliation, no such claim was made
in TTV’s descriptions of its mission and program service accomplishments in any year thereafter.

Alleged Violations

Code § 501(c)(3) and Treas. Reg. §§ 1.501(c)(3)-1(a)(1) and 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(3)

Under the Code, organizations described in Section 501(c)(3) do not include those that
“participate in, or intervene in (including the publishing or distributing of statements), any
political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office.” Treas. Reg.
§ 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(3) further clarifies that (a) an organization is not operated exclusively for one
or more exempt purposes if it is an “action organization” and (b) an organization is an action
organization if it participates or intervenes, directly or indirectly, in any political campaign on
behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office. Activities that constitute
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participation or intervention in a political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to a candidate

include, but are not limited to, the publication or distribution of written or printed statements or
the making of oral statements on behalf of or in opposition to such a candidate. 4

In several rulings and cases, the IRS and courts have held that an organization is engaged
in political campaign activity when it makes statements suggesting that it partners exclusively
with a single political party. 5 Similarly, an organization that engages in studies and analysis and
conducts hearings, which are otherwise potentially charitable and educational, is not exempt
under Code Section 501(c)(3) when its activities are engaged in primarily for the advancement of
one political party’s agenda, as shown by the “overt partisan statements” of members of the
organization.6 Purportedly “educational” material about voting is not considered educational and
violates the political campaign activity proscription in Code Section 501(c)(3) when it favors or
opposes a political party. 7

The prohibition against participation or intervention in a political campaign is absolute.8

Therefore, it is not material that the intervention is an insubstantial part of an organization's
activities or that the other activities of the organization would, by themselves, support exemption
under section 501(c)(3) of the Code. 9 The chief counsel of the IRS has proclaimed “an
organization described in section 501(c)(3) is precluded from engaging in any political campaign
activities.”10

When an organization is an “action organization” or is otherwise not organized and

operated exclusively for purposes described in Code Section 501(c)(3), then “it is not exempt.” 11
The IRS has the authority to revoke the determination letter, recognizing an organization as
exempt, if the organization no longer qualifies as exempt under the Code section for which it
originally applied for recognition of tax-exempt status.12

TTV should have its tax-exempt status revoked because of its statements in the Press
Release and the Letter, excerpted above and provided in full in Exhibits A and B. These
statements indicate that TTV is operated specifically to: (i) collaborate and partner with the
Georgia Republican party to assist that political party with its election efforts, and (ii) oppose the
4
Treas. Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(3)(iii) (flush language).
5
See e.g., TAM 9117001 (“The District proposes to conclude that X's training does not further exempt purposes
exclusively because the training serves a political purpose since it is partisan in nature. It appears that this
conclusion is based on a statement in the course book materials that recommends students “deal with those firms
that work exclusively with Republican candidates”, and a question in the solicitation material which asks, “are you
interested in working during the 1984 election cycle for a conservative candidate or conservative PAC.”).
6
The Fund for the Study of Economic Growth & Tax Reform v. IRS, 997 F. Supp. 15 (DC Dist. Feb. 25, 1998).
7
TAM 9117001.
8
TAM 9609007 (Mar. 1, 1996)
9
See United States v. Dykema, 666 F.2d 1096, 1101 (7th Cir. 1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 983 (1982) and
Association of the Bar of the City of New York v. Commissioner, 858 F.2d 876 (2nd Cir. 1988), cert. denied, 490
U.S. 1030 (1989).
10
Gen. Couns. Mem. 39694 (Feb. 1, 1988).
11
Treas. Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(a)(1).
12
Rev. Proc. 2020-5, 2020-1 I.R.B. 241, Section 12.01.
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election efforts of Democrats and liberals. These partisan statements, indicating that TTV
collaborates with one political party for the purpose of affecting the outcome of elections and
advancing that political party’s agenda with respect to election policies, evinces that TTV
participates and intervenes in political campaigns. TTV is therefore operating as an action
organization under Treas. Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(3)(iii). The IRS should revoke TTV’s tax-
exempt status because TTV is not exempt within the meaning of Code Section 501(c)(3) and
Treas. Reg. § 1.501(c)(3)-1(a)(1).

Conclusion

In summary, CfA believes that the TTV has engaged in political campaign activity through
statements detailing that TTV (i) partners with the Georgia Republican Party and (ii) opposes
Democrats and their liberal allies in order to affect the outcomes of political campaigns and
elections. TTV’s overtly partisan statements reveal it to be an action organization ineligible for
Code Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status under Treas. Reg. §§ 1.501(c)(3)-1(a)(1), 1.501(c)(3)-
1(c)(3)(i), and 1.501(c)(3)-1(c)(3)(iii).

CfA looks forward to the IRS’ investigation of TTV’s apparent pattern of making partisan
statements and engaging in other political campaign activities that violate the Code and TTV’s
tax-exempt status.

Sincerely,

Michelle Kuppersmith
Executive Director

Enclosures:
Form 13909
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EXHIBIT A
DECEMBER 14, 2020 PRESS RELEASE
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EXHIBIT B
DECEMBER 21, 2020 LETTER
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