Cotton to Werfel: Partisan Voter Registration Drives Violate Federal Law

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tableror Patrick McCann(202) 224-2353
October 3, 2024

Cotton to Werfel: Partisan Voter Registration Drives Violate Federal Law

Washington, D.C. - Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today wrote a letter to the Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, Danny Werfel urging an investigation into the Voter Participation Center's alleged partisan activities. This charity is targeting likely Democrat voters while excluding likely Republican voters through its voter-registration ads on social media. The IRS prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations from conducting partisan voter-education or voter-registration activities.

In part, Senator Cotton wrote:

"According to the Washington Free Beacon, the Voter Participation Center is targeting likely Democrat voters and excluding likely Republican voters through its voter-registration ads on social media. The Voter Participation Center has instructed Facebook to exclude users from seeing ads if they expressed interest in 'John Wayne,' 'Redneck Mud Club,' 'Daytona 500,' 'Duck Dynasty,' and other topics associated with conservatives. On the other hand, the group instructed Facebook to target users interested in 'hot yoga,' 'Charli XCX' (who is closely associated with Kamala Harris's presidential campaign), 'Pitchfork Media,' and other topics that tend to interest progressives."

Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

October 3, 2024

The Honorable Danny Werfel

Commissioner

Internal Revenue Service

1111 Constitution Avenue, Northwest

Washington, DC 20224

Dear Commissioner Werfel,

I write regarding a tax-exempt charity that may be violating federal law. The Voter Participation Center is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that reportedly engages in partisan voter-registration drives.

The IRS prohibits 501(c)(3) organizations from conducting partisan voter-education or voter -registration activities. The IRS states that a 501(c)(3) organization may only conduct voter-registration drives "if they are conducted in a neutral, non-partisan manner." It further warns that a private foundation is subject to a tax if it uses funds for partisan voter-registration drives.

According to theWashington Free Beacon, the Voter Participation Center is targeting likely Democrat voters and excluding likely Republican voters through its voter-registration ads on social media. The Voter Participation Center has instructed Facebook to exclude users from seeing ads if they expressed interest in "John Wayne," "Redneck Mud Club," "Daytona 500," "Duck Dynasty," and other topics associated with conservatives. On the other hand, the group instructed Facebook to target users interested in "hot yoga," "Charli XCX" (who is closely associated with Kamala Harris's presidential campaign), "Pitchfork Media," and other topics that tend to interest progressives.

The Voter Participation Center has spent over a million dollars on this ad drive. It has also paid over $50 million to Democrat micro-targeting firms. According to 26 U.S. Code § 4945(d)(2), these partisan expenditures must be taxed.

The IRS should immediately open an investigation into this organization.

Sincerely,

Tom Cotton

U.S. Senator

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