What recent IRS or court decisions have affected nonprofit voter registration rules (as of 2025)?
Executive summary
Recent IRS guidance through FAQs, publications and the agency’s 2025–2026 priorities has reaffirmed that 501(c) charities may run voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives so long as those activities are strictly nonpartisan, while private foundations face tighter statutory limits under Section 4945(f); the reporting provided does not include any new court rulings changing those rules as of 2025 [1] [2] [3]. Advocacy groups and state regulators echo the IRS line and warn that proposed federal rulemaking or legislative pushes around the Johnson Amendment could change clarity or enforcement priorities, a contested policy arena highlighted in the IRS’s guidance agenda and by nonprofit trade groups [4] [5].
1. What the IRS currently allows: nonpartisan registration and GOTV
The IRS’s Frequently Asked Questions and other agency materials make a clear, consistent point: 501(c) organizations are permitted to conduct voter registration and get-out-the-vote activities provided the conduct is neutral, with no reference to or favoring of any candidate or party; biased or candidate-focused activity would be prohibited campaign intervention [1] [3]. Nonprofit practitioners and intermediaries like Nonprofit VOTE echo that practical rule: many nonprofits —from food pantries to health centers—already engage in nonpartisan registration and mobilization without jeopardizing exempt status, and state-by-state operational details are commonly provided by civic-engagement resource organizations [6] [7].
2. Special rules for private foundations and the statutory limits
Private foundations face an additional, statutory layer of restriction: expenditures for voter registration drives can be treated as taxable if they violate Section 4945(f) of the Internal Revenue Code, and the IRS guidance specifically calls out that conducting or funding a voter registration drive limited to the geographic area covered by a candidate’s campaign can trigger tax consequences unless narrow exceptions apply [2]. Practical compliance therefore differs depending on whether an organization is a public charity or a private foundation, and guidance documents and Form instructions note these distinctions for grantmakers and foundations [2] [3].
3. Regulatory signals: the Johnson Amendment on the agenda
Beyond restating longstanding rules, the IRS’s 2025–2026 Priority Guidance Plan and commentary from foundations’ trade groups reveal that the agency and Treasury intend to revisit guidance around political activity—specifically the Johnson Amendment—which may change interpretive clarity or enforcement emphasis; the Council on Foundations flagged the inclusion of Johnson Amendment guidance on the IRS plan and urged protections for nonpartisan civic engagement [4]. That planned guidance is a regulatory signal rather than an immediate rule change, and nonprofit advocates warn that what starts as “clarification” can shift practical risk perceptions for organizations doing civic work [4].
4. State-level and enforcement context: guidance, not new litigation in the record
State attorney general guidance, such as New York’s Charities Bureau materials, largely follows federal law by allowing nonpartisan registration and education while cautioning against partisan activity; these state guides serve to reinforce IRS principles for local nonprofits and often offer operational examples like candidate forums or voter guides so long as they remain neutral [5]. Within the supplied reporting there are no identified court decisions in 2024–2025 that alter the baseline IRS rules for nonprofit voter registration — the available documents are administrative guidance, publications, and advocacy responses rather than judicial rulings [1] [8] [9].
5. Competing narratives and what to watch next
Two competing currents shape the near-term landscape: practitioners and civic groups emphasize existing safe-harbor practices and extensive state toolkits for registration drives, while some policy actors and parts of the nonprofit lobby are pushing for reinterpretation or legislative change to the Johnson Amendment that could expand or constrain partisan leeway; that tension explains why the IRS is signaling guidance work in 2025–2026 and why nonprofit trade groups are publicly lobbying the outcome [6] [4]. Reporting limitations: the provided sources document agency guidance, draft publications, and advocacy statements but do not include new court opinions changing voter registration rules, so any future litigation or judicial reinterpretation remains outside this account until such decisions are filed and reported [1] [2] [4].