Niagara Leader

Congresswoman Claudia Tenney (NY-24) has sent a letter to the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), urging an investigation into the Voter Participation Center (VPC) for potentially violating federal tax rules applicable to tax-exempt charitable organizations.

Tenney's request follows reports alleging that the VPC is using targeted digital advertisements to register voters with Democratic leanings while excluding traditionally Republican groups. As a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, VPC is mandated to conduct voter registration activities in a neutral and non-partisan manner. The organization's financial connections to Democratic micro-targeting firms such as the Pivot Group and Mission Control suggest potential bias in its voter registration efforts.

In her letter, Tenney posed several questions to the IRS:

1. Will the IRS commit to investigating Voter Participation Center for potential violations of its legal requirements as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization?

2. How does the IRS ensure that VPC and other 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations engaged in voter registration efforts are compliant with statutory requirements prohibiting engagement in political activities?

3. Does the IRS examine financial relationships between 501(c)(3) organizations and political consulting firms, like Pivot Group or Mission Control, and determine if the services furnished by these organizations are in accordance with non-partisan requirements for 501(c)(3) organizations?

4. If VPC, or any 501(c)(3) organization, was found to have violated statutory requirements by engaging in prohibited political activities, what penalties would IRS impose?

5. If the IRS chooses not to audit VPC despite these concerning developments, please provide an explanation, as well as criteria the IRS uses to determine whether to initiate an audit of a 501(c)(3) organization for potential political activity violations?

"Tax exempt charitable organizations like the Voter Participation Center are prohibited from engaging in partisan political activities that support or oppose any one party or candidate. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the founder of the House Election Integrity Caucus, I am committed to preventing our tax code from being abused by partisan actors. The IRS must immediately investigate these allegations against the VPC and work to ensure all 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations are complying with statutory requirements,” said Congresswoman Claudia Tenney.

Read the full text of the letter here.