Legal Question in Legal Ethics in Wisconsin

Only the IRS, which regulates tax exempt organizations, could tell you for sure if it is legal for your church to allow campaign signs on church properties. Their rules governing this are vague and unevenly enforced, depending upon the "politics of the moment." However, the general rule is that 501 c3) charitable organizations may not engage in partisan politics using tax exempt donations for that purpose. Organizations which violate this are in danger of losing their tax exempt status. Due to these fears, most churches are loath to openly endorse candidates for partisan political office, although any religious organization is free to discuss the religious significance of any issue in an election without naming specific candidates. This often leads to "off the record" political discussions of how various candidates may or may not conform to the religious views of any congregation and such discussions are, of course, totally unregulated. Since school board races are nonpartisan in WI, it is unclear how these rules apply to such races. However, tax exempt organizations are allowed by the IRS to create "issue advocacy" subsidiaries which can engage in limited political activities. I would therefore recommend that you obtain a legal opinion from an experienced charity lawyer before you allow the signs to be posted. My comments here are not legal advice, nor do they create an attorney client relationship between us; rather they are only for public educational purposes on this website. You are, however, always welcome to contact my office in Racine to discuss any additional questions which you may have or to set up a free consultation. .