Emerson College, as a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt entity, is prohibited from engaging in campaign-related activities by law. In keeping with these restrictions, the following guidelines are provided so that individuals in the Emerson Community feel comfortable exercising their rights to participate in the political process without jeopardizing the College’s tax-exempt status.
Brief Examples of Acceptable Election-Season Activities:
Individuals Participating in Political Campaigns
College employees and other community members are free to participate in political campaigns outside of work hours and settings when using their personal resources. It is important that College employees take care to avoid the use of college resources such as computers, phones, email, printers, etc. when engaging in such activities. Finally, it is important that if individuals mention their affiliation with the college (e.g. a signature on an opinion piece about an election) when carrying out such activities they must also explicitly indicate that they are participating in their personal capacity and their actions and statements do not represent the views of the College.
Taking Time Off to Vote
Employees are encouraged to exercise their civic responsibilities, including their right to vote on an election day. In circumstances where an employee’s work schedule does not provide sufficient time to vote on national and statewide election days for government offices, the College will provide up to two (2) hours of paid time off for employees to vote. This time off must be requested at least two business days in advance. Please see the Voting Leave policy for more details. Please also note that Massachusetts provides robust absentee voting options, such as voting by mail.
Educational Appearances by Candidates
Candidates for office or government officials may be invited to speak at the college if their purpose is to speak about educational or informational issues in furtherance of the mission of the college. This type of appearance must be coordinated with the Office of the President and should be structured as a speech, panel discussion, or Q&A session. Campaign rallies and fundraising events organized by individual employees are strictly prohibited.
Non-Partisan Voter Registration
Non-partisan voter registration activities that comply with the applicable laws and College policies are encouraged, although it should be noted that the registration deadline is fast approaching.
Brief Examples of Prohibited Activities:
- College facilities and resources may not be used for partisan activities such as hosting a phone bank, rally, or fundraiser. See the Ethics and Conflict of Interest policy for additional details.
- College letterhead may not be used when engaging in political activity such as fundraising or turn out the vote efforts.
- A department or division cannot take an official position on a candidate. This could also violate our Policy on Institutional Neutrality and Mutual Respect.
- Employees are strictly prohibited from using any work time for political activities.
Additional Resources:
- The American Council on Education maintains a robust and helpful resource on the issues facing student voters and the guidelines concerning political activity on College campuses.
- The IRS offers a number of resources on legal restrictions pursuant to federal law.
- Questions concerning these guidelines should be directed to hr [at] emerson.edu (HR[at]emerson[dot]edu) or OGC [at] emerson.edu (OGC[at]emerson[dot]edu).
For Reference, the longer University of Chicago Memos on similar topics.