As the Citizens United decision has opened the flood gates of organizational spending on public speech this election cycle, which organizations are allowed to participate and in what capacity has predictably been at issue.
The Washington Post reports that groups that are set-up under the tax code as charities, and therefore ineligible to attempt to influence elections, are none the less coordinating with campaigns in an official capacity. The Ruth Institute, part of the educational arm of the National Organization for Marriage, has actively and publicly appeared in connection with the Carly Fiorina campaign in California. Crossroads GPS, a group founded with the help of Karl Rove, is being accused of violating campaign finance laws by representing itself as a non-profit group as opposed to a political committee.
The Ruth Institute is also accused of attempting to influence judicial elections in San Diego County, California, and in Iowa, where conservatives are trying to oust state supreme court judges who supported a right to gay marriage.
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