Nonpartisan election

Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias toward a political party.

Some organizations claiming to be nonpartisan are truly such; others are nominally nonpartisan (for reasons of law or public perception) but closely follow the policies of a political party.

While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of partisan includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers specifically to political party connections rather than being the strict antonym of "partisan". An organization described as nonpartisan can have many decidedly controversial policies.

Today, nonpartisan elections are generally held for municipal and county offices, especially school board, and are also common in the election of judges. The unicameral Nebraska State Legislature is the only state legislature that is entirely officially nonpartisan.

Although elections may be officially nonpartisan, in some elections (usually involving larger cities or counties, as well as the Nebraska Unicameral) the party affiliations of candidates are generally known, most commonly by the groups endorsing a particular candidate (e.g., a candidate endorsed by a labor union would be generally affiliated with the Democratic Party, while a candidate endorsed by a business coalition would be generally affiliated with the Republican Party).

Churches and charities in the United States were mainly formed under US Internal Revenue Service tax code 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. To maintain that tax-exempt status, and the ability for donors to take a tax deduction, they were required to remain nonpartisan.

This has caused some to question the ability of organizations that have the appearance of partisanship. Some predominantly African-American churches were seen as promoting Democratic candidates. Some predominantly white Evangelical churches were seen as promoting Republican candidates. Most churches regardless of color were seen to promote ballot measures that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman.

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