While the federal government investigates the Internal Revenue Service, one targeted organization isn’t waiting around for the ruling. True the Vote, a voting rights organization, has filed a lawsuit against the IRS.
The suit, which was filed on Tuesday according to a press release, demands the federal court grant the organization tax-exempt status. It also seeks restitution for being unlawfully forced to wait so long for that status.
“We’ve been waiting for three years to receive a decision from the IRS about our tax exempt status,” True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said in the press release. “After answering hundreds of questions and producing thousands of documents, we’re done waiting. The IRS does not have the power to pocket veto our application. Federal law empowers groups like True the Vote to force a decision in court — which is precisely what we aim to do.”
True the Vote was started in 201o, following voter registration fraud witnessed by King Street Patriots, a Texas Tea Party group, during the 2008 election cycle. The voting organization filed for 501(c)(3) in July 2012, according to The Washington Post.
True the Vote is asking for more than $85,000 in damages, according to the suit. The voting organization is being represented by ActRight Legal Foundation, a law firm that seeks to protect the rights of individuals and nonprofits. The Foundation also said in the press release that the True the Vote lawsuit would be the first of many against the IRS.
