An Arizona judge ruled this week that the local Democratic party has the right to review electronic voting databases from the 2006 primary and general elections. The decision in Pima County, Arizona, affirmed that electronic voting records are public documents.

In the Arizona Daily Star's article on the decision, the Democratic Party's attorney Bill Risner asserts that the decision will help protect Americans vote. "You get a cold sweat and think what if our vote was taken from us and then you think what if our vote has been taken from us," Risner said. He continued, "Our political party wants to carry out its role of ensuring our votes' accuracy."

Also see AlterNet's story on the decision.

A joint Campaign Finance Institute-Public Citizen study of over 2,000 individuals raising contributions for the 2008 presidential candidates finds that these donations were dominated by just three sectors: law, finance, and real estate .

Their press release on the findings states, "It is impossible to know how much money each industry has provided because, under the current regime of voluntary disclosure, none of the candidates are releasing precise information about how much each of their fundraisers are generating. Furthermore, John Edwards is the only candidate who is disclosing all of his fundraisers, although he is providing no information about how much each has raised. The campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, and to a lesser extent, Rudy Giuliani, are disclosing some information about how much their bundlers have raised or promised to raise. The sporadic and incomplete reporting by campaigns of their designated fundraisers points to the need for legislation on this matter.

On the basis of this new study, we conclude with confidence that more than half of the people reported as soliciting contributions for the 2008 presidential candidates' campaign coffers come from only five identified industries — three of which are part of the finance sector. Only an extremely thin slice of Americans are mobilizing their financial and social networks to finance the presidential race.

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced the release of the redesigned Form 990, the form that public charities and other tax-exempt organizations are required to file annually. The new form will be used for the 2008 tax year starting in 2009 and will be phased in over a three year period for smaller organizations. Many changes have been made since a draft was released after the IRS received more than 650 public comments.

The IRS press release states; "For the 2008 tax year (returns filed in 2009), organizations with gross receipts over $1.0 million or total assets over $2.5 million will be required to file the Form 990. For the 2009 tax year (returns filed in 2010), organizations with gross receipts over $500,000 or total assets over $1.25 million will be required to file the Form 990. The filing thresholds will be set permanently at $200,000 gross receipts and $500,000 total assets beginning with the 2010 tax year. Also, starting with the 2010 tax year, the IRS will increase the filing threshold for organizations required to file Form 990-N (the e-postcard) from $25,000 to $50,000.

In regards to Schedule C on political campaign and lobbying activity, the same concerns OMB Watch discussed in its comments remain.

The 2008 Form 990 and other background materials are available on the IRS Charities and Nonprofits Web site.

Democratic presidential nominee Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) has proposed expanding existing national-service programs like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. Obama has also promised increased federal government help for nonprofits. Obama said he would create a Social Investment Fund Network to provide money to encourage innovative nonprofit projects, including for example the funding of specific community-identified priorities, and creating a Social Entrepreneurship Agency. Read his proposal here.

Barack Obama will create a Social Investment Fund Network. This will be a government-supported nonprofit corporation, similar to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, that will use federal seed money to leverage private sector funding to improve local innovation, test the impact of new ideas and expand successful programs to scale. The fund will operate through a network of funds that will be rooted in the private sector at the community level, with local decision-making informed by a shared network of best practices.

During a speech in Iowa, Obama said; "The non-profit sector employs 1 in 12 Americans and 115 nonprofits are launched every day. Yet while the federal government invests $7 billion in research and development for the private sector, there is no similar effort to support non-profit innovation. Meanwhile, there are ideas across America - in our inner cities and small towns; from college graduates to folks making a career change - that could benefit millions of Americans if they're given the chance to grow."

After Senator Feinstein (D-CA) asked Senator Ensign (R-NV) to withdraw his amendment referencing a letter sent by a diverse group including OMB Watch, Ensign has responded with a resounding no. The Senate Campaign Disparity Act (S. 223) would require Senate candidates to file their campaign finance reports electronically, and its passage remains doubtful. Roll Call ($$) reported; "In a letter Monday to Senate Rules and Administration Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Ensign rejected her entreaty to drop his insistence on offering a controversial amendment that would require nonprofits that file Senate ethics complaints to disclose their donors." Read this blog entry from the Campaign Legal Center.