TX: Group's complaint to IRS claims national vote implications

[flashl]

IRS is asked to look into vote effort

It's no secret that evangelical voters helped Republican Gov. Rick Perry win re-election in 2006. But critics now allege that the effort to get congregants to the polls ran afoul of federal tax laws, and they say the same tactics are being used to promote former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee's GOP bid for the White House.

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At issue is the Texas Restoration Project, a religious organization that urged evangelicals to stand up for Christian values at the ballot box. According to the Texas Freedom Network, a liberal government watchdog group, the mobilization was bought and paid for by major Republican donors in apparent violation of federal tax laws.

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"It's bad enough when politicians and their financial backers misuse faith by dragging our houses of worship into partisan political campaigns," said Kathy Miller, president of the Freedom Network. "It's even worse if they break the law to do so. It now appears that the organizers of the Texas Restoration Project may have done both."

Big donors

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In its complaint to the IRS, the Freedom Network said its findings have national implications because of links between the Texas groups and similar efforts designed to help Huckabee's campaign in South Carolina, which holds its GOP primary Jan. 19.

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