Perkins Coie was mentioned in “Voting Statements: Can Anything Be “Non-Partisan”?” an article on TheCorporateCounsel.net blog, referencing a publication, “A Checklist for Companies Considering Whether to Speak on Political Issues” written by attorneys Allison Handy and Joe Bailey.

“This Perkins Coie memo outlines a framework for deciding when to speak out. It also lists a few factors that could trigger lobbying or ethics rules that you need to watch out for:

• Is the topic in which the company is engaging related to an election or ballot measure? If yes, the laws in many jurisdictions limit election-related activity but do not bar it entirely. For example, federal law provides corporations a number of opportunities to engage in voter registration, get out the vote, and other civic engagement activities as long as they do so on a nonpartisan basis. (Federal Election Commission regulations have specific requirements for what counts as nonpartisan in this context.)
• If the company is speaking out on legislation, is the bill still pending, or has the bill been passed and signed into law? Speaking out about a bill that has already been enacted will rarely be regulated (though companies will also have to weigh whether such after-the-fact statements are effective in addressing their strategic goals).
• If the legislation is still pending, does the communication or other activity include a call to action? A call to action is a statement urging employees, customers, or members of the public to contact their government official to support or oppose legislation or some other government action. Some jurisdictions do not regulate statements that don’t include a call to action.
• If the legislation is still pending, is the company paying to promote the communication in any way, such as by taking out a print or digital ad campaign or paying to boost social media posts? Some jurisdictions treat paid and unpaid content differently for ethics and compliance purposes.”