§ 1201.735-311 - Partisan political activities.

(a) Prohibited activities: No employee may:

(1) Use his or her official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the result thereof; or

(2) Take any active part in partisan political management or in political campaigns, except as may be provided by or pursuant to statute 5 U.S.C. 7324.

(b) Intermittent employees: Persons employed on an irregular or occasional basis are subject to paragraph (a) of this section only while in active duty status and for the 24 hours of any day of actual employment.

(c) Excepted activities: Paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to:

(1) Nonpartisan campaigns and elections in which none of the candidates is to be nominated by or elected as representing a national or State political party, such as most school board elections; or

(2) Political activities connected with questions of public interest which are not specifically identified with national or State political parties, such as constitutional amendments, referenda, and the like (5 U.S.C. 7326).

(d) Excepted communities: Paragraph (a) of this section does not apply to employees who are residents of certain communities. These communities, which have been designated by the Civil Service Commission (5 CFR 733.301), consist of a number of communities in suburban Washington, DC, and a few communities elsewhere in which a majority of the voters are Government employees. Employees who are residents of the designated communities may be candidates for, or campaign for others who are candidates for, local office if they or the candidates for whom they are campaigning are running as independent candidates. An employee may hold local office only in accordance with §§ 1201.735-301 through 1201.735-306 relating to outside employment and associations.

(e) Special Government employees are subject to the statute for the 24 hours of each day on which they do any work for the Government.

(f) While regular employees may explain and support governmental programs that have been enacted into law, in exercising their official responsibilities they should not publicly support or oppose pending legislation, except in testimony required by the Congress.

(g) The Foreign Service Act generally prohibits any Foreign Service employee from:

(1) Corresponding in regard to the public affairs of any foreign government, except with the proper officers of the United States; and

(2) Recommending any person for employment in any position of trust or profit under the government of the country to which he or she is detailed or assigned.