DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES Public Health Service
Indian Health Service
Rockville MD 20852
SGM 2004-04
OCT. 06, 2004
| TO: | All IHS Employees |
| FROM: | Director |
| SUBJECT: | Voter Registration in Indian Health Service Facilities |
| The Indian Health Service (IHS) supports non-partisan voter registration assistance efforts, including registration activities in IHS facilities, consistent with the restrictions imposed by law. These activities must be conducted in a manner that will not interfere with the normal operations of the Agency or adversely impact the productivity of the participating employees and/or those served by the Agency. Federal Employees The IHS policy governing the political activities of Federal employees is derived from the Hatch Act, as amended, 5 United States Code 7324-7327 (See IHS Special General Memorandum 2004-02.) When IHS employees are acting in their official capacity and/or working on Government time, they may not engage in activities that associate the IHS with any partisan political campaign, election, party, or candidate. Outside Organizations Non-partisan outside organizations and employees in their personal capacity are permitted to engage in truly non-partisan voter registration efforts at IHS facilities. (See 41 Code of Federal Regulations 102-74.465, General Services Administration guidance on occasional use of public buildings; and Office of Special Counsel Advisory Opinions dated April, 14,2004, and May 25,2004.) All inquiries from outside organizations concerning these activities should be made to the Director, Public Affairs Staff, IHS Headquarters, in Rockville, Maryland, at (301) 443-3593. If you have any questions regarding political activities, communicate with your Area Ethics Contact or with the IHS Headquarters Program Integrity and Ethics Staff at (301) 443-4137. Additional information can be printed from the Office of Special Counsel Web site at http://www.osc.gov.
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