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In political science
Political science

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior....
, nonpartisan denotes an election
Election

An election is a decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office. This is the usual mechanism by which modern Representative democracy fills offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional government and local government....
, event or organization in which the participants do not declare or do not formally have a political party
Political party

A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain politics power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns....
 affiliation.

Some nonpartisan organizations are truly such; others are nominally nonpartisan but in fact are generally identifiable with a political party. For example, the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association of America, or NRA, is an American 501#501.28c.29.284.29 group which lists as its goals the protection of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights, marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting an...
 is technically a nonpartisan organization, but at the national level at least functions almost as an adjunct of the United States Republican Party.






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In political science
Political science

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior....
, nonpartisan denotes an election
Election

An election is a decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold formal office. This is the usual mechanism by which modern Representative democracy fills offices in the legislature, sometimes in the executive and judiciary, and for regional government and local government....
, event or organization in which the participants do not declare or do not formally have a political party
Political party

A political party is a political organization that seeks to attain and maintain politics power within government, usually by participating in electoral campaigns....
 affiliation.

Some nonpartisan organizations are truly such; others are nominally nonpartisan but in fact are generally identifiable with a political party. For example, the National Rifle Association
National Rifle Association

The National Rifle Association of America, or NRA, is an American 501#501.28c.29.284.29 group which lists as its goals the protection of the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution of the United States Bill of Rights and the promotion of firearm ownership rights, marksmanship, firearm safety, and the protection of hunting an...
 is technically a nonpartisan organization, but at the national level at least functions almost as an adjunct of the United States Republican Party. Conversely, although technically a nonpartisan organization, at the national level the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP and pronounced N-double-A-C-P, is one of the oldest and most influential civil rights organizations in the United States....
 has for many years functioned as almost a subsidiary organization to the United States Democratic Party. The same can be said of most American right-to-life organizations with regard to the Republicans and of most U.S. labor unions with regard to the Democrats.

In the United States

In U.S. history, the Nonpartisan League was an influential socialist political movement, especially in the Upper Midwest, particularly during the 1910s and 1920s. It also contributed much to the ideology of the former Progressive Party of Canada
Progressive Party of Canada

The Progressive Party of Canada was a political party in Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. It was linked with the provincial United Farmers parties in several provinces and, in Manitoba, ran candidates and formed governments as the Progressive Party of Manitoba....
. It went into decline and merged with the Democratic Party of North Dakota to form the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party in 1956.

Today, nonpartisan elections are generally held for municipal and county
County

A county is a land area of Local government government within a larger state. A county may have city and towns within its area....
 offices, especially school board
Board of education

A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
, and are also common in the election of judge
Judge

A judge, or arbiter of justice, is a lead official who presides over a court of law,which is operated by the local, state, and/or federal government....
s. In some nonpartisan elections, it is common knowledge which candidates are members of and backed by which parties; in others, parties are almost wholly uninvolved and voters make choices with little or no regard to partisan considerations.

Churches are by law supposed to remain nonpartisan in order to retain the status of contributions to them being tax-deductible (contributions to overtly partisan groups, even tax-exempt
Tax exemption

A tax exemption is an exemption from all or certain taxes of a state or nation in which part of the taxes that would normally be collected from an individual or an organization are instead foregone....
 ones, are not); this has recently been called into question with regard to both many predominantly African-American churches being involved in Democratic activism and with many predominantly white evangelical
Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestantism Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s.Most adherents consider its key characteristics to be: a belief in the need for personal conversion ; some expression of the gospel in effort; a high regard for Biblical authority; and an emphasis on the death and resurrection of Jesus....
 churches being openly aligned with activist groups largely associated with Republicans such as the Christian Coalition. On the other hand, the Brookings Institution
Brookings Institution

The Brookings Institution is a Non-profit organization public policy organization based in Washington, D.C. One of Washington's oldest think tanks, Brookings conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics, metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, and global economy and development....
, a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the Capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790....
 think tank
Think tank

A think tank is an organization, institute, corporation, or group that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economy, science or technology issues, industrial or business policies, or military advice....
, has at various times in its history been headed by both identifiable Republicans as well as identifiable Democrats and hence would be judged by many to be nonpartisan in practice as well as in theory.

The unicameral Nebraska State Legislature is the only state legislature that is entirely nonpartisan.

See also

  • Decline To State
    Decline To State

    Decline to State is an affiliation designation on the California voter registration form that allows voters to register to vote without choosing a political party affiliation....