Nonpartisanism is a lack of affiliation with, and a lack of bias toward, a political party. While an Oxford English Dictionary definition of partisan includes adherents of a party, cause, person, etc., in most cases, nonpartisan refers specifically to political party connections rather than being the strict antonym of "partisan".
Historian Sean Wilentz argues that from the days of George Washington's farewell address, to Senator Barack Obama's speech at the Democratic national convention in 2004, politicians have called upon Americans to move beyond parties. Wilentz calls this the post-partisan style, and argues that "the antiparty current is by definition antidemocratic, as political parties have been the only reliable electoral vehicles for advancing the ideas and interests of ordinary voters". However, nonpartisan elections are quite common at the local level, primarily in an effort to keep national issues from being mixed up with local issues. Today, nonpartisan elections are generally held for municipal and county offices, especially school board, and are also common in the election of judges. The unicameralLegislature of Nebraska is the only state legislature that is entirely officially nonpartisan; additionally, the bicameralFono of American Samoa is the only territorial legislature that is officially nonpartisan. Although elections may be officially nonpartisan, in some elections the party affiliations of candidates are generally known, most commonly by the groups endorsing a particular candidate.
Churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations
Churches and charities in the United States are mainly formed under US Internal Revenue Service tax code 501 non-profit organization regulations. To maintain that tax-exempt status, and the ability for donors to take a tax deduction, they are required to remain nonpartisan. This has caused some to question the ability of organizations that have the appearance of partisanship. The Brookings Institution is a Washington, D.C. think tank and 501 non-profit, nonpartisan organization. Since its founding in 1916, it has had both identifiable Republicans and Democrats among its leadership. Owing to leadership changes such as this, some argue that it is a good example of a nonpartisan organization. The New York Times has at times listed the organization as being liberal, liberal-centrist, centrist, and conservative. In 2008, The New York Times published an article where it referred to the "conservative Brookings Institution".
In the history of Milwaukee, the "Nonpartisans" were an unofficial but widely recognized coalition of Republicans and Democrats who cooperated in an effort to keep Milwaukee's Sewer Socialists out of as many offices as possible, including in elections which were officially non-partisan, but in which Socialists and "Nonpartisans" were clearly identified in the press. This lasted from the 1910s well into the 1940s. During the period of Socialist-Progressive cooperation, the two sides were called "Progressives" and "Nonpartisans".
