Guidelines for Political Activity in the Workplace

As private citizens, every CMU employee has the right to engage in their First Amendment Rights and to fully participate in political campaign activities when using their personal time and resources. As university employees, we must also take care to ensure those activities do not violate CMU policies or state and federal laws. 

The following recommendations are intended to help CMU faculty and staff members understand what is and is not permitted – by CMU policy or by applicable state and federal laws. 

Guiding policies and laws

Employees may not

  • Indicate the university’s support or opposition for a candidate, political party or ballot initiative. 
  • Use the university’s name or trademarked logos and images when supporting or opposing a political candidate or ballot initiative. 
  • Engage in political campaign activity during the employee’s work hours. 
  • Use CMU offices, telephones, computers, applications (for example, Teams or WebEx) or software (Outlook) to conduct campaign business at any time. 
  • Send political messages on university stationery or using postage purchased using university funds. 
  • Use your cmich.edu email address or a CMU-issued computer to send political campaign messages. 
  • Use CMU listservs to send information supporting or opposing a political candidate or ballot initiative.  
  • Use CMU copiers or printers, which are paid for using university funds, to print or make copies of campaign materials. 

Employees may

  • Engage in political campaign activities as a private individual. These are activities conducted outside working hours that do not involve use of CMU resources. This includes but is not limited to: 
    • Posting political views and/or information on a personal social media account.  
    • Donating their own money to a political candidate or cause. 
    • Voting in an election. 
    • Contacting political leaders to share opinions and requests. 
    • Organizing and attending political rallies and events. 
    • Writing op-eds, testimonials or endorsements for candidates or causes. 
    • Volunteering with a political campaign or party. 
  • Conduct research, collect data and present findings on issues related to ballot initiatives or political issues. 
  • Include discussions about campaign-related issues in class and at class or course-related events when those topics are relevant to the objectives of the class and course content. 

Inviting political candidates and officials to campus

  • Only Registered Student Organizations may invite political candidates and speakers to campus for political campaign activities. They must work through CMU’s processes for planning and hosting events. 
  • Faculty and staff may not use university resources to host political candidates, parties or speakers engaging in political campaign activity.
  • Faculty and staff who wish to host on-campus, non-partisan events that may include political candidates and/or officials must consult with the Office of General Counsel and/or the Office of Government and External Relations before extending an invitation to those individuals. Please note: The invited parties must agree not to use the event for campaign purposes. 

Frequently asked questions

No. Per Michigan’s Campaign Finance Act, university employees may not use university-owned channels, including university-sponsored email programs, to send or receive political campaign messages. And university employees should not speak for the university or suggest that they are acting on the university’s behalf. 

No. Even during non-working hours, employees are not permitted to use university-owned resources, including accounts or technology, to participate in political campaign activity. 

Maybe. Registered Student Organizations may invite political candidates to host campaign events; however, faculty, staff and outside organizations are not permitted to hold political campaign events using university-owned buildings and facilities. Faculty and staff may bring speakers to campus to present factual information.

Yes, most of the time. We seek to make our university a place that encourages the free and open exchange of ideas and information, and that values viewpoint diversity. Read more about our Commitment to Free Expression. 

CMU permits individuals and groups to participate in many expressive activities, such as tabling outdoors, hosting protests and gatherings, inviting guest speakers to campus, and more. This means that members of our community are likely to encounter messages and individuals they don’t agree with and may even find offensive. Learn more about guidelines for expressive activity in the Expressive Activity and Advocacy Policy. 

Engaging with new ideas is part of the learning process, and we encourage everyone to approach them with curiosity. You may choose not to attend the event, or to express your disagreement with speakers and organizers following the event. We ask that everyone be respectful of others; remember our shared goal to create a community that uplifts all voices and respects viewpoint diversity.

Every individual has the right to engage in First Amendment activities, including protests, rallies, and demonstrations, on university property, subject to time, place, and manner requirements. Individuals and groups not affiliated with CMU who wish to hold a protest or demonstration on campus, especially those using amplified sound, should review CMU's Expressive Activities and Advocacy Policy.

Faculty and staff members who wish to host or participate in protests or demonstrations in public spaces on campus may do so outside their working hours, so long as they do not imply they are representing the university.

Note: Only Registered Student Organizations may reserve university buildings for political campaign events and activities.

Yes, so long as you are officially off the clock and do not imply that you are representing the university when you do so. You may wish to document the time off, and we suggest that you do not wear your CMU nametag, lest you be perceived as representing CMU at the activity.  

While it’s OK to identify yourself as a university employee, if you do so, you should note that the opinions expressed are your own and that you are not speaking on behalf of CMU. 

No. University resources, including office walls and doors, should not be used to support or oppose a candidate or the qualification, defeat or passage of a ballot proposal.  

No. While faculty and staff members are working in their official CMU capacities, including during online meetings, they should not wear or display items that convey the appearance of political endorsement or that expressly support or oppose a political candidate or party. 

No. While faculty and staff members are working in their official CMU capacities, including during online meetings, they should not wear or display items that convey the appearance of political endorsement or that expressly support or oppose a political candidate or party. 

That depends. We may want to show our support for our students, but we need to comply with state law.  

If the event takes place during your working hours, you may be present to observe, but you should not participate. For example, you should not carry signs, participate in chanting, etc. 

If the event takes place outside of your working hours, you may choose to participate, so long as you are off the clock and do not imply that you are representing the university when you do so. You should not wear your CMU nametag. 

Please note: Some CMU administrators and staff members may also need to be involved to protect campus and student safety.  

No. Employees may not use any CMU-owned resource, including official campus partner social media accounts, to promote political candidates, events or activities. 

Yes. CM Life and WCMU are independent media outlets protected by state and federal laws governing the news media. They may interview candidates, host debates, provide commentary, publish or broadcast op-eds, and report on elections, among other activities. 

Yes and no. Your name belongs to you, and you may certainly use it to sign your personal communications. Your university affiliation, however, may not be appropriate to include in such messages. Using your title may imply that you are issuing the opinion at the direction of or with the support of CMU; that would violate state law.  

If you must include your title/university affiliation, please include the following disclaimer: The views expressed are my own and are not reflective of an official university position. 

No. The department’s official social media account is an official university-owned account and may not be used to share positions taken in support of or in opposition to candidates or ballot initiatives (see CMU’s Social Media Policy). However, you may use your own personal accounts to share your personal views.