Two Honolulu attorneys will ask the Federal Election Commission today to investigate whether the U.S. Chamber of Commerce violated election law by making automated telephone calls steering absentee voters toward U.S. Rep. Ed Case in the Democratic primary for Senate.

The chamber's calls describe Case as supporting tax cuts that help Hawai'i families and expanding small-business healthcare plans. The calls direct voters to a chamber Web site that favorably compares the congressman to U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka on jobs, the economy and protecting small businesses.

The chamber has endorsed Case over Akaka in Saturday's primary.

Corporations such as the chamber are allowed to conduct unlimited issue advocacy that describes public policy or compares candidates on issues. But corporations are prohibited from using corporate money or express advocacy that promotes the election or defeat of candidates.

The FEC, guided by Supreme Court rulings, has defined express advocacy as communication that a reasonable person would interpret as helping a clearly identified candidate. The communication can be as explicit as "vote for" or "elect" or more oblique like "Smith for Congress."

Jim Bickerton, an attorney active in consumer rights, said the chamber's calls and Web site leave no doubt which candidate the chamber prefers.

"To me, it's just black and white. Corporations aren't supposed to do this," said Bickerton, who has joined with attorney Barry Sullivan on the complaint. "I think somebody just screwed up."

Eric Wohlschlegel, the chamber's executive director of communications, said the chamber's political outreach has been vetted by its attorneys and is proper. "All of our advocacy efforts are in full compliance with FEC law," he said.

Wohlschlegel said it is the chamber's policy not to publicly discuss the cost or the extent of its outreach for candidates such as Case. But the chamber describes itself as a major player in national elections that endorses candidates who support business priorities and a pro-growth agenda. In the 2004 election cycle, for example, the chamber and its political action committee were active in fundraising, voter education and get-out-the-vote efforts in nine Senate races and 28 House races nationwide.

In its August announcement endorsing Case, the chamber said the congressman has been an ally on several business issues such as class-action and bankruptcy reform bills and small-business healthcare plans. "He has earned the chamber's endorsement because we believe he will build on a successful tenure in the House and fight for businesses of every size on important issues like tax relief, healthcare and regulatory reform," said Bill Miller, the chamber's vice president and political director, in a statement.

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawai'i put out a statement shortly after the Case endorsement, saying it had no involvement in the decision and has a long-standing practice of not endorsing candidates.

The distinction between issue advocacy and express advocacy is important to the FEC because express advocacy is regulated and subject to public disclosure requirements, source restrictions and contribution limits. Issue advocacy is protected by the First Amendment and is not regulated, which is why the chamber does not believe it has to publicly disclose how much it has spent on the calls and Web site.

Bickerton, who is supporting Akaka in the primary, said he discussed the chamber's calls with the Akaka campaign before deciding to file the complaint. But he said he would have been just as alarmed if the chamber was making similar calls for Akaka.

"I'm doing it because I don't believe that outside corporations, or even local corporations, have any business funding these kinds of advocacy efforts," he said. "We have rules for a reason."

Andy Winer, Akaka's campaign manager, said the campaign received a recording of one of the chamber's calls from an aide to U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, who picked it up off her answering machine. The campaign provided a copy of the recording to Bickerton.