As the January 6th Select Committee is reportedly set to hold more hearings this month, and less than two years since January 6th, Common Cause is releasing its 2022 Democracy Scorecard, which tracks the positions of every Member of Congress on issues vital to the health of our democracy during the 117th Congress. Throughout this Congress, members of the House and Senate were notified that various votes on key democracy issues – including many related to January 6th and its aftermath - would be counted in the Scorecard, which will be...

Today, Common Cause joined The NewsGuild-CWA, National Association of Broadcast Employees and Technicians-CWA, and UCC Media Justice Ministry in filing a Reply, opposing the proposed merger of Apollo Global Management, Standard General L.P., and Tegna Inc. In June, Common Cause filed its original petition to deny the merger.

Today, Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA) along with 28 co-sponsors in the Senate and 26 co-sponsors in the House, introduced the Net Neutrality and Broadband Justice Act. This bill would codify the classification of broadband as a telecommunications service. The bill would also return authority to the Federal Communications Commission to oversee broadband providers and allow the agency to promulgate strong net neutrality rules. Common Cause has long believed that a free and open Internet...

On Wednesday, Common Cause, joined by UCC Media Justice, filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) asking the agency to deny the proposed $8.6 billion merger of Apollo Global Management, Standard General L.P., and Tegna Inc. If approved, Standard General would acquire Tegna’s 61 full power television stations and two radio stations across 50 markets. Apollo will control the licenses of 31 full-power television stations in 26 markets and 54 radio stations in 11 radio markets.

The petition urges the...

On January 6, 2021, the American people witnessed a violent insurrection on live television. Tonight, we learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that the insurrection was planned, promoted, and pushed by Donald Trump and his cronies in an attempt to steal the election and ignore the will of the American people. The bipartisan committee laid out evidence gathered by non-partisan career investigators revealing the vast scope of the criminal conspiracy to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 election. It was a wide-ranging and premeditated plot...

Today, Common Cause, along with The NewsGuild-CWA and Public Knowledge filed a Motion for Additional Information and Extension of Time with the Federal Communications Commission. The Motion asks the FCC to require the applicants in Standard General Inc. and Apollo Global Management’s acquisition of Tegna to provide additional information and documents necessary for the agency to determine whether the transaction is in the public interest.  

Today, more than 120 civil rights, democracy, and public interest groups called on the major social media companies to combat and curb election disinformation on the platforms ahead of this year’s midterm elections. In a letter to the CEOs of Meta, Twitter, YouTube, Snap, Instagram, TikTok, and Alphabet, the groups urged the platforms to take a variety of specific actions, including “introducing friction to reduce the spread and amplification of disinformation, consistent enforcement of robust civic integrity policies; and greater...

Today, Common Cause announced Jordan Davis has been named the organization’s Vice President of People, Equity, and Inclusion. Following a national search and participation from every level of the organization, Davis was unanimously selected to lead Common Cause’s work to advance equity and inclusion across its national and state offices.

As 2022 congressional races ramp up, Common Cause is again tracking the positions of every Member of Congress on issues vital to the health of our democracy. Members of the House and Senate have received letters asking them to co-sponsor and support at least 15 democracy reform bills and informing them that their voting and co-sponsorship record will be published in Common Cause’s “Democracy Scorecard,” which will be distributed to our 1.5 million members, as well as to state and national media, during the lead-up to Election Day.