In 2020, Common Cause celebrated our 50th anniversary of working for the public interest and the democracy we deserve.

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to increase funding for the Census Bureau and the states to tackle the unprecedented challenges of conducting the Census during the COVID-19 pandemic. The letter also urges Congress to ensure Census Bureau funding is being used solely to compile critical data products and to thoroughly evaluate the Trump administration’s request to delay the Census data delivery deadline which will create significant problems for redistricting deadlines in numerous states. 

Common Cause Ohio organized a briefing on HJR 12, a proposed state constitutional amendment that would reform how Ohio’s state legislative districts are drawn by creating a less partisan process.

Virginia commission created by Governor McAuliffe will examine redistricting reform.

Gavin Geis of Common Cause Nebraska said it was disappointing and concerning that the partisan balance requirement had been ignored and sidestepped.

“It’s put in there for a purpose, so we have some sort of diversity of opinion and perspective on questions of policy,” Geis said. “That diversity of thought leads to better outcomes.”

“Not everyone has the opinion of a registered Republican,” he added. “It certainly should not to be skirted around.”

Jay Heck, executive director of voting rights advocacy organization Common Cause Wisconsin, says the introduction of the proposal will only serve to confuse voters ahead of next year’s elections.

Under the bill, the administrator of the WEC would need to work with the secretary of state to transition election responsibilities by June 30, 2024 —a little more than four months before the presidential election.

“The thing that’s most disturbing about it is it’s creating, deliberately, a chaotic, confusing...

“Illinois’ process basically demonstrated everything that’s wrong with elected officials being in charge of redistricting,” Dan Vicuña, director of the Redistricting and Representation program at Common Cause, told Democracy Docket. “It lacked transparency, disregarded public input, made it very difficult for the public to provide feedback and ignored a lot of community needs.”

In October, the nonprofit organization released a “report card” grading states on their redistricting processes based on certain...

In the United States, more than 3,000 sheriffs possess extensive or even total authority over arrests, incarceration, and civil enforcement in their jurisdictions. A new report released today by Common Cause and Communities for Sheriff Accountability examines how campaign contributions to sheriffs across the country and their business relationships with donors can encourage and incentivize mass incarceration in the U.S. “The Paid Jailer: How Sheriff Campaign Dollars Shape Mass Incarceration,” is a first of its kind report that examines the...

New revelations about the circumstances around President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey demand that the investigation add possible obstruction of justice to the list of potential crimes committed by the President and his staff.