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Groups Urge Census Changes to Accurately Count Prison Populations For Redistricting

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Groups Urge Census Changes to Accurately Count Prison Populations For Redistricting

Today, Common Cause and the Prison Policy Initiative urged the U.S. Census Bureau to change how it counts prison populations each decade. The Bureau’s use of differential privacy, the intentional infusion of inaccurate information into population data, creates unnecessary miscounts in data used by state and local officials for redistricting. In a letter to Director Robert L. Santos and other senior officials, the groups emphasized that the populations of correctional facilities are already publicly available and that differential privacy is...

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David Vance

National Media Strategist
dvance@commoncause.org
240-605-8600

Katie Scally

Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
408-205-1257

Ariana Marmolejo

Regional Communications Strategist (West)
amarmolejo@commoncause.org

Jennifer Garcia

Regional Communications Strategist (South)
jgarcia@commoncause.org

Kenny Colston

Regional Communications Strategist (Midwest)
kcolston@commoncause.org

Common Cause’s network of national and state democracy reform experts are frequent media commentators. To talk with one of our experts, please reach out to any member of the press team above.

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USA Today: Worried about voter suppression? Lawyers set up national hotline to answer questions about election laws

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USA Today: Worried about voter suppression? Lawyers set up national hotline to answer questions about election laws

Common Cause Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan watchdog group and Election Protection partner, is hearing from voters who want reassurance they’re doing everything right.

“We are seeing such incredible voter anxiety in Pennsylvania that is really a result of a lot of the new laws,’’ said Suzanne Almeida, the group's interim executive director.

Almeida pointed to various election changes, including vote-by-mail available to eligible voters for the first time in some states, satellite election offices and deadline...

BuzzFeed: This Is How Thousands Of Americans Are Preparing To Take On Trump If He Refuses To Leave Office

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BuzzFeed: This Is How Thousands Of Americans Are Preparing To Take On Trump If He Refuses To Leave Office

The groups are also planning for Election Day itself. The nonpartisan grassroots group Common Cause is appointing “election protection volunteers,” which it describes as “voters’ first line of defense against restrictive election laws, coronavirus-related voting disruptions, or anything else that could silence their voices.”

Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, told BuzzFeed News that the volunteers will monitor the polls from outside voting stations while others watch for online...

Associated Press: Census takers fall short of target goal in areas of US

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Associated Press: Census takers fall short of target goal in areas of US

Rhode Island is one of about 10 states projected to lose a congressional seat, based on anticipated state population figures in the 2020 census. It could take as few as 30,000 overlooked people for the nation’s physically smallest state to revert back to having a single House district, said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, a nonprofit watchdog. 

The early conclusion of the census “is really going to stymie our efforts, not only to maintain that second district but also to have fair...

New York Times: Trump Promised Seniors Drug Discount Cards. They May Be Illegal.

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New York Times: Trump Promised Seniors Drug Discount Cards. They May Be Illegal.

Under the Hatch Act, government officials are prohibited from using government resources to engage in partisan political activity, and from commanding other government employees to do so. Paul Seamus Ryan, a vice president at the government watchdog group Common Cause, said that if explicit communications surfaced linking the discount cards to the president’s re-election, health officials could face punishment.

“It is likely these are people who could face criminal and civil legal liability if they go through with this...

McClatchy: Emailed threats in Florida dry up as congressional delegation asks for FBI briefing

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McClatchy: Emailed threats in Florida dry up as congressional delegation asks for FBI briefing

Jesse Littlewood, vice president of campaigns at watchdog group Common Cause, said emails and videos meant to make the elections system look insecure or suspicious follow a pattern of attempts to “shake people’s faith in the integrity of our elections.”

The problem is not exclusively foreign either, he added.

“We have seen some domestic bad actors use disinformation to create mistrust and it has had measurable effects,” Littlewood said. “These examples try to prey on and stoke people’s fear, and...

SCOTUS Challenge to Texas COVID-19 Vote By Mail Age Discrimination Draws Amicus from The Andrew Goodman Foundation, Equal Citizens, and Common Cause

Press Release

SCOTUS Challenge to Texas COVID-19 Vote By Mail Age Discrimination Draws Amicus from The Andrew Goodman Foundation, Equal Citizens, and Common Cause

Today, an amicus brief filed with the Supreme Court of the United States by Common Cause, The Andrew Goodman Foundation (AGF), and Equal Citizens  challenged the State of Texas’ age restriction to apply for an absentee ballot in the midst of a pandemic. The case, Garcia v. Abbott (No. 19-1389) challenges a law that restricts young Americans from accessing no-excuse vote-by-mail while making it exclusively available to voters over the age of 65. In their amicus brief, the organizations argue that the unequal treatment of youth voters in the...

New Results: Common Cause Releases “Our Democracy 2020” Candidate Surveys

Press Release

New Results: Common Cause Releases “Our Democracy 2020” Candidate Surveys

Common Cause today released the results of its Our Democracy 2020 candidate surveys. More than 200 candidates for Congress, including in certain swing House and Senate races, responded on how they promise to defend and strengthen our democracy.

VICE News: The US Eliminated Nearly 21,000 Election Day Polling Locations for 2020

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VICE News: The US Eliminated Nearly 21,000 Election Day Polling Locations for 2020

“Putting all your eggs in one basket seems like a very bad idea—and it’s avoidable. We’ve seen what happened in the primaries,” said Sylvia Albert, the national director of voting and elections at the good-government organization Common Cause. ...

Even in states that have dramatically expanded mail voting, cuts to in-person Election Day voting sites could lead to disenfranchised voters — and could disproportionately impact poor and nonwhite voters as well as younger voters who are less likely to live at the same...

The Guardian: Latinos the targets of election disinformation – but activists are fighting back

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The Guardian: Latinos the targets of election disinformation – but activists are fighting back

There are several types of digital voting disinformation, such as giving the wrong time, place or manner of voting, according to democracy watchdog Common Cause. And during Covid-19, when normal routines are disrupted, online disinformation tactics are “much more believable and have a greater impact today than any other election cycle”, said Jesse Littlewood, vice-president at Common Cause, in a webinar.

Reuters: In Pennsylvania, Trump touts the economy and warns of ‘Biden depression’

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Reuters: In Pennsylvania, Trump touts the economy and warns of ‘Biden depression’

“We’re holding our breath, and I’m concerned about lines at early voting places,” said Jay Heck, executive director of the nonpartisan voting rights group Common Cause in Wisconsin.

“Every area - red counties and blue - there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm,” he said in reference to counties that lean toward either of the parties.

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