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Government Accountability Groups Urge House to Strengthen the Office of Congressional Ethics and Make It Permanent

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Government Accountability Groups Urge House to Strengthen the Office of Congressional Ethics and Make It Permanent

Today, Common Cause and other government accountability groups urged every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to strengthen the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) and make the office permanent. Even if Congress does not codify the OCE into law at this time, the groups stress the importance of maintaining the office’s continued existence and the importance of not weakening it in the 119th Congress. The letter emphasizes overwhelming public support for increased ethics and accountability measures and touts the success of...

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David Vance

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

Katie Scally

Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
202-736-5713

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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Gannett/Wilmington Star News: Are Black voters in North Carolina at risk with redistricting maps under litigation? NAACP, Common Cause and NC voters sue Republican legislatures for racially gerrymandered maps

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Gannett/Wilmington Star News: Are Black voters in North Carolina at risk with redistricting maps under litigation? NAACP, Common Cause and NC voters sue Republican legislatures for racially gerrymandered maps

On Dec. 19, the North Carolina NAACP along with Common Cause, a nonpartisan nonprofit advocating for fair and transparent elections, and a group of eight residents filed a lawsuit against Republican mapmakers, including Philip Berger, Tim Moore and the State Board of Elections, for passing allegedly racially adjusted and rushed gerrymandered maps.

Bob Phillips, the executive director at Common Cause North Carolina, said in an interview that minority communities, like the Black community, will not get to choose...

Associated Press: Indiana legislation would add extra verification steps to prove voters are eligible

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Associated Press: Indiana legislation would add extra verification steps to prove voters are eligible

Julia Vaughn, executive director of transparency and voting advocacy group Common Cause Indiana, said that 30-day timeframe is unfair. She worries the bill could catch people who become lawful citizens and voters whose names are still on the temporary list.

“The failsafe has to move like clockwork right?” she said. “And in the real world, clockwork doesn’t always happen.”

Amicus Brief Filed to Uphold Constitution in Trump’s SCOTUS Case 

Press Release

Amicus Brief Filed to Uphold Constitution in Trump’s SCOTUS Case 

Today, Common Cause filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States asserting that former President Donald Trump should be excluded from the Colorado ballot under the 14th Amendment for his role in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

The case comes on appeal after Colorado’s High Court recently ruled that the “disqualification clause” of the 14th Amendment applied to Presidents, thus making former President Trump ineligible for the state ballot. Colorado Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the...

San Francisco Chronicle: Scholars urge Supreme Court to ban Trump from ballot

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San Francisco Chronicle: Scholars urge Supreme Court to ban Trump from ballot

In another Supreme Court filing Tuesday, the advocacy group Common Cause said the case is “a moment of truth for American democracy.” Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, “and his open and ongoing support, even today, for the insurrectionists and their cause poses the greatest danger to our free democratic system since the Civil War,” the group said.

Georgia Recorder: Georgia House approves revised prosecutor oversight commission as Senate investigates Willis

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Georgia Recorder: Georgia House approves revised prosecutor oversight commission as Senate investigates Willis

Common Cause Georgia executive director Aunna Dennis called the measure a politically motivated bill that does not provide a clear roadmap of checks and balances it is supposed to adhere to. A better step would be to correct some of the deficiencies in last year’s bill that established the oversight commission, Dennis said in a statement.

“Prosecutors who defend our state constitution should be able to do so safely,” she said. “How are prosecutors able to defend themselves from challenging corruption in our government...

KPBS/CalMatters: California lawmakers, raising fears of political violence, want to shield their properties

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KPBS/CalMatters: California lawmakers, raising fears of political violence, want to shield their properties

Laurel Brodzinsky, legislative director for California Common Cause, said Form 700 is an important tool for understanding how elected officials’ economic interests shape their decision-making.

“We do think that having that transparency is really important for accountability,” Brodzinsky said.

Brodzinsky of California Common Cause said there are reasonable limitations on what information is disclosed about elected officials and other public servants given the threat of violence.

“We do...

Albuquerque Journal (Op-Ed): NM elected officials still under the influence of alcohol industry

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Albuquerque Journal (Op-Ed): NM elected officials still under the influence of alcohol industry

The alcohol industry is at it again.

For three decades the industry, its powerful lobbyists and its allies in the hospitality industry have been successful in staving off increases in the state’s alcohol excise tax with arguments about how even a modest increase will hurt restaurants and local breweries. Increased prices for alcohol won’t result in less drinking anyhow, they say. The argument was most recently echoed in an Albuquerque Journal editorial.

Meanwhile New Mexico is No. 1 nationwide in...

Politico/Yahoo! News: New House maps in New York stall as deadline for June primaries nears

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Politico/Yahoo! News: New House maps in New York stall as deadline for June primaries nears

“Conducting business behind closed doors is unacceptable,” Common Cause New York executive director Susan Lerner said. “Open your doors to the people. The people who live in congressional districts deserve a say in who will represent them.”

Honolulu Star Advertiser: Saiki supports bills for full public financing of political campaigns

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Honolulu Star Advertiser: Saiki supports bills for full public financing of political campaigns

Camron Hurt, program manager for Common Cause Hawaii, said full public financing of political candidates would allow elected officials to focus on voters’ concerns and not special interests “by removing big money from our politics.”

At the same, Hurt said, “I hope it allows for greater participation from the candidates, for a kid growing up in Pauoa or Nanakuli.”

“Having the speaker’s unwavering support and leadership in this bill is astronomical at a risk to his own seat, at risk to his own...

Politico: Seeing a viral pro-Biden TikTok? A PAC might have paid for it.

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Politico: Seeing a viral pro-Biden TikTok? A PAC might have paid for it.

Ishan Mehta, the director for media and democracy at watchdog group Common Cause, said he was disappointed the FEC decided not to require paid influencer disclosures. He said regulations on paid social media political content should be the same as those for political television and print ads, which are required by the FEC to include disclaimers.

“The ability to pay influencers to carry their message on behalf of a campaign is a loophole,” he said.

Common Dreams: ‘Political Deepfake Moment Is Here’: NH Robocall Sounds Like Biden

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Common Dreams: ‘Political Deepfake Moment Is Here’: NH Robocall Sounds Like Biden

Also on Monday, Public Citizen and Common Cause submitted petitions urging state election officials in Alabama, Louisiana, and Wisconsin to regulate deepfakes in political campaign communications.

"AI deepfakes represent a very clear and present danger to our democracy," said Ishan Mehta, director of Common Cause's media and democracy program. "The opportunity for deceiving and misleading voters has never been so acute as it is today with the vast improvements in fake computer-generated images and voices."

"And...

Public News Service: Good-government groups speak out after fentanyl sent to CA elections office

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Public News Service: Good-government groups speak out after fentanyl sent to CA elections office

Jonathan Mehta Stein, executive director of California Common Cause, said while no one was hurt, the attempt to poison or kill an election worker is despicable.

"It's to destabilize our elections and to scare the public servants who run them," Mehta Stein pointed out. "And to make all of us more fearful of participating in our democracy."

Mehta Stein blamed the rise in threats to election workers on the litany of false conspiracy theories claiming the 2020 election was rigged.

"We have to find a way...

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