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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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Editorial Memo: Recent Primaries Are A Wake Up Call For Policy Makers & Election Administrators

Press Release

Editorial Memo: Recent Primaries Are A Wake Up Call For Policy Makers & Election Administrators

No American voter should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. In the first group of elections since the COVID-19 outbreak, the recent primaries showed the challenges and potential of expanding mail-in voting options. They also showed the immediate need for action by election officials and lawmakers to fix problems far too many voters faced in the last few weeks, from long lines at in-person voting centers, to voting machine failures, to mail-in ballot delays.

USA Today: Long lines in Georgia, Lindsey Graham wards off GOP rivals in SC and other takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries

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USA Today: Long lines in Georgia, Lindsey Graham wards off GOP rivals in SC and other takeaways from Tuesday’s primaries

Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said in a statement that her organization and the Brennan Center in January warned the Secretary of State’s Office to be prepared with “sufficient emergency paper ballots in case of voting machine failure.” She noted that in the several months leading up to the election, other voting rights groups issued similar warnings. 

Dennis also called on Raffensperger to create a task force to prepare contingency plans for the upcoming elections.

Wall Street Journal: In a Warning for November, Voters Endure Long Lines in Georgia’s Primary Election

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Wall Street Journal: In a Warning for November, Voters Endure Long Lines in Georgia’s Primary Election

Aunna Dennis, executive director of government watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, said that election problems are a recurring issue in the state, particularly affecting black and minority communities. “We’re being disproportionately impacted because we’re not even getting enough supplies for our precincts,” said Ms. Dennis, who is black.

U.S. News & World Report: Widespread Voting Issues Raise Alarm in Georgia Primary

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U.S. News & World Report: Widespread Voting Issues Raise Alarm in Georgia Primary

And activists on the ground noted multiple issues at the state and local levels, arguing that voters were unable to find concrete information.

Aunna Dennis, the executive director of Common Cause Georgia which is the state chapter of a nonpartisan watchdog group focused on voting rights, says that multiple polling locations moved within the 48 hours before the election with little warning and didn't provide proper signage to indicate the changes in locations for voters. And when machines stopped working, some locations only had...

New York Times: ‘The Future Is Blue, Not Purple’: Is This the Year Georgia Flips?

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New York Times: ‘The Future Is Blue, Not Purple’: Is This the Year Georgia Flips?

The virus “has had a grave impact, a real dent, in how we’re accessing the ballot,” said Aunna Dennis, the Georgia executive director for Common Cause, a nonpartisan grass-roots organization focused on voting rights.

She said the simple question of ballot access should take precedence over any horse-race predictions. “The system is broken here in Georgia,” she said.

ABC News: Mail-in voting delays in primary cause Pennsylvania to sound alarm about November

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ABC News: Mail-in voting delays in primary cause Pennsylvania to sound alarm about November

Suzanne Almeida, the interim director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said adding more secure ballot drop boxes would be an easy and cheap way for counties and local election officials to increase accessibility.

“Many of these reforms that we're looking at are systemic and require and require significant additional funding,” Almeida said. “It's a culture shift in Pennsylvania, as this is the first election we've ever voted by mail by these numbers.

“Folks need to understand that it's better to get it right...

Associated Press: House race drags on after vote-counting board walks out

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Associated Press: House race drags on after vote-counting board walks out

“What you can see is our electorate is more engaged than it has been in a primary for decades,” said Heather Ferguson, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico. “They’ve had some time for life to slow down. ... They were watching more news, getting more input about this election. They got fired up and wanted to vote.”

At the same time, Ferguson said Common Cause is taking stock of whether participation was hindered by the state’s timetable for initiating absentee ballot applications and lengthy delivery times in...

PBS News Hour: Mail-in voting amid pandemic and protests previews challenges for November election

News Clip

PBS News Hour: Mail-in voting amid pandemic and protests previews challenges for November election

“I am trying to see today as an opportunity to show the cracks in the system that we can fix before November,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for voting rights group Common Cause.

Albert said there is concern that in the November election, people who request absentee ballots will not receive them, and there will be fewer polling places as counties consolidate them in response to the pandemic.

“There needs to be a rational level of consolidation that ensures that communities who...

Common Cause Urges Congress to Hold Emergency Session to Pass Anti-Violence Law Enforcement Reform and Protect the Rights of Peaceful Protesters

Press Release

Common Cause Urges Congress to Hold Emergency Session to Pass Anti-Violence Law Enforcement Reform and Protect the Rights of Peaceful Protesters

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to hold an emergency session to pass reform legislation to address law enforcement racism and abuses and to protect the rights of peaceful protesters. The letter comes in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers which inspired nationwide protests that in numerous instances led to police brutality against peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. Common Cause urges Congress to condemn President Trump’s threats to use the military to violently attack...

Reuters: Confusion, long lines at some poll sites as eight U.S. states vote during coronavirus pandemic

News Clip

Reuters: Confusion, long lines at some poll sites as eight U.S. states vote during coronavirus pandemic

“The big story out of Pennsylvania is really voter confusion,” said Suzanne Almeida, interim director of government watchdog Common Cause Pennsylvania. ...

In Indiana, voting rights groups said they heard from many people who reported they never received the absentee mail ballots they had requested.

“That certainly contributed to long lines in Marion County,” said Julia Vaughn, policy director for Common Cause Indiana. Marion County, which includes Indianapolis, consolidated its polling places and had...

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