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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...

Media Contacts

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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Fox News: Pennsylvania counties have 800,000 ineligible voters on voter registration lists, lawsuit claims

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Fox News: Pennsylvania counties have 800,000 ineligible voters on voter registration lists, lawsuit claims

However, Common Cause Pennsylvania is claiming the lawsuit is a “political ploy” designed “to remove specific voters from the voter rolls.”

“Our job with Common Cause is to make sure this doesn't turn into a democracy crisis with people who should be able to show up and vote on Election Day being removed,” Suzanne Almedia, the interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, told Fox News. “This is about the process that an eligible voter would go through if they're purged from the rolls mistakenly."

Vote Suppression Push Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic Condemned by Common Cause & Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Press Release

Vote Suppression Push Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic Condemned by Common Cause & Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law

Today, Common Cause and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law condemned recently announced plans by the Republican National Committee and outside groups to suppress the vote amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The group announced plans to double its litigation budget to $20 million to fight efforts to make voting more accessible in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and recruit 50,000 poll watchers to “challenge ballots and voters deemed suspicious” at polling places in 15 states.

Associated Press: Democrats try again with sweeping mail voting requirements

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Associated Press: Democrats try again with sweeping mail voting requirements

Democrats and voting rights groups contend they simply want to protect the voting rights of all citizens, and note that repeated studies have found no widespread fraud and no partisan benefit to expanded voting. “It’s an uninformed political calculation that certain elected Republican officials are making,” said Aaron Scherb of Common Cause.

Democracy Safeguards Included in Second COVID-19 Stimulus Package – HEROES Act

Press Release

Democracy Safeguards Included in Second COVID-19 Stimulus Package – HEROES Act

The HEROES Act takes critical steps to help secure essential pillars of our democracy undermined by the COVID-19 pandemic while providing a huge boost to address the public health and economic crises. The bill provides important bulwarks to help safeguard our elections, the Census, the U.S. Postal Service, and includes enhanced oversight requirements for the stimulus package that were sorely lacking in CARES Act passed by Congress in late March.

Daily Beast: How Susan Collins’ Small Business Bill Helped Bail Out Big Ones

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Daily Beast: How Susan Collins’ Small Business Bill Helped Bail Out Big Ones

Noting that the initial draft of the PPP did not have that “carve-in” for chains, Common Cause’s Beth Rotman, an expert in money and politics, told the Daily Beast, “Essentially a combination of wealthy special interests together with well-placed contributors at a critical moment bought a revision to our stimulus package that defined small business as including big business because they owned large franchises made up of hundreds of smaller entities. They were following the law they helped write.” 

CNN: Jared Kushner’s bizarre comment

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CNN: Jared Kushner’s bizarre comment

Can the election be postponed? The experts say it cannot, "No laws passed by Congress have delegated these powers to the president, even in an emergency, so Congress is the only entity that has the power to change the date of the election," noted Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause.

New York Times: Ann McBride Norton, First Woman to Run Common Cause, Dies at 75

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New York Times: Ann McBride Norton, First Woman to Run Common Cause, Dies at 75

When she retired from Common Cause in 1999, Archibald Cox, the Watergate prosecutor and longtime chairman of Common Cause, called her “a giant in the world of political reform,” a gifted organizer and an inspiring public speaker.

“If I had her personality,” Mr. Cox said, “I would rule the world.”

U.S. News & World Report: Access Denied? Coronavirus Complicates Voter Access

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U.S. News & World Report: Access Denied? Coronavirus Complicates Voter Access

"Every vote is going to matter here, as it's excruciatingly close here, as it always is," says Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, one of the most critical of battleground states this fall. If presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wins every electoral vote Hillary Clinton did in 2016 – and picks up Pennsylvania and Michigan – he'd still lose by two electoral votes without also capturing Wisconsin.

Heck contends that Republicans are trying to suppress the vote to keep battleground Wisconsin in the...

Common Cause Urges Congress to Prioritize Additional Census Funding & Further Examine Trump Administration Request for Census Data Delays

Press Release

Common Cause Urges Congress to Prioritize Additional Census Funding & Further Examine Trump Administration Request for Census Data Delays

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. 

Key Democracy Issues Must Be Prioritized in Next COVID-19 Supplemental Funding Bill Common Cause Tells Congress

Press Release

Key Democracy Issues Must Be Prioritized in Next COVID-19 Supplemental Funding Bill Common Cause Tells Congress

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to prioritize funding for key elements of our democracy in the next COVID-19 emergency supplemental appropriations bill (“CARES 2.0”). The letter urges every Member of Congress to designate sufficient funding in the stimulus package to secure essential pillars of our democracy threatened by the pandemic and to ensure proper safeguards are put into place to oversee government disbursement of trillions of dollars in stimulus funds. The elements highlighted in the letter include critical efforts to...

The Nation: Journalism Cannot Be a Covid-19 Casualty

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The Nation: Journalism Cannot Be a Covid-19 Casualty

“Local media is a critical source of news and information for communities, holds our government accountable, and plays an important role in our civic engagement,” argues former member of the Federal Communications Commission Michael Copps, who now counsels Common Cause on media issues. “But the health crisis our nation faces combined with the long-term decline in local news has left many communities without adequate sources of trustworthy news on the pandemic and has created a void in civic information. Congress must act now to ensure...

The Hill (Op-Ed): What Congress and states must do to have safe and fair elections amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

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The Hill (Op-Ed): What Congress and states must do to have safe and fair elections amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

The sight of long lines of voters outside polling places in Wisconsin was both inspiring and heartbreaking, because those voters never should have been there amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The debacle in Wisconsin showed why we need state and local officials to take responsible action now to protect voting rights. We cannot let the November general election play out the way Wisconsin’s election mess did, with voters forced to choose between their health and their right to vote.

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