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

Press Release

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...

Media Contacts

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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Common Cause/NY on Santos Expulsion: “Good!”

Press Release

Common Cause/NY on Santos Expulsion: “Good!”

"Today's decision to expel Mr. Santos is a win for voters and democracy. Mr. Santos' deception and likely violation of federal law has been clear for a long time. Voters did not deserve a representative that lied and defrauded his way into Congress. The House Ethics Committee's diligent bi-partisan report made crystal clear that Mr. Santos is plainly unfit to serve in public office any longer. We commend the New York delegation's overwhelming bi-partisan vote in favor of expelling Mr. Santos, and all other Representatives who voted to protect...

Boston Globe: New R.I. Ethics Commission appointee faced sexual harassment allegations from six women

News Clip

Boston Globe: New R.I. Ethics Commission appointee faced sexual harassment allegations from six women

But John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said Da Cruz’s conduct as a member of the South Kingstown Town Council “makes him unfit to serve on such an important body as the Rhode Island Ethics Commission.”

Ethics Commission appointments are arguably the most important that a governor makes, aside from choosing state judges, Marion said. Rhode Island’s constitution gives the Ethics Commission “extraordinary powers,” including removing elected officials from office, and Common Cause fought for...

Indiana Public Media/Indiana Capital Chronicle: With gambling legislation on pause, some push for reform

News Clip

Indiana Public Media/Indiana Capital Chronicle: With gambling legislation on pause, some push for reform

The recent scandals show Indiana’s lobbying and campaign finance regulatory processes are a “complete failure,” said Julia Vaughn, leader of government watchdog Common Cause Indiana.

“No state agency even recognized what was going on. … Thank goodness that the (Federal Bureau of Investigation) was paying attention,” Vaughn said — although she said Indiana Election Division and Indiana Lobby Registration Commission (ILRC) staff were “doing the best they can under the very bad structure” in place.

Houston Chronicle (Op-Ed): How billionaires use dark money to take aim at Texas schools

News Clip

Houston Chronicle (Op-Ed): How billionaires use dark money to take aim at Texas schools

We are waiting to hear whether Gov. Greg Abbott will announce yet another special session focused on school vouchers. Are school vouchers an urgent priority that necessitates an extra session of the Legislature? Not according to state lawmakers. Just weeks ago, leaders in Austin had the opportunity to pass the governor’s voucher program, and on a bipartisan vote, they declined.


If you follow the money, school vouchers are important to the governor’s main benefactors: billionaires Tim Dunn and Farris Wilks and a...

SCOTUS Scandal Subpoenas Still Necessary After High Court Creates Weak Ethics Code    

Press Release

SCOTUS Scandal Subpoenas Still Necessary After High Court Creates Weak Ethics Code    

Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to subpoena a wealthy donor and a high-profile legal power player at the center of recent United States Supreme Court ethics scandals. The vote came after the High Court proposed its own weak and unenforceable code of conduct earlier this month amid growing criticism.

Los Angeles Times: L.A. will switch to independent redistricting if voters approve in 2024 election

News Clip

Los Angeles Times: L.A. will switch to independent redistricting if voters approve in 2024 election

“The city of Los Angeles is building on the best practices from around the state and the country and really, I think, setting a gold standard for everybody to be looking for,” said Kathay Feng, national redistricting director for the nonpartisan government accountability watchdog group Common Cause. Feng previously helped lead the effort to institute independent redistricting on the state level.

Newsday: Suit aims to block touch screen voting machine

News Clip

Newsday: Suit aims to block touch screen voting machine

Led by Common Cause New York, the group contends the state Board of Elections erred in August when it certified for use the ExpressVote XL, a touch screen machine.

The machine allows voters to mark a ballot electronically instead of on paper and ... displays selections on a summary card. Advocates said that's not enough to verify ballots independently, as required by state law.

In their lawsuit, the advocates said: "As a voter cannot read a bar code, the voter's ballot is not certifiable. No voter can verify...

Colorado Newsline: Former Republican secretary of state of Colorado argues Trump should be barred from ballot

News Clip

Colorado Newsline: Former Republican secretary of state of Colorado argues Trump should be barred from ballot

Buchanan joined the advocacy group Colorado Common Cause in making that argument in a brief they submitted as part of a case over whether Trump should be disqualified under a Civil War-era provision of the 14th Amendment.

“This country and its institutions are at a crossroads,” the brief says. “Either the plain mandates of our Constitution will be honored and enforced in the face of partisan outcry (thus preserving the rule of law in America) or they will be subverted to avoid that same partisan outcry (eroding the rule of...

Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico Supreme Court hands Democrats a victory in redistricting case

News Clip

Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico Supreme Court hands Democrats a victory in redistricting case

Mason Graham, policy director of Common Cause New Mexico, said in a news release Monday he applauds the state Supreme Court’s decision.

“The redistricting process was more accessible and transparent this time, due to the involvement of the Citizen Redistricting Committee, but we can make it better,” Graham said.

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