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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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Houston Chronicle: Is my Harris County polling place ADA accessible? Flip a coin — nearly half are not

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Houston Chronicle: Is my Harris County polling place ADA accessible? Flip a coin — nearly half are not

“Voters were waiting two to three hours circling the parking lot, looking for parking spaces or waiting at their car to be serviced by a poll worker,” said Katya Ehresman, a program manager at Common Cause Texas, a voting rights nonprofit.

She said that these curbside voting issues were not necessarily the fault of the county but instead an issue of building and resource availability.

Wisconsin State Journal: Divisive ‘Iowa-style’ redistricting bill receives first public hearing in Wisconsin

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Wisconsin State Journal: Divisive ‘Iowa-style’ redistricting bill receives first public hearing in Wisconsin

Jay Heck, executive director of government watchdog group Common Cause of Wisconsin, said the fact that Republicans put the plan on such a fast track makes supporters of nonpartisan maps suspicious.

“A month ago, there was no even inkling that most Republican members of the Legislature were supportive of redistricting reform,” he said. “And so the matter of believability and trust, I think, really comes into play here as we begin this process.”

Public News Service: Report: AZ Earns ‘B minus’ grade for redistricting practices

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Public News Service: Report: AZ Earns ‘B minus’ grade for redistricting practices

Jenny Guzman, program director for Common Cause Arizona, says the AIRC can be a lot stronger and more independent.

"The way the current Arizona redistricting commission works is in order to appoint commissioners, the first few have to be appointed by the Arizona state party leaders. That can make things a little tricky," she explained.

Guzman said that meant fewer "guardrails" to ensure all races were properly represented in the redistricting process. She says this negatively impacted Arizona.

Source NM/States Newsroom: Boosted accessibility for voters in ongoing NM local election

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Source NM/States Newsroom: Boosted accessibility for voters in ongoing NM local election

New Mexico doesn’t require any reason for someone to request an absentee ballot.

There are only really benefits to that, said Mason Graham, policy director for Common Cause, a nonprofit that works to uphold voter rights. He said it started up with the COVID-19 pandemic. He said absentee ballots allow for more convenience in voting and can help people do more research on candidates.

Despite baseless misinformation around mail-in voting, it’s just as secure as in-person voting. Graham said there are extensive...

Capitol Beat: Lawsuit challenging redrawing of Georgia’s congressional districts moving forward

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Capitol Beat: Lawsuit challenging redrawing of Georgia’s congressional districts moving forward

“Having fair maps makes elected politicians responsive to the needs and wants of the people by having elections where voters make the calls,” Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said following Tuesday’s ruling. “We deserve better, and the law demands better, than the current voting maps that prevent Georgia’s communities on the margins of society from having a meaningful say in the halls of Congress.”

Common Cause Georgia, League of Women Voters, SPLC Applaud Court’s Decision to Move Redistricting Case Forward

Press Release

Common Cause Georgia, League of Women Voters, SPLC Applaud Court’s Decision to Move Redistricting Case Forward

A three-judge panel for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia is allowing a case challenging Georgia’s racially gerrymandered congressional district map to move forward. The case, brought by several Georgia voters, Common Cause Georgia and the League of Women Voters of Georgia will go to trial in November.

Public News Service: Amid multiple lawsuits, Texas’ redistricting gets D- from elections watchdog

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Public News Service: Amid multiple lawsuits, Texas’ redistricting gets D- from elections watchdog

Dan Vicuna, director of redistricting and representation with Common Cause, said the solution to extreme gerrymandering is establishment of a nonpartisan system or commission with broad representation to draw up districts - which only exists in a handful of states.

"The public understands that whether you're kept in one district with a community that shares concerns of all sorts can really make the difference between having a champion in the halls of power - or not having a champion," he explained.

Ohio Capital Journal: Does Sec. of State LaRose have no Senate campaign HQ, or is it where he’s moving his state office?

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Ohio Capital Journal: Does Sec. of State LaRose have no Senate campaign HQ, or is it where he’s moving his state office?

“You need space,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause Ohio. “You need space to organize simple things like yard signs. A robust campaign actually needs at least one office — often more than one — if you’re going to be successful. Think about the number of media markets you have in Ohio. The secretary of state is running for the U.S. Senate.”

“If in fact this has been planned for nearly five years, we should have been in the know for a really long time,” Turcer said.

FEC Urged to Amend Regulation to Account for False AI Content

Press Release

FEC Urged to Amend Regulation to Account for False AI Content

Today, Common Cause and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights filed comments with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) in support of a petition for rulemaking filed by Public Citizen to amend its regulation on “fraudulent misrepresentation” to include “deliberately false Artificial Intelligence-generated content in campaign ads or other communications.”

VoteBeat/AZ Mirror: Three seconds to spot fraud? Testing Arizona’s ballot signature checking process.

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VoteBeat/AZ Mirror: Three seconds to spot fraud? Testing Arizona’s ballot signature checking process.

The potential change in process to come from this lawsuit worries Jenny Guzman, the program director for Common Cause Arizona, which advocates for voter rights. The organization isn’t sure signature verification is the best way to verify a ballot, but wants to make sure that officials have a large database to work from if this is the method they are using, she told me. Officials should also be attempting to contact voters whose signature is being questioned, Guzman said, which happens in Arizona under state law but doesn’t happen in every...

The Daily Beast: This Top GOP Recruit Has a Swampy Connection to a Trumpy Rep

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The Daily Beast: This Top GOP Recruit Has a Swampy Connection to a Trumpy Rep

Stephen Spaulding, vice president of policy at the good government group Common Cause, told The Daily Beast that the Sheehy-Zinke relationship—consisting of major campaign contributions, federal contracts, and favorable legislation—was the exact kind of “pungent mix” that gives voters the impression that elected officials put corporate money over the public interest.

Americans, Spaulding said, are “rightly turned off” by such relationships.

“It’s what gives rise to corruption and the appearance of...

AmericaOne Radio The Ron Show: Redistricting Report Cards & Athens’ DA Dilemma

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AmericaOne Radio The Ron Show: Redistricting Report Cards & Athens’ DA Dilemma

Dan Vicuna with Common Cause joined me today to dive into the ⁠C.H.A.R.G.E. batch of report cards for each state's redistricting efforts⁠, and - surprise - ⁠Georgia got a D⁠. IN fact, 18 of the 20 failing states are GOP-controlled.

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