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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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CT Insider: In Connecticut’s smallest city, mayoral candidate’s Jan. 6 charges set up divisive Republican primary

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CT Insider: In Connecticut’s smallest city, mayoral candidate’s Jan. 6 charges set up divisive Republican primary

Cheri Quickmire, executive director of the voter advocacy and election watchdog organization Common Cause in Connecticut, says the primary will be a test for Trump supporters and mainstream Republicans. "I don’t think he should be on the ballot," Quickmire said of DiGiovanni. "I think anyone who participated in an insurrection against the U.S. government should be disqualified."

Honolulu Civil Beat: What Does Hawaii Have In Common With These Red States? A Fear Of Direct Democracy

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Honolulu Civil Beat: What Does Hawaii Have In Common With These Red States? A Fear Of Direct Democracy

There was a push to establish statewide initiatives, referendums and recalls during the last constitutional convention in 1978. A key proponent was the good-government organization Common Cause Hawaii.

In a newspaper interview at the time, Common Cause’s Carol Zachary said special interests “can better use the established legislative process than they can the entire electorate. Their defense of the present system proves that they don’t want to give people the franchise. They’re scared of what they might do.”

Los Alamos Daily Post: Officials And Organizations Express Condolences On Passing Of Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson

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Los Alamos Daily Post: Officials And Organizations Express Condolences On Passing Of Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson

Common Cause New Mexico State Director Heather Ferguson:

“He was one of the strongest Governors New Mexico ever had. While he might be remembered more for his diplomacy and the economic advances he brought to New Mexico (the film industry, the Spaceport, the Rail Runner to name a few) we remember him for his 2007 Ethics Reform Task Force. It spurred so much legislation over the subsequent decades—a Gift Ban, Public Financing of the PRC and state judicial races, limits on campaign contributions and an ethics commission. He...

Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer: Rigged legislative districts boost partisanship, diminish compromise: Civil Discourse Initiative

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Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer: Rigged legislative districts boost partisanship, diminish compromise: Civil Discourse Initiative

The reform proposals that voters adopted during the last decade to stop gerrymandering were thwarted because redistricting remained in the hands of politicians, says Common Cause Ohio Executive Director Catherine Turcer.

Now, she’s supporting a new citizen initiative that would put an independent citizen commission in charge of mapmaking. She said states that redistricted through independent citizen commissions got legislative and congressional district lines that didn’t unfairly favor one party or another.

Newsday: Term-limited Bellone continues fundraising

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Newsday: Term-limited Bellone continues fundraising

Susan Lerner, executive director of the good government group Common Cause New York, said politicians should not hold fundraisers without declaring their intentions.

"Common Cause/NY believes that candidates must explicitly announce what office they are running for when asking donors for money - and not build up a war chest for an unknown position," she said in a statement. "New York law must change so that candidates are only able to raise money once they've announced their campaign for an intended office."

Washington Post: Justice Thomas details jet travel, property deal with billionaire

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Washington Post: Justice Thomas details jet travel, property deal with billionaire

He described Crow as a “personal friend,” according to the disclosure form, one of several from the 1990s that is no longer publicly available but was provided to The Washington Post by watchdog organizations Common Cause and Documented.

Inside Sources/Tribune News Service (Op-Ed): How the Supreme Court Stopped a Dangerous Legislative Power Grab

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Inside Sources/Tribune News Service (Op-Ed): How the Supreme Court Stopped a Dangerous Legislative Power Grab

When I was in the Supreme Court last December listening to oral arguments in Moore v. Harper, I was struck by Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s questions in this case that put the future of American democracy’s checks and balances at risk.

Barrett doubted that the “independent state legislature theory” should give state legislatures absolute power to write laws for federal elections without facing state judicial review. And Barrett probed repeatedly about when, if at all, the Supreme Court should intervene in state court...

New York Times: Republicans Target Wisconsin’s Election Chief for Removal, Fueled by Falsehoods

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New York Times: Republicans Target Wisconsin’s Election Chief for Removal, Fueled by Falsehoods

Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, a government watchdog group, said Ms. Wolfe’s removal would be a major blow to the state, which is likely to once again be a crucial battleground for the presidential race.

“The vast majority of Wisconsin’s voters and citizens can and will lose confidence and trust in our elections,” he said.

San Jose Mercury News: Thought San Jose’s 2022 mayor’s race was expensive? Experts say brace yourself.

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San Jose Mercury News: Thought San Jose’s 2022 mayor’s race was expensive? Experts say brace yourself.

Sean McMorris, a member of government transparency nonprofit California Common Cause, said he’s unsure whether the city needs to eliminate the cap at all.

“I know that San Jose is being proactive, but it is not clear to me that the SCOTUS ruling, which pertained to federal campaign finance law and post-election fundraising, would necessarily apply to all local campaign finance laws pertaining to candidate loans or that a city cannot narrowly tailor such a law to avoid running afoul of the SCOTUS ruling,” he wrote in an...

Houston Public Media: Texas prepares to leave multistate compact to clean its voter rolls, without an alternative

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Houston Public Media: Texas prepares to leave multistate compact to clean its voter rolls, without an alternative

All of this is a concern for voting rights groups. Katya Ehresman, voting rights program manager for Common Cause Texas, said its been just four years since the state attempted to purge tens of thousands of people incorrectly identified as noncitizens from the state's voter rolls. The furor over that effort helped to sink Acting Secretary of State David Whitley's bid for confirmation in the post. Ehresman noted that Keith Ingram, who served as elections director under Whitley, was appointed by current Secretary of State Jane Nelson to head the...

Boston Globe: Carlson’s early exit renews calls for limiting early voting or using ranked-choice voting

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Boston Globe: Carlson’s early exit renews calls for limiting early voting or using ranked-choice voting

But John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, called the GOP statement “a knee-jerk reaction to what is a fairly common occurrence in elections all across the country.”

“This is not the first time a candidate has withdrawn from a race but remained on the ballot, and it won’t be the last time,” he said. “Restricting a popular and secure way for voters to vote is not the right reaction.”

In offering 20 days of early voting, Rhode Island is matching the national average in the 47...

Wisconsin Law Journal: Protasiewicz prohibited from hearing abortion, gerrymandering cases if impeachment commences

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Wisconsin Law Journal: Protasiewicz prohibited from hearing abortion, gerrymandering cases if impeachment commences

Jay Heck, director of Common Cause, told the Wisconsin Law Journal he believes Vos’ threat of impeachment is hypocritical.

“It’s such self-serving hypocrisy with Vos. Where was Vos in 2012 when conservatives all voted to dismiss illegal coordination with Walker and Club For Growth? It has been well documented that Walker engaged in coordination to raise money for his recall election, which was illegal. Candidates cannot coordinate with outside special interests, and the Legislature changed that in 2015, but I didn’t...

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