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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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Public News Service: Feds Consider Whether to Allow Betting on Election Outcomes

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Public News Service: Feds Consider Whether to Allow Betting on Election Outcomes

Stephen Spaulding, vice president of policy for the nonprofit Common Cause, said gambling on elections is bad for democracy.

"You can imagine wealthy gamblers could make significant money by exploiting disinformation to influence an electoral outcome that would protect the bettors' bottom line," Spaulding pointed out. "This again opens up a significant risk to the perception that the winners and losers of an election are not determined by voters, but by those who stand to gain financially."

Spaulding noted the...

New Report on 2022 Election Disinformation Looks Ahead to 2024

Press Release

New Report on 2022 Election Disinformation Looks Ahead to 2024

As social media platforms drastically scale back efforts to control the expanding threat of election disinformation, a new report from Common Cause takes a look at efforts to combat the rampant problem in 2022 and previews what to expect in 2024. “Under the Microscope: Election Disinformation in 2022 And What We Learned for 2024” examines the preparations and what we saw during the midterms and looks at how to apply lessons to the already unfolding race for the White House. And finally the reports points to existing and proposed...

KCRA-TV: Key committee set to vote on Gov. Newsom’s call for a constitutional convention

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KCRA-TV: Key committee set to vote on Gov. Newsom’s call for a constitutional convention

Critics note there are no guarantees that the convention would be limited to gun control if triggered. The nonpartisan democracy advocacy group Common Cause earlier this week blasted the push, noting a convention lacks legal guardrails and historical norms.

"By calling a constitutional convention, Governor Newsom would invite wealthy special interests to open the hood of the U.S. Constitution and tinker with our rights and liberties—without a single rule," the group said in a news release. "There are few risks to the freedoms...

NPR: How Florida’s congressional map could change before the 2024 elections

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NPR: How Florida’s congressional map could change before the 2024 elections

Regardless of how the state court rules, plaintiffs in an ongoing federal lawsuit plan to proceed with their case, explained Kathay Feng, an attorney and vice president of programs for Common Cause Florida, one of the groups challenging the map.

"If they come to a final remedy that is very narrowly focused, there is still an opportunity for the federal case to examine the entire state map as a whole," Feng said.

Although plaintiffs suing in state court have agreed to skip a trial, that's not expected to happen in...

New Report: Trump’s Big Lie made judiciary a target

Press Release

New Report: Trump’s Big Lie made judiciary a target

“Courts and judges play an important role in American democracy and should not have to fear violence for doing their job,” said Marilyn Carpinteyro, Common Cause interim co-president. “This report highlights why it’s so crucial that the courts and judges can enforce the law fairly and safely. Those in places of power—especially the president of the United States—have a responsibility to ensure judges can do their jobs free of intimidation.”

Wisconsin Law Journal: Liberal Supreme Court justices make sweeping changes to enhance transparency and accountability

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Wisconsin Law Journal: Liberal Supreme Court justices make sweeping changes to enhance transparency and accountability

During an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal last week, Executive Director Jay Heck of the non-partisan government accountability group Common Cause noted that Wisconsin ranked as the 47th worst in the nation, according to a Center for American Progress study for judicial ethics recusal rules.

The study looked at the strength of recusal rules for judges in every state, ranking each state 1-50.

“Even Cook County (in Chicago) has stronger recusal rules for judges, which is a pretty low bar given Chicago’s...

Boston Globe: What is ‘red-boxing’ and why is it an issue in R.I.’s congressional race?

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Boston Globe: What is ‘red-boxing’ and why is it an issue in R.I.’s congressional race?

John M. Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island, said Common Cause and the Campaign Legal Center have been urging the state Board of Elections for at least four years to adopt regulations that would clarify that types of coordination — including red-boxing — violate state campaign finance law. It hasn’t happened.

Marion said the current form of red-boxing has emerged since Rhode Island last made major changes in this area of campaign finance law in 2012.

“It was hard to imagine then that...

NM Political Report: Watchdog groups file brief in congressional gerrymandering case

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NM Political Report: Watchdog groups file brief in congressional gerrymandering case

The brief was filed in state judicial district court by watchdog groups Common Cause New Mexico, Election Reformers Network and the League of Women Voters New Mexico and it supports neither party in the case.

The amicus brief seeks to help the court apply the New Mexico Supreme Court’s three-part test that was adapted from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s dissenting opinion in the Rucho v. Common Cause case of 2019.

“We are gratified that the district court is using the three-part test suggested by...

The Center Square: Gavin Newsom’s national Constitutional amendment to limit gun access put on hold

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The Center Square: Gavin Newsom’s national Constitutional amendment to limit gun access put on hold

“Doing a convention puts every civil right we have in this country at risk,” said Viki Harrison, Director of Constitutional Conventions and Protecting Dissent Programs for left-of-center watchdog group Common Cause in an interview with The Center Square. “The entire Constitution could be rewritten.”

“The amendment process is a lot more in the open,” Harrison said. “You're going through the state legislatures where people can testify. You are going through Congress where people can interact with their legislators...

The Oregonian: Oregon labor group launches end run around effort to curb political donations, shed light on dark money

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The Oregonian: Oregon labor group launches end run around effort to curb political donations, shed light on dark money

Kate Titus, executive director of good government group Common Cause Oregon, said that Our Oregon’s initiatives are “clearly an effort to try to derail (the proposal for stricter limits) and offer a different alternative.”

“I’m pleased that there’s a proactive movement toward campaign finance reform and more players are looking for ways to do this,” said Titus, who gave input on the development of the reform advocates’ proposal but whose organization has yet to endorse any measure for 2024. “Unfortunately, some...

The Hill (Op-Ed): How the Federal Election Commission is undermining the integrity of our elections

News Clip

The Hill (Op-Ed): How the Federal Election Commission is undermining the integrity of our elections

Georgia’s elections are all over the headlines this past week after the Trump indictment, but there is one issue key to protecting our votes missing from those headlines: transparency in campaign spending.

In Georgia, we believe all voters have a right to know when wealthy special interests are spending big to influence our vote. Unfortunately, the Federal Election Commission, the agency tasked with enforcing federal campaign finance laws, has failed Georgia voters and left us in the dark about an out-of-state group that...

Bolts: ‘We Have a Right to Put It on the Ballot’: How Organizers Are Defending Direct Democracy

News Clip

Bolts: ‘We Have a Right to Put It on the Ballot’: How Organizers Are Defending Direct Democracy

Bolts this week gathered three organizers who have fought this dynamic in each of three states that are undergoing this dynamic: Ohio, Arkansas, and Idaho. Their meeting sparked a wide-ranging conversation about their shared frustrations and strategies.

Mia Lewis, associate director of Common Cause Ohio, was active in the campaign to defeat Issue 1 this summer.

“This is a great group to be talking to,” Lewis said. “Because they’re not doing this in one state, they do these things repeatedly in different...

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