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Trump Must Sign Ethics Pledge & Transition Documents

Press Release

Trump Must Sign Ethics Pledge & Transition Documents

President-elect Donald Trump still has not signed legal documents – including an ethics pledge - needed to formally begin his administration’s transition of power. Candidates usually file these documents well in advance of the election. As a result of this delay, the government cannot provide security clearances, briefings and resources to Trump’s incoming team before he is sworn into office on January 20th.

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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CNN: A Wisconsin Supreme Court race holds high stakes for abortion rights and the 2024 election

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CNN: A Wisconsin Supreme Court race holds high stakes for abortion rights and the 2024 election

If a liberal flips the court’s open seat, progressive groups will attempt to relitigate the issue and urge the new majority to strike down the current map, Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, told CNN.

Heck and other voter advocates objected to the court’s conservative majority deciding to use maps drawn by Republicans in 2011 as the foundation for the maps it considered following the 2020 census.

Las Vegas Sun/Tribune News Service (Op-Ed): Supreme Court case could undermine the blueprint of our democracy

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Las Vegas Sun/Tribune News Service (Op-Ed): Supreme Court case could undermine the blueprint of our democracy

We know those who penned our Constitution in 1787 were unequivocal about the importance of putting checks and balances into every level of government and vesting power in the people. It was essential to the Founders to guard against any one person, group or political party seizing control in a way that undermines public will.

If our Supreme Court justices ignore 250-plus years of legal precedent, they’ll also be setting the stage for election pandemonium: One set of rules for state and local elections and another for...

VoteBeat: Unequal election policies disenfranchised some Pennsylvania voters in 2022. Explore what each county did.

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VoteBeat: Unequal election policies disenfranchised some Pennsylvania voters in 2022. Explore what each county did.

Ideally, Pennsylvania counties should make it as easy as possible to vote, said Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a group that advocates for expanding public participation in the government and protecting voting rights. 

“It’s the beauty and the pain that’s associated with the commonwealth,” Ali said. “We have essentially a number of fiefdoms and each of them has their own budgets, their own way of looking at the law, and applying that law on the ground level.” ...

Ali of...

Salon: Joe Biden’s agenda faces an unprecedented onslaught of dark money: The FCC is just the start

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Salon: Joe Biden’s agenda faces an unprecedented onslaught of dark money: The FCC is just the start

"It's clear the industry sees no problems with the status quo," said Getachew. "In a Senate where the Democratic majority is not high, they only need a couple of Democrats to tilt the balance in their favor."

Lobbying campaigns against Sohn, Getachew noted, have included those from the Fraternal Order of Police, which has opposed Sohn on the grounds that she personally supports end-to-end encrypted messaging (over which the FCC has no jurisdiction). The FOP argues it can delay police efforts to access cell phone records.

Bolts/Center for Public Integrity: How one city ended prison gerrymandering

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Bolts/Center for Public Integrity: How one city ended prison gerrymandering

Some of these asymmetries stem from state legislators’ decision to exempt local governments from the laws they passed. Kathay Feng, an advocate at the voting rights organization Common Cause, said this may have been a tactic in some states to avoid paying the cost of local changes, or to sidestep conflicts with “home rule” laws that give localities wide latitude.

The Guardian: ‘We’re hitting the soil’: Georgia activists mobilize voters in an off year

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The Guardian: ‘We’re hitting the soil’: Georgia activists mobilize voters in an off year

“No matter the time of year, it’s about paying close attention to the laws impacting voters, taking the opportunity to gather the information that’s going to impact their access, and working to keep their best interests in mind,” said Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia. “We are, of course, a hub for boots-on-the-ground work, but for us, the work is also getting our hands really wet with election reform work, like drafting legislation to create accessibility or even giving testimony, like we will for HB200.”

Wisconsin Examiner: Bipartisan vote tracking measure brings parties together on elections

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Wisconsin Examiner: Bipartisan vote tracking measure brings parties together on elections

“My concern always is that a generally positive measure like this might later during the legislative process be amended to include some onerous (anti-voting ) provision which then makes it impossible to support the overall measure,” says Jay Heck of Common Cause Wisconsin. “That occurred a few times in the last session with some voting measures.”

One positive aspect of SB-39 is that it’s a stand-alone measure, Heck says, “rather than the mixed packages of bills we saw last session on elections and voting where some...

NBC News: Sex, drugs and deleted ballots? New Mexico elections official hit with ethics charge

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NBC News: Sex, drugs and deleted ballots? New Mexico elections official hit with ethics charge

Mario Jimenez, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico and a former elections official, applauded the ethics commission for investigating the matter but said he was nonetheless disheartened to learn of the allegations.

"When I read it, I was nothing short of infuriated," he told NBC News. "We're losing public trust."

Honolulu Civil Beat: ‘Pay To Play’: Hawaii Moves To Expand The Ban On Contractor Campaign Donations

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Honolulu Civil Beat: ‘Pay To Play’: Hawaii Moves To Expand The Ban On Contractor Campaign Donations

Heather Ferguson, director of state operations for Common Cause, said the good-government group supports extending Hawaii’s ban on contractor donations to include at least the officers of a contracted entity.

“It erodes public trust when contractors are allowed to contribute to campaigns because of the public perception of those donations due to many of the high-profile federal cases,” Ferguson said. “It would be helpful for the public to know that contractors can’t use campaign contributions as an additional way to...

Dallas Morning News: Big bucks, powerful influence at play as Texans rise to key leadership jobs in U.S. House

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Dallas Morning News: Big bucks, powerful influence at play as Texans rise to key leadership jobs in U.S. House

In the House it’s one year and in the Senate it’s two — though there are all sorts of ways to “lobby under the table,” said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, a government watchdog group that decries the revolving door and its role in policymaking.

“This is one among many of the problems that just show the influence that big money and special interests have in D.C.,” Scherb said.

“Congress has to change the incentive structure, so that people don’t feel the...

Bloomberg: Ohio AFL-CIO President Pulled Into Historic Corruption Trial

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Bloomberg: Ohio AFL-CIO President Pulled Into Historic Corruption Trial

“In Ohio we have a system that leaves us in the dark, so what jurors are going to have to do is tease out what is legal behavior in a system that avoids public scrutiny,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio and a longtime Ohio advocate of campaign finance and government reform.

“It’s really important that Ohioans hear what happened behind the scenes,” she said.

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