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Trump Must Sign Ethics Pledge & Transition Documents

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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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Los Angeles Times: Garcetti’s India nomination has stalled. So his parents hired lobbyists to help him

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Los Angeles Times: Garcetti’s India nomination has stalled. So his parents hired lobbyists to help him

Many Washington, D.C., lobbying firms have a minimum monthly retainer of $10,000 or $15,000, but some firms charge $50,000 a month, or occasionally more, said Beth Rotman, director of money in politics and ethics at Common Cause, a good-government organization.

She likened Garcetti’s parents to a couple that shells out to get their child into a top school.

“It’s a bit like when the parents hire the most expensive coach they can find to get them into the most expensive university,” Rotman said. ...

Insider: A Republican congressman who says Disney is sexualizing children and ‘kowtowing’ to Chinese Communists is also a Disney stockholder

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Insider: A Republican congressman who says Disney is sexualizing children and ‘kowtowing’ to Chinese Communists is also a Disney stockholder

"Even if Members of Congress aren't fully aware of their own stock portfolios, just the perception that they're taking actions to line their own pockets can be really damaging," said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for nonpartisan government watchdog organization Common Cause. "When Members of Congress are allowed to take votes and make other official actions that influence companies in which elected officials own stock, it looks and smells bad."

The New Republic: New York’s Redistricting Has Caused a “Trainwreck Of Democrats’ Own Creation”

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The New Republic: New York’s Redistricting Has Caused a “Trainwreck Of Democrats’ Own Creation”

“The current maps are often pointed to, ‘Oh, look how terrible they are.’ But they are drafted to give specific communities a fair chance to choose their own representatives,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, an advocacy group which opposed the new map. She noted that a special master appointed by a federal court had drawn the previous congressional map, and said that he had taken these demographic factors into account. ...

“People do not live, work and play in neat lines and boxes....

CT Insider/Hearst: Report finds 16 Connecticut legislators have joined ‘far-right’ Facebook groups

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CT Insider/Hearst: Report finds 16 Connecticut legislators have joined ‘far-right’ Facebook groups

While Connecticut conservatives haven’t been so bold as elected officials in red states, their enrollment in the Facebook groups indicates the need for more public vigilance, said Cheri Quickmire, executive director of the election watchdog Common Cause in Connecticut.

“Extremism isn’t only in certain states like Florida and Arkansas, but it’s alive in Connecticut,” Quickmire said Friday while reviewing the report. “I find this disturbing.” She recalled the controversy last year over the teaching of American...

Associated Press: NC groups, voters urge justices to avoid redistricting case

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Associated Press: NC groups, voters urge justices to avoid redistricting case

“The U.S. Constitution does not grant impunity to a state legislature for violations of its state constitution simply because the legislation relates to congressional elections,” wrote lawyers representing Common Cause, another litigant. Lawyers representing the state come from a department led by Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein.

The Guardian: Trump loyalist’s primary win prompts election fears in Pennsylvania

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The Guardian: Trump loyalist’s primary win prompts election fears in Pennsylvania

“What we’ve seen is that there are a number of elected officials within the Republican caucus that are still advocating or supporting this notion that the 2020 presidential elections were stolen,” said Khalif Ali, the executive director of the Pennsylvania chapter of Common Cause. “We’re not just talking about a gubernatorial race, we’re talking about the very essence of democracy in this state and in this country.” Ali, from Common Cause, said it would be a mistake to dismiss Mastriano as too extreme to win a statewide election....

Public News Service: Election Fraud Movement Asserts Itself on Policy Stage, Campaign Trail

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Public News Service: Election Fraud Movement Asserts Itself on Policy Stage, Campaign Trail

Sylvia Albert, national voting and elections director for Common Cause, said outside the findings, potentially having some candidates espousing such views take office is concerning. If election results were to be rejected without a valid reason, she said it might be harder to seek recourse.

"So, there definitely is an ability to challenge in court, [but] the courts are leaning more and more toward stepping away and letting the political process run itself," Albert stressed. "What that does, is not protect the people who don't...

Associated Press: In 2 states, 1 in 20 residents missed during US head count

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Associated Press: In 2 states, 1 in 20 residents missed during US head count

John Marion, executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Rhode Island, said it was difficult to pinpoint exactly why Rhode Island had such a large overcount. There were significant outreach efforts and the state has a large summer home population, but the same applied to other states, he said.

“We’re essentially the lucky beneficiary of a statistical anomaly,” Marion said. “And as a result, we’ll have more representation in Congress for 10 years.”

Washington Post: The midterms are here. Critics say Facebook is already behind.

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Washington Post: The midterms are here. Critics say Facebook is already behind.

“They have been leaving up content around the 2020 election saying the election was stolen,” said Yosef Getachew, media and democracy program director at advocacy group Common Cause. “You have candidates saying we have had prior elections stolen, so this one will be stolen as well, so it’s an ongoing issue that we are trying to get them to take seriously.”

Yahoo! News/Daily Beast: How Ted Cruz Became a ‘Blatantly Cynical’ Election Law Troll

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Yahoo! News/Daily Beast: How Ted Cruz Became a ‘Blatantly Cynical’ Election Law Troll

“Ted Cruz is perhaps the most cynical member of the Senate when it comes to this issue, perhaps only bested by Mitch McConnell,” Steve Spaulding, senior counsel at good government group Common Cause, said. He recalled an interaction with Cruz at a 2015 Senate hearing about dark money in elections.

“Cruz came down afterwards, and actually tried to pitch me on his idea of eliminating super PACs by allowing unlimited contributions directly to candidates. He was giving that argument with a straight face,” Spaulding said....

Philadelphia Inquirer/Tribune News Service: Pennsylvania Republicans tried to stop Doug Mastriano. But first they followed him.

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Philadelphia Inquirer/Tribune News Service: Pennsylvania Republicans tried to stop Doug Mastriano. But first they followed him.

“Time and time again we’ve seen Doug Mastriano put in a position of leadership that would essentially give him a platform to voice his ideas,” said Khalif Ali, head of the Pennsylvania chapter of Common Cause, which sued to block the investigation.

Public News Service: Clean Elections Groups Slam Supreme Court Ruling on Campaign Finance

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Public News Service: Clean Elections Groups Slam Supreme Court Ruling on Campaign Finance

Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, said this means big donors can funnel huge amounts of cash directly to newly elected officials.

"This decision is yet another example of the Supreme Court allowing more big money in politics and further opening the door to corruption and big moneyed interests calling the shots," Scherb contended. ...

Scherb emphasized he hopes it will drum up more support for the DISCLOSE Act, which would require campaigns and groups spending money to...

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