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Groups Urge Census Changes to Accurately Count Prison Populations For Redistricting

Press Release

Groups Urge Census Changes to Accurately Count Prison Populations For Redistricting

Today, Common Cause and the Prison Policy Initiative urged the U.S. Census Bureau to change how it counts prison populations each decade. The Bureau’s use of differential privacy, the intentional infusion of inaccurate information into population data, creates unnecessary miscounts in data used by state and local officials for redistricting. In a letter to Director Robert L. Santos and other senior officials, the groups emphasized that the populations of correctional facilities are already publicly available and that differential privacy is...

Media Contacts

David Vance

National Media Strategist
dvance@commoncause.org
240-605-8600

Katie Scally

Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
408-205-1257

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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Associated Press: Former Cabinet secretary defends auto dealerships from Tesla

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Associated Press: Former Cabinet secretary defends auto dealerships from Tesla

Heather Ferguson, executive director of the government accountability group Common Cause New Mexico, said the quick transition by Ortiz from Cabinet secretary to industry spokesman smacks of crony capitalism.

“The perception this creates, on the heels of the Tesla deal, is concerning,” Ferguson said. “Each one of these things chips away at the state’s national reputation as to whether businesses can come in and get a fair shake. It hurts our economy.”

Houston Public Media/NPR: Texas legislation would allow partisan actors to request election audits

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Houston Public Media/NPR: Texas legislation would allow partisan actors to request election audits

But Stephanie Gómez, associate director of Common Cause Texas, said the bill would create chaos in the election system.

"The process creates confusion and distrust in our democracy, inflames suspicion in the myth of rampant voter fraud, and keeps alive the hopes of those who were so consumed with sowing disbelief in our democracy and chasing conspiracy theories that they literally led an attack on the U.S. Capitol not even a year ago," Gómez said.

VIDEO LINKS AND QUOTES from Today’s Media Briefing: Fighting for Fair Maps in the Face of Extreme Gerrymandering

Press Release

VIDEO LINKS AND QUOTES from Today’s Media Briefing: Fighting for Fair Maps in the Face of Extreme Gerrymandering

Earlier today, a panel of national and state redistricting experts briefed the media on the redistricting provisions within the Freedom to Vote Act and how the legislation will help stop state legislatures’ ongoing attempts to approve gerrymandered maps in the current and future redistricting cycles.

Senate Introduces & Must Pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to Protect the Freedom to Vote from Racial Discrimination

Press Release

Senate Introduces & Must Pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to Protect the Freedom to Vote from Racial Discrimination

Every American deserves the freedom to vote regardless of our color, background or zip code, but that freedom is under siege in many states. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in the Senate today, will protect the freedom of every American to cast a ballot and have a say in decisions that impact our lives—from combatting the pandemic to creating jobs to making health care affordable.

Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate begins work on election audit, voting felony bills

News Clip

Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate begins work on election audit, voting felony bills

"This decision to inject partisan politics into our elections process will only sow doubts in our democracy, distract and divide us, and stick taxpayers with these giant bills," said Stephanie Gómez, associate director of Common Cause Texas.

"Texans deserve better than to have our ballots serve as fuel for an election conspiracy," she said.

Inside Sources/Tribune News Service (Op-Ed): 2020 Election Audits: Bad for Public Trust, Good for Fundraisers

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Inside Sources/Tribune News Service (Op-Ed): 2020 Election Audits: Bad for Public Trust, Good for Fundraisers

Those who are manufacturing doubts about our election results have a strong profit motive: they need to keep the doubts alive to keep the dollars flowing. 

But the rest of us can stop falling for their scam, and stop subsidizing these unfounded attacks on America’s elections.

NPR (AUDIO): Redistricting: What Happens When The Party With Power Gives Themselves More

News Clip

NPR (AUDIO): Redistricting: What Happens When The Party With Power Gives Themselves More

STEPHANIE GOMEZ: So, you know, we got the text. Like, the maps are out. These are the maps that we have been waiting for.

CHANG: Stephanie Gomez is associate director of Common Cause Texas, a nonprofit that works on issues like voting and elections. She was waiting eagerly on Monday when Republican state lawmakers released their first draft of the new congressional map.

GOMEZ: I don't know if I'm allowed to cuss, but it was very like, oh, hell, like, it's - the maps are out. It was just - everyone open up the...

Houston Chronicle: Over 1 million Houston voters change congressional districts under GOP redistricting plan

News Clip

Houston Chronicle: Over 1 million Houston voters change congressional districts under GOP redistricting plan

“With 95 percent of Texas population growth in the last decade coming from communities of color, our new congressional districts clearly should have been created to provide them the ability to elect their candidates of choice,” said Anthony Gutierrez, the executive director of the good government group Common Cause Texas. “That did not happen because these mapmakers prioritized the interests of their own political party over those of Black and brown Texans.”

The Hill: Cities become pawns in redistricting game

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The Hill: Cities become pawns in redistricting game

“Republicans will oftentimes split cities in order to dilute the votes of Democratic voters in districts that will be heavily Republican, so they want a little piece to bury under the votes of people who vote the other way,” said Kathay Feng, national redistricting director at Common Cause, a government watchdog organization. “Democrats, on the other hand, want to split cities because they can vote in solid Democratic patterns and they want to use them as anchors in as many districts as possible.”

Washington Post: New York’s redistricting tests Democratic opposition to gerrymandering

News Clip

Washington Post: New York’s redistricting tests Democratic opposition to gerrymandering

“It was a hallmark of the Cuomo administration to introduce bold measures to make great headlines that have little to no substance. The redistricting deal is that kind of deal,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, which did not support the referendum, declaring it inadequate. “Clearly the desperate desire for a deal overcame good governance.”

So far, critics like Lerner have been right. In its first attempt this year to draw new maps, the commission couldn’t agree, with Democrats drafting...

Arizona Partisan Election Review ‘Findings’ Presented at No-Questions-Asked ‘Hearing’

Press Release

Arizona Partisan Election Review ‘Findings’ Presented at No-Questions-Asked ‘Hearing’

The Cyber Ninjas report, itself, showed that Joe Biden won the presidential election in Maricopa County; that determination came after a chaotic hand-count of more than 2 million paper ballots, and closely paralleled official election results. But the central result was cloaked in other allegations intended to create new doubts about the 2020 election. 

The Hill: Dozens of lawsuits filed ahead of redistricting presage years of litigation

News Clip

The Hill: Dozens of lawsuits filed ahead of redistricting presage years of litigation

“Legislatures feel unbridled in what they’re allowed to do,” Feng said. “There were more legal constraints in past redistricting processes that have been eroded by court decisions and that sense that states can now engage in redistricting with far fewer legal constraints has allowed some to engage in very brazen gerrymandering.” 

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