American democracy is resilient. Last November's election "was the most secure in American history," according to the Department of Homeland Security. In the face of immense challenges — threats of foreign interference, rampant disinformation, risks posed by the pandemic — election administrators, organizers, attorneys and advocates worked together to protect the vote. Americans voted in record numbers, casting their ballots safely by mail, drop box and in person.

But the work to secure our elections is not over. Recent...

“This looks like the latest example of Trump administration officials bending and breaking ethics laws and norms,” said Paul Seamus Ryan, the vice president of litigation for the group Common Cause. “This is unfortunately par for the course for this administration.”

“It is even more incumbent on us, particularly wearing our nonpartisan hat, to make sure that the election runs smoothly, because we know that folks are going to be looking carefully at the results in Pennsylvania,” said Suzanne Almeida of Common Cause PA, which is heading up the effort in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

“It's about making sure that every voter gets their ballot counted and their voice heard in our democracy,” said Izzy Bronstein, campaign manager with the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization...

“I absolutely think that these ads are deceptive,” said Keshia Morris Desir, the census project manager for government watchdog organization Common Cause. Morris Desir acknowledged that the ads also clearly affiliate themselves with Trump’s campaign, but said they were still misleading. “Although they also say things like ‘Help Trump Win’ — I definitely think that the fact that you name this as a census at the same time that the 2020 census bureau will be sending similar communications for folks to fill out their census form is...

Common Cause, a nonpartisan group that advocates for fairness in U.S. democracy, disagrees. Its vice president, Paul S. Ryan, told Fortune, “It’s entirely true that the wealthy in both parties are using this new system, but who is not benefiting is the everyday American.”Ryan believes that massive campaign expenditures by a handful of wealthy people, which can outstrip the collective donations of thousands of ordinary individuals, diminishes the power of regular voters. And while the Democratic candidates running for President have...

“Nobody understands what that legal gobbledygook means,’’ said Liza McClenaghan, state chair of Common Cause Florida, one of several groups that have asked state officials to update their forms to reflect the changes to state law. “It is confusing. If they had had even an emergency hearing, they would have 90 days to go through the regulatory process and they could have gotten comments on how to make this understandable.’’

“It’s entirely inappropriate, and it is against historical norms for a president to be campaigning from Air Force One,” said Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group. “Most presidents have had enough respect for the office to try to separate campaigning from formal duties. Donald Trump is not such a president.”

قالت ماريا بيريز، مديرة حملة في منظمة Common Cause New Mexico، لمجلة Fortune: "إن التصويت بالاختيار المباشر يساعد الأشخاص الذين يرغبون في الترشح ولكنهم يشعرون بالإحباط من الترشح ربما لأنهم قد يقسمون السباق. هذا ليس ديمقراطيًا. يجب على الأشخاص الذين يرغبون في الترشح أن يترشحوا وأن يكون لهم صوت على الطاولة".

In March, the advocacy group Common Cause alleged that Cambridge Analytica -- the firm that, through a U.K. affiliate, obtained personal data on up to 87 million Facebook users as part of its work for the Trump campaign -- violated election law by letting foreign nationals participate in the U.S. political decision-making process. Common Cause made its complaint to the Federal Election Commission and the Justice Department.

We hope Congress will work towards addressing disclosure of financial, travel, and gift information, and improved access to the statement of disbursements.