“We are deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision to approve the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, which will have significant consequences for consumers and competition," said Michael Copps, special advisor to Common Cause and former Democratic FCC chairman. "All of the evidence in this proceeding shows that this merger is inherently illegal under antitrust law. Even evidence presented at the trial revealed the companies’ executives acknowledged prices for wireless service would rise if the merger was approved. The Court’s decision will...

Paul Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Washington-based watchdog group Common Cause, said if Halle's tweet was instead a private message to an outside group, and the outside group made an ad buy based on the information in the private message, then the Buttigieg campaign and the outside spender's activities would "arguably meet" the "material involvement" standard under the FEC's multi-part test.This would violate federal laws.But in this case, because Halle had tweeted the message publicly instead of sending it as a private...

Hacked machines. Undercounted elections. Broken touchscreens. Impatient voters. Sound like a nightmare? It could be a reality for millions of New York voters as early as April.

For years, the voting machine company ES&S has spent more than $600,000 lobbying New York officials to purchase certain machines, including ExpressVote XL, and soon they might get the green light. The machine provides a touchscreen allowing voters to mark their ballot electronically instead of on the traditional paper ballots. It then tabulates votes.

Local newspapers provide a public good that far outweighs their financial value. And the FCC is supposed to ensure that public good is maintained. The approval of this merger with its explicit endorsement of profit over the public interest demonstrates that the FCC has lost its way.

In 2008, I led efforts to fundamentally change California’s redistricting process.
With an unusual coalition of left, right and center allies, we created the nation’s first independent citizens redistricting commission. The power to draw voting maps was taken from politicians and given to people like you and me.
Today our redistricting process is independent and community-led with the goal of keeping communities together in the new maps. No longer behind closed doors, drawing voting lines is conducted openly and transparently.

“Bob Phillips is what’s good about politics,” Dennis Wicker told The News & Observer in an interview. Wicker, a Democrat, served as lieutenant governor from 1993 to 2000 and considered Phillips a trusted advisor, then and now.
“He understands public service starts with fair elections and open elections,” Wicker said. “He’s a true believer that great public service is born from a strong and fair democracy.”

Boston's rally was bipartisan, with not only Democrats invited to speak but also former Massachusetts Republican Gov. William Weld, who is challenging Trump for the GOP presidential nomination, said Pam Wilmot, the executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, one of the organizers.
"We want to demonstrate that people care about this, that the rule of law is important and that our country will not stand for a fake trial and just sweeping this under the rug," Wilmot said. "This is a serious matter. It should not be about...

The political maps of the past decade have favored rural voters, said Common Cause North Carolina Executive Director Bob Phillips. Rural voters tend to support Republicans, and the maps were drawn to cement Republicans’ power. Plus, he said, many of North Carolina’s most powerful lawmakers are from rural areas themselves.
Phillips, who is an advocate for redistricting reform, said he is still trying to convince Republican leaders like them to pass reforms in the next few months, before the 2020 elections. In part, he said, he...

Two more House Republicans have announced their retirement, adding to over a dozen House Republicans that will not be seeking re-election in 2020. Suzanne Almeida from the Common Cause Redistricting Counsel explains what role redistricting may have played in their decision.

Beth Rotman, the director of money in politics and ethics for the good-government group Common Cause, said the payment appeared to cross the line, and warranted a thorough investigation.
“We’re talking about significant dollars, and public dollars, for a representative of a national political campaign to talk to adults on campus,” Ms. Rotman said, adding that she was glad young people were paying as close attention to their local representatives as federal watchdogs are for the president.