Abuse of Power

“We are confident that the people of North Carolina will ultimately prevail in our fight for fair maps,” Bob Phillips with the state affiliate of Common Cause — one of the lawsuits’ plaintiffs — said after the ruling’s release.

“This is absolutely a regression from what we already have,” said Khalif Ali, the head of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a nonpartisan good-government group. “When I was reading through it, I was just amazed.”

“New Yorkers expect that public servants are hired based on their unique qualifications and not because they are the mayor’s brother,” Common Cause New York’s Executive Director Susan Lerner said in an email. “It is unclear whether a waiver from the Conflict of Interest Board would be required for this appointment,” Lerner said. She added: “Even with a waiver, the appointment of the Mayor’s close relative does not inspire public confidence.”

"You're asking your constituents to show up and testify, to take time out of their busy days, and they don't even know what they're testifying about," said Viki Harrison, director of state operations for Common Cause, a government accountability organization. "All that does is make the public think that politicians are not real people and are not looking out for our best interests."

ATLANTA (AP) — Voting rights groups and individual voters on Friday filed a federal lawsuit that says the new map for three Georgia congressional districts violate the Constitution and weaken the power of voters of color. It challenges the 6th, 13th and 14th congressional districts. The Southern Poverty Law Center filed the lawsuit on behalf of Common Cause, the League of Women Voters of Georgia and individual voters.

Today, Common Cause is emphasizing to every U.S. Senator that voting rights protections must remain their priority and that any reforms to how electoral votes for president and vice president are counted are no substitute for the Freedom to Vote Act and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The letter to Senators emphasizes that some legislatures across the country are already introducing new bills to make it harder for Americans to have a say in choosing their elected leaders. The new bills come on top of last year’s voter suppression push that saw 19 states enact 34 restrictive voting laws.