Citizen Funded Elections

Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn is among the witnesses this morning as the District of Columbia City Council subcommittee considers the Fair Elections Act of 2017, an ordinance that would add the nation’s capital to the list of jurisdictions embracing a small dollar donor based campaign finance system.

Two women who’ve seen firsthand the institutional and structural barriers that confront women running for political office - and have demonstrated that those barriers can be overcome - shared their insights on women in politics this morning with an audience of politically minded women.

On the 15th anniversary of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA), it’s worth noting that not so long ago there was a bipartisan consensus that our campaign finance system is corroding our democracy and a bipartisan commitment to improve it.

Through nearly four years as a member of the Federal Election Commission, Ann Ravel fought the good fight to rein in the power of big money in politics; she departs with a challenge to President Trump to overhaul the agency by staffing it with commissioners who are serious about enforcing campaign finance laws.

Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nomination will likely shape the court – and American law -- for decades to come, as it is expected to restore the conservative majority lost when Justice Antonin Scalia died last year. So it’s no wonder that a long list of advocacy organizations, including Common Cause, are now busy dissecting the record of Trump’s nominee, appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch.

South Dakota Republicans are trying to thwart the voters' desire for stronger ethics and campaign finance laws