COVID-19

Acknowledging problems in the Massachusetts election, Pamela Wilmot, the executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, nevertheless attributed the high primary turnout to the state’s shift toward voting by mail. “Compared to the problems we’ve seen in other states, it really was a relatively smaller percentage of the voters that faced these issues,” she said, adding that Massachusetts had benefited from a decline in coronavirus infection rates. Partly as a result, she said, “we did not experience a poll worker shortage.”

Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a watchdog group, said the main issue big companies need to tackle is not getting their employees to vote but to work the polls. "The reality is that the government has been unable to really secure poll workers on a national scale," Albert said. "People just don't think about it. They go to vote and there's the same person there that was there the last time they went to vote. But when you tell people, you being there can actually ensure that people in your community are able to vote a ballot that counts, that's an amazing gift," she added. While there has been an increasing push to make Election Day a national holiday, Albert points out that it is not the end-all-be-all for a democracy. While it may be one step towards ending vote suppression, hourly workers would still need to clock in on holidays. It will take a collective effort from citizens, companies and the government to encourage voters to shape the country's future and Albert thinks that companies are a crucial player. "Corporate America has a gigantic stage and a lot of power. They could have a really positive effect if they step up," she said.

Washington, D.C. — August 22, 2020. Today the House of Representatives passed the Delivering for America Act, H.R. 8015 to halt changes to U.S. Postal Service operations and provide $25 billion in emergency funding during the COVID-19 pandemic. Common Cause’s President, Karen Hobert Flynn released the following statement: “We applaud the House of Representatives for standing up for the millions of Americans who rely on the U.S. Postal Service every day and passing the Delivering for America Act, H.R. 8015 to reverse changes to operations and provide $25 billion in funding during the pandemic. With tens of millions of Americans expected to vote by mail this year, it is appalling that the Trump administration would try to suppress our vote by hampering the USPS. Many communities and groups greatly depend on the USPS: seniors and people with disabilities for their social security benefits and prescription medications; rural and Native communities who lack other affordable delivery options; Americans who lack Internet connectivity; workers for their paychecks; veterans for medicines and VA benefits; and small businesses to ship their products to customers.”

Julia Vaughn, policy director of Common Cause Indiana, said the ruling would prevent votes from being tossed out because of a flawed law. “Election laws should protect people’s right to vote and the integrity of our election system,” she said in a statement. “Indiana’s signature matching law failed to do either and wrongly disenfranchised Hoosiers.”

Common Cause of Indiana Director Julia Vaughn called the ruling "a historic win for Indiana voters." “This victory helps ensure no Hoosier voting by mail will be disenfranchised by Indiana’s flawed signature matching law," she said. "Election laws should protect people’s right to vote and the integrity of our election system. Indiana’s signature matching law failed to do either, and wrongly disenfranchised Hoosiers."

Common Cause alongside our partners -- the National Urban League and League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit on August 19, 2020 that seeks to undo the changes Postmaster General Louis DeJoy has recently implemented.