Voting & Elections

The first potential issue, according to Paul S. Ryan of the watchdog group Common Cause, is if Kushner encouraged West to do something proactive that could benefit Trump’s campaign, such as running for office. If Kushner solicited from West what could be valued at more than the legal limit of $2,800, it could be considered an in-kind contribution to the Trump campaign. And, given the expense of running campaigns, it seems likely if not guaranteed that West running for office — and expending much more than $2,800 — would violate that law. The second issue is if they coordinated about the campaign — i.e., if Kushner encouraged West to do something specific when it comes to launching or running a campaign. “Any expenditure made by Kanye West in cooperation, consultation or concert with — or at the request or suggestion of — Kushner, an agent of the Trump campaign, would be considered an in-kind contribution from the Kanye West campaign to the Trump campaign,” Ryan said.

“These problems have always existed. They have just been limited to mostly low-income Black and Brown voters,” said Sylvia Albert, Director of Voting and Elections at pro-democracy organization Common Cause. “That population [of people being evicted] has ballooned in the current crisis, and what it exposes is how some parts of our system are not responsive to the needs of the voters.” ... The additional hurdles of a pandemic and an eviction crisis haven’t discouraged people’s interest in voting, Albert said.  “In reaction to the pandemic and the actions of the administration, people feel very strongly one way or another, and it has made them engage more passionately,” she said. “All we need to do now is make sure they have the access.”

“States are already strapped for cash,” Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause, said Tuesday. “At a time when the Congress has not appropriated sufficient funds to help election officials run these elections this November, it’s ridiculous to contemplate adding more to their budgets.”

Today, Common Cause amended its challenge to President Trump’s memorandum requiring the exclusion of undocumented people from being counted in the census for congressional apportionment, adding new co-plaintiffs and new causes of action. The amended complaint in Common Cause v. Trump now includes the City of Dayton, Ohio; the City of Portland, Oregon, five new organizational plaintiffs, and a total of sixteen (16) additional individual plaintiffs of diverse backgrounds from California, Texas, and New Jersey (in addition to preexisting individual plaintiffs from Florida and New York). 

“Today is better than April, but that doesn’t mean it will be smooth sailing in November,” said Jay Heck, state director for Common Cause Wisconsin, a government watchdog group.

“Without proper funding, guidance and preparedness, the problems seen in previous elections are going to be just the tip of the iceberg this November,” Sylvia Albert, voting and elections director with Common Cause, warned lawmakers during a congressional hearing last week.