Voting & Elections

As the country continues to grapple with challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Common Cause encourages election officials and lawmakers to consider adopting emergency measures to protect public health and every Americans’ right to vote in the upcoming primary elections and the November general election.

Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, said the public’s fears could overtake their desire to vote — though she encouraged people who feel comfortable to turn out. “We’re asking people to go into pretty confined conditions, and even with all sorts of wipes and the things that can be done to make things safe, it is anxiety-provoking,” she said.

Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for advocacy group Common Cause, said her organization supports moving forward with next week’s elections, but it is too soon to say what other states should do if the virus continues to spread. “It’s an ever-changing situation,” Albert said. “I wouldn’t want to opine on what somebody should do in four weeks because we don’t know what four weeks will look like.”

But unforeseen disruptors such as the coronavirus underscore why it is important to staff polling locations robustly, said Catherine Turcer, executive director of the Ohio branch of Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group. “If we have a reduction in poll workers plus people calling off sick, it could be really problematic,” Turcer said. “That’s why it makes sense to have more poll workers than you really need.”

Jesse Littlewood, vice president for campaigns at Common Cause, a nonpartisan nonprofit, said this is the first time the group has monitored misinformation on social media during the primary season, and he had expected to find less of what he terms “cyber suppression.” “We’re talking dozens to hundreds of pieces of content — not thousands or millions — but even that I’m quite surprised at,” he said. Littlewood said it’s difficult to tell how much of the bad content comes from bad actors, as opposed to “users who just think it’s funny to say [Joe] Biden voters vote on Wednesday.”

"The fact that Amendment 4 was overwhelmingly supported by Floridians let them know that Floridians have an interest in the way they're being governed," said Anjenys Gonzalez-Eilert, Florida executive director of Common Cause, the nonpartisan democracy watchdog.. "Citizens don't want to have their voices silenced, they want to participate. If you want to be the sole source of power, that would rub you the wrong way."