Voting & Elections

Today, Common Cause called on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee to fully staff the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and hold up-or-down floor votes on the two pending EAC nominees before the end of year. In a letter Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and the full Committee, Common Cause emphasizes the vital roll the EAC plays in advising the patchwork of state and local officials who oversee our elections.

Congress is finally listening to the growing demands for reform from the American people. That H.R. 1 will be a sweeping set of pro-democracy reforms is an encouraging sign that the new Congress has its priorities in line with the will of the people. On Election Day, voters from coast-to-coast sent a clear message that we are ready for bold, comprehensive democracy reforms. Tired of the status quo, Americans passed nearly two dozen ballot initiatives across the nation ranging from redistricting reforms, ethics, same day and automatic voter registration to citizen-funded elections measures to ensure that the people have a voice in their democracy. These passed in red states, blue states, and purple states alike with strong support from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents.

Passage of this legislation continues to be a priority for Common Cause Rhode Island, a government group. John Marion, the executive director, said Wednesday he’s hopeful. “Some of the political obstacles are fading because both voters and politicians are understanding the value of early voting,” he said.

“They are not chosen for their ability to manage or familiarity with election procedures,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause in New York City. “They are chosen for their party loyalty and to provide jobs to the party faithful.”

“The number of people who cast provisional ballots,” says Sara Henderson, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, “doesn’t even come close to the number of people who were disenfranchised.” The Abrams campaign heard from 25,000 people who had problems voting. Henderson helped oversee election protection efforts for nonpartisan voting rights groups and said “our phones in the command center were ringing off the hook.”

Today a judge in Florida denied Rick Scott’s senatorial campaign’s request to prevent timely-cast ballots from being counted in Broward County. That came after a judge allowed the League of Women Voters of Florida and Common Cause Florida to enter a lawsuit for the purpose of ensuring that every eligible ballot cast is fairly counted.