Voting & Elections

Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of advocacy organization Common Cause Texas, said the large number of elections in recent years, even just this month for example, doesn’t make it any easier — or less confusing — for Texas voters to turn up to the polls. “For us in Texas, you gotta think about who are the people that are gonna turn out to this election, which is one of… two elections just in the month of May,” Gutierrez said. “That’s just crazy,” he added. “We were getting so many people asking what this election was for, because we just had an election literally a few weeks ago. It’s just like only the very most engaged people, who also are usually like the most partisan in each party, electing candidates.”

Sylvia Albert, national voting and elections director for Common Cause, said outside the findings, potentially having some candidates espousing such views take office is concerning. If election results were to be rejected without a valid reason, she said it might be harder to seek recourse. "So, there definitely is an ability to challenge in court, [but] the courts are leaning more and more toward stepping away and letting the political process run itself," Albert stressed. "What that does, is not protect the people who don't have power, which are normal Americans."

“They have been leaving up content around the 2020 election saying the election was stolen,” said Yosef Getachew, media and democracy program director at advocacy group Common Cause. “You have candidates saying we have had prior elections stolen, so this one will be stolen as well, so it’s an ongoing issue that we are trying to get them to take seriously.”

“Time and time again we’ve seen Doug Mastriano put in a position of leadership that would essentially give him a platform to voice his ideas,” said Khalif Ali, head of the Pennsylvania chapter of Common Cause, which sued to block the investigation.

Common Cause Georgia deployed “self-help stations” around the state where voters could access a computer, printer and scanner to print out a mail ballot application before Friday’s deadline. “People are believing political propaganda and not understanding this is creating more hurdles to voting,” said Aunna Dennis, the group’s executive director.