Voting Rights

Wisconsin voters of all political views and stripes would be best served by Meagan Wolfe continuing in her current role. The integrity of the 2024 election and its adherence to the law and to fairness and democracy just might depend on it.

Common Cause of Delaware along with the American Civil Liberties Union both oppose the legislation that they say will dilute votes of minority residents. “We’re horrified and disappointed that this bill passed. Corporations have no place in our elections – full stop,” said Claire Snyder-Hall, executive director of Common Cause Delaware. “In a state with more registered businesses than residents, this bill gives wealthy outsiders the power to override the actual people of Seaford. Hopefully, it will not make it through the Senate.”

In a Voting Rights Act case, Allen v. Milligan, a 5-4 majority of the court upheld that Alabama lawmakers may be required to draw a second congressional district where Black voters could elect candidates of their choice before the 2024 election. Kathay Feng, vice president of programs at Common Cause, said the case has massive consequences for minority voters nationwide. “Even though people have been very worried about the Supreme Court upending precedent in high-profile cases, in Allen v. Milligan, where the court said the Voting Rights Act still serves an important function in protecting minority voting rights, the court chose to affirm, and that is a very big deal,” Feng said. Feng noted that was one of several major cases in which conservative justices bucked colleagues such as Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. to rule alongside the Democratic appointees. She said those “shifting sands” could be important in major cases going forward, including where the court will hear a dispute over South Carolina’s congressional map next term. “I think we should be watching very closely to see a potential realignment, some common cause between some unusual partners on the court,” Feng said.

The state of the republic is precarious. But I am hopeful that democracy will prevail because it is resilient. We the people have faced serious threats in the past, including even the Civil War, and we have overcome them. We must continue to pass laws to strengthen our democracy in many states. In other states, we will not back down from defeating a new generation of Jim Crow laws crafted to keep targeted communities from the polls.

Julia Vaughn, executive director of the nonpartisan political watchdog group Common Cause Indiana, pointed to one indicator of a healthy democracy. "Voter turnout is one of the ways that we judge whether or not you have a vibrant democracy," said Vaughn. "You know, are people participating? Do they want to come out and make their voices heard through the electoral process?" Vaughn said it's more proof that concern is growing as the next presidential contest draws near. "People have had a sense of dread and apprehension, certainly about federal elections, and in particular presidential elections since 2016," said Vaughn. "So, it seems every four years, people are just really holding their breath and, 'Oh no, what is the outcome going to be?'"

Claire Snyder-Hall, executive director of Common Cause Delaware, criticized the House vote, saying corporations have no place in elections. “In a state with more registered businesses than residents, this bill gives wealthy outsiders the power to override the actual people of Seaford,” she said in a news release.