Voting Rights

“I think there is a tremendous amount of pressure on them to deliver on voting rights," said Stephen Spaulding, senior counsel for public policy and government affairs at Common Cause.

We believe that our government “by the people” is stronger when more people participate. We believe in free and fair elections. We believe politicians should not be allowed to silence voters, either by nullifying our votes or by creating new barriers to the ballot box. As advocates for the right to vote, we know a scam when we see it. That’s why we’ll do what it takes to stop these state senators’ “election review” and protect voting rights for all.

Today, Common Cause urged every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” on the resolution to certify a criminal contempt citation against former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows for refusing to comply with subpoenas related to his role in, and knowledge of, the January 6th insurrection at the United States Capitol - a brazen attempt to overturn the 2020 election which resulted in multiple deaths and left hundreds seriously injured. The letter emphasizes that the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection referred the criminal contempt charges to the full House in a unanimous, bipartisan vote. The letter also notes that Common Cause plans to key-vote this legislation in our Democracy Scorecard, which we send to our 1.5 million members.

Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said the map in its current form does not allow for a community-level dive, making it harder for residents to provide feedback. "We don't have the underlying shapefiles," Ali explained. "We have no way again to evaluate whether and how this map divides communities of color. Particularly in Philadelphia, Allegheny County, Lancaster, Dauphin, York, all those counties are really relevant when we're talking about this question of racial equity and adhering to the Voting Rights Act."

Kathay Feng, national redistricting director for Common Cause, said once voting maps hit the courts, it becomes more difficult for citizens to weigh in on the process. Speaking at a redistricting seminar, she noted the best way to influence the process was through a ballot. "In some states where you have judicial elections, or there's a way to influence the judges that are chosen, it's making sure that there is a tremendous amount of voter education," Feng urged.

Thursday marks the first day of the Summit for Democracy, a virtual meeting of more than 100 heads of state dedicated to furthering democratic values. But lawyers have been sounding the alarm on the democratic experiment in the U.S. post-Jan. 6 as the country faces two crucial elections in the next four years. Host Scott Tong speaks with Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at the watchdog Common Cause, about these dangers.