Press Release

Common Cause is urging every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to vote “yes” in support of the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, HR 5720. The legislation will extend to federal judges, the same conflict of interest reporting requirements that are applied to Members of Congress under the STOCK Act. The letter, sent yesterday to every Member of the House, points to an extensive investigation by The Wall Street Journal that found that over an eight-year period more than 100 federal judges failed to recuse themselves in nearly 700 cases in which they had a financial stake. 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.  

"Allowing donors to repay candidates’ loans is a shell game that breeds cynicism about our elections. Campaign donations end up in the candidate’s pocket, after the election – while voters are deprived of information about who’s funding the candidate, while deciding how to vote."

In a letter to U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, the state legislators urge their federal counterparts to “do everything in your power to pass” the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.

Earlier today, national and state redistricting experts briefed the media with a national overview of the status of the current redistricting cycle and the ongoing legal battles against gerrymandering in North Carolina, Ohio, and Texas.

Common Cause is urging the U.S. House of Representatives to expel Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), and as a first step vote to censure and strip him of his committee assignments after he circulated a video depicting him killing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and attacking President Biden. The letter, sent today to every U.S. Representative, emphasizes that removing the Arizona Republican from his committee assignments is the most lenient penalty that should be levelled against any member for such nakedly irresponsible and dangerous conduct in the charged current environment created by former President Trump’s lies and refusal to concede his resounding defeat in the 2020 presidential election. 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.  

WASHINGTON — On Monday, 16 civil-rights, human-rights and media-justice organizations called on the top executives at AT&T and DIRECTV to cut business ties with One America News Network, the propaganda channel responsible for spreading anti-democratic disinformation, promoting COVID-19 conspiracy theories and fueling racism.