Press Release

Today, the voice of the American people was heard above the cacophony of lies and disinformation and through the flurry of meritless lawsuits filed around the country seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The Electoral College did its job and cast its ballots to reflect the will of the American people. As required by federal law, presidential electors in all 50 states and the District of Columbia cast their votes for President-elect Biden, who earned 306 Electoral College votes, and Donald Trump, who earned 232 Electoral College votes. With the vote of Michigan’s electors this afternoon, all of the states that were subjected to baseless lawsuits in recent weeks have now had their electoral votes cast to reflect the will of the voters in those states.

Common Cause today released Democracy on the Ballot 2020. The report examines the results of 18 initiatives on the November 2020 ballot that aimed to change state laws regarding money in politics, voting rights, redistricting and direct democracy. The grassroots, citizen-led measures that protect the people’s voice in government won by a 2 to 1 margin.

“Common Cause believes that the Supreme Court must act before the dagger is in the heart of our Constitution. The Administration has made clear its intention to erase millions of people from the census and has engaged in multiple steps to advance its plot to sabotage the Census count,” said Kathay Feng, Common Cause National Redistricting Director. “We are counting on the Supreme Court to protect our most vulnerable families and our constitution.” 

"The end of President Trump's term in office is ending where it began, under a cloud of doubt about Russia's influence over his administration and the 2016 election. Michael Flynn was an early and controversial appointment as the first of four National Security Advisors (two more men served as acting directors) and now is the first of what media reports suggest will be a string of controversial pardons. The president is pardoning a man who twice pleaded guilty and was convicted as part of cases stemming from the Mueller investigation. The Flynn pardon—on the eve of a holiday weekend when Americans are suffering from the coronavirus pandemic at home--is clearly part of the president's attempt to cover-up the truth about his relationship with Russia. The American people deserve a full accounting of all the damage that this administration has done as a result of its unique relationship with a historic adversary of the United States. The end of the Trump Administration is near. Among the many actions Congress must take to restore the rule of law, it should pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act, which includes accountability measures for self-serving presidential pardons."

Today, Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the United States Supreme Court in Trump v. New York, urging the court to uphold the three lower court rulings blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to omit undocumented immigrants from the census numbers used for the apportionment of seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Three lower courts have ruled that President Trump’s memorandum ordering this unprecedented change violates the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes governing the census and apportionment.

Today, Common Cause called on General Services Administration (GSA) Administrator Emily W. Murphy to uphold her duty and comply with the Presidential Transition Act by immediately ascertaining President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris as stewards of the incoming administration. The letter to Administrator Murphy emphasized that a peaceful and orderly transition of power is vitally important to national security, to public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to our democracy. The Act defines the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect as the “apparent successful candidates for the office of President and Vice President, respectively, as ascertained by the Administrator following the general elections.”