Press Release

President Trump’s executive order on police reform is a small but woefully inadequate step toward addressing the huge problem of police brutality which has spurred national outrage in the wake of the ongoing violence against Black communities. The scope of the problem demands comprehensive reforms, not piecemeal gestures from a man who stoked the fires of civil unrest with his inflammatory rhetoric in response to nationwide protests. This is the same man whose administration ordered a violent police assault on peaceful protestors in Lafayette Square to accommodate a photo op for the President.

No American voter should have to choose between their health and their right to vote. In the first group of elections since the COVID-19 outbreak, the recent primaries showed the challenges and potential of expanding mail-in voting options. They also showed the immediate need for action by election officials and lawmakers to fix problems far too many voters faced in the last few weeks, from long lines at in-person voting centers, to voting machine failures, to mail-in ballot delays.

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to hold an emergency session to pass reform legislation to address law enforcement racism and abuses and to protect the rights of peaceful protesters. The letter comes in the wake of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers which inspired nationwide protests that in numerous instances led to police brutality against peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. Common Cause urges Congress to condemn President Trump’s threats to use the military to violently attack peacefully protesting Americans – including a disgraceful show of police brutality Monday in Lafayette Square in Washington to facilitate a photo opportunity for the President posing with a bible.

The murder of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police officers is a horrific tragedy that demands justice. It is a tragedy that plays out far too often in our nation and must end.  

Today, the President is expected to sign an Executive Order (EO) that attempts to police speech on social media platforms. The draft Executive Order comes after Twitter fact-checked inaccurate tweets from the President regarding processes for mail-in voting, despite the fact that Twitter enforced its policy to add warning labels to misleading tweets in violation of the platform’s community standards. 

Today, Common Cause and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law condemned recently announced plans by the Republican National Committee and outside groups to suppress the vote amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The group announced plans to double its litigation budget to $20 million to fight efforts to make voting more accessible in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and recruit 50,000 poll watchers to “challenge ballots and voters deemed suspicious” at polling places in 15 states.