Today, Claire Snyder-Hall will step down from her position as executive director of Common Cause Delaware (CCDE) to pursue other professional opportunities. 

“Leading Common Cause Delaware has truly been a highlight of my career,” says Snyder-Hall. “It has been an honor to represent Common Cause in Delaware’s fight to make democracy more inclusive, open, and accountable. The relationships I have formed with people of goodwill all over the state have greatly enhanced my life and will buoy me as I move onto my next endeavor.”

“We thank Claire for her leadership over these past few years, leading our pro-democracy agenda in Delaware,” said Marilyn Carpinteyro, interim co-president and vice president for programs  and strategy at Common Cause. “During her tenure, she beat back attacks on the right to vote, pushed for greater transparency in redistricting and campaign finance, and set us up for future success. We wish her all the best in her next chapter.”

In 2016, during her first stint with the organization, Snyder-Hall led the effort to rescind Delaware’s call for an Article V constitutional convention, thwarting an attempt to rewrite the U.S. Constitution. 

In 2021, when Snyder-Hall returned to CCDE, she convened a coalition of community organizations and mobilized voters to support the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, ultimately persuading Sen. Tom Carper to come out for filibuster reform. 

In 2022, Snyder-Hall put an Election Protection team on the ground in Delaware for the first time, recruiting and training volunteers to help voters at polls in all three counties. She also advocated for bills that brought vote-by-mail and same-day registration to Delaware, although both were overruled by the state supreme court. 

Finally, in 2023, Snyder-Hall put a stop to a bill that would have given corporations the right to vote in Seaford.

Snyder-Hall also raised the organization’s media profile significantly, organized successful fundraising events, shepherded the organization to its 50th anniversary in 2022, and established a strong and diverse advisory board that will help the organization continue its critical work in her absence. 

“Under Claire’s leadership, we’ve worked to create a Delaware that works better for all of us,” said Jeff Raffel, chair of the board at Common Cause Delaware. “Her firmness of purpose, communications abilities, organizational effectiveness, and sense of humor will certainly be missed.”