Our Impact

Common Cause has been fighting for and winning key democracy reforms since our founding in 1970.

We’ve worked to protect voters, limit Big Money’s influence on our elections, improve transparency in government, stop partisan and racial gerrymandering, and more.

1980s

1970s

1970s

1970: John W. Gardner, a Republican who served in the Cabinet of President Lyndon Johnson (a Democrat) launches Common Cause as an independent, non-partisan organization “for those Americans who want to help in the rebuilding of the nation.” 4,000 people responded to his initial newspaper ad calling for support—several of whom are still Common Cause members to this day. Common Cause rises to prominence in the anti-Vietnam War movement, lobbying Congress to cut off funding for the war effort.

1971: Common Cause leads a successful drive for passage of the 26th amendment, lowering the voting age to 18.

1972: Common Cause lobbying in Wisconsin secures the nation’s first sunshine law, designed to make the state’s government more transparent.

1973: A coalition led by Common Cause persuades Congress to pass the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, providing for an elected mayor and city council in the nation’s capital.

1974: Common Cause leads the outside effort to enact the historic Federal Election Campaign Act, which set limits on political contributions and established the Federal Election Commission to enforce them. It also created the presidential small donor matching fund system, which was used by all major party presidential candidates until 2008.

1978: Spurred by Common Cause’s lobbying, Congress passes the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, requiring government officials to disclose their finances and restricting the “revolving door” between government and business.

Hear from Common Cause members

Bill Rodgers and Loren, Jo

Meet Bill Rodgers

Bill Rodgers was a Common Cause member and volunteer for more than 50 years. He passed away in March 2024 but is still making a positive impact. Before his death, he began making plans to continue helping Common Cause beyond his lifetime with a gift of $1 million. When Bill joined Common Cause in 1970, he had just returned from a year living abroad under an authoritarian leader.

Bill said: That year strengthened my commitment to our democracy. I respected John Gardner and wanted to join his organization but had little money to share given the growing needs of my young family. Now I have more to share, and Common Cause continues to support my values in the face of growing threats, now internal as well as external, to those values.

Common Cause Member Shelby Lewis

Meet Shelby Lewis

Shelby served as Davis Democracy Fellow with Common Cause Georgia. In her first year in the role, she registered over 100 first-time voters and lobbied at the Georgia State Capitol for the end of felony disenfranchisement.

Shelby says: “As a member of Generation Z, the group…whose future will be most greatly impacted by the decisions of today’s leadership, I want to do whatever I can today to play a role in shaping the kind of America that I will live in tomorrow.”

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