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New York Times: Pennsylvania G.O.P.’s Push for More Power Over Judiciary Raises Alarms
“We are in the last legislative session of this,” said Alexa Grant, a program advocate with Common Cause. “So we are the last line of defense.”
Found in: Common Cause
CNN The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer (VIDEO): Trump Facing Legal Trouble Despite Senate Acquittal
Stephen Spaulding, Common Cause: "It is a crime to incite rebellion. And that is a statute that I hope investigators, federal investigators, the District of Columbia, and others will investigate and unspool whether, in fact, he meets that standard."
Found in: Common Cause
NPR (AUDIO): 6-Month Delay In Census Redistricting Data Could Throw Elections Into Chaos
There's a tension between the bureau having enough time to produce accurate information and states and localities having to meet redistricting deadlines. And that could create ideal conditions for gerrymandering, says Kathay Feng, national redistricting director for Common Cause, a government watchdog group. "There is a quiet conversation going on in legislatures right now about whether the delay actually might be a helpful game changer to allow them to pass midnight bills and do the dirty work outside of the scrutiny of the public," Feng says. "We are heading into a redistricting cycle where it will be a bare-knuckle battle for control," Feng says. "Those who are in power are going to use every tool in the toolbox to try to eke out a win. And if that means passing gerrymandered maps in the dead of night, they're going to do it."
Found in: Common Cause
New York Times: A New Delay for Census Numbers Could Scramble Congressional Elections
“The concern in some of those states is that the legislators will simply use a special session to secretly pass maps with zero public scrutiny, and then count on a tight timetable to eke out at least one election cycle” before a court could require new maps to be drawn, said Kathay Feng, the redistricting and representation director at Common Cause.
Found in: Common Cause
Houston Chronicle (Op-Ed): Election integrity or suppression? Gov. Abbott is taking aim at voting rights.
There is cause for fresh alarm over voting rights in Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott revealed his priorities for the 2021 Texas Legislative session, designating “election integrity” as an emergency item that lawmakers can vote on within the first 60 days of session, potentially bypassing the due deliberation and public input this issue deserves. House Speaker Dade Phelan named Rep. Briscoe Cain as the chair of the House Elections Committee, despite his notoriety for traveling to Pennsylvania to help overthrow the results of the 2020 election. These actions signal an escalating attack on voting rights in a state that is infamous for being among the hardest in the nation to cast a ballot. It feeds and amplifies dangerously false rhetoric designed to undermine trust in our democratic system and prioritize partisan interests over the will of the people — exactly what fueled the failed white supremacist insurrection at the U.S. Capitol just weeks ago.
Found in: Common Cause
The Hill: House Democrats renew push for checks on presidential pardons
“Congress should also explore the idea of independent clemency boards to review clemency petitions and advise the president. This could eliminate biases and conflicts of interest inherent in the current system, which often relies on prosecutors at the Department of Justice to serve as a check on their own prosecutions. Members of such a clemency board should reflect our country's diversity and be representative of stakeholders inside and outside the criminal justice system,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause.
Found in: Common Cause
The Guardian: 'Jim Crow relic': Senate filibuster stands in way of Democratic voting rights push
“It’s supremely ironic that something that gives rural, sparsely populated states so much power already would further kind of entrench minority rule and further make it difficult to access the ballot box,” said Stephen Spaulding, senior counsel for public policy and government affairs at Common Cause, a government watchdog group. Keeping the filibuster in place and not passing sweeping voting reforms would have “profound downstream effects”, Spaulding added. “The American people chose new leaders; they want a responsive government,” he said. “To have essentially a minority of senators exercising veto power over the entire legislative process is just not gonna be tenable.”
Found in: Common Cause
Wall Street Journal: Battle Over Upstate Congressional Seat Shows New York’s Election Problems
Susan Lerner, executive director of the advocacy group Common Cause New York, said the state needed professionalized election administration staff who were hired based on their qualifications.
Found in: Common Cause
Houston Chronicle: Texans donated $8.9M to Trump as he peddled baseless 'Stop the Steal' election fraud claims
“Big time bait-and-switch by Donald Trump and a bunch of other politicians lower in the food chain capitalizing on that opportunity — to rip their own supporters off, really,” said Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a government watchdog group in Washington, D.C. “The donors who were defrauded by and large in November and December by team Trump — these were elderly Republican donors who …it’s just despicable to prey on that donor pool, in my opinion,” Ryan said.
Found in: Common Cause
Houston Chronicle: New Texas House election committee chairs fought 2020 results, faced discrimination claims
“Texas already makes it harder to vote than any other state. Rep. Briscoe being put in charge of the Elections Committee is a clear signal that the politicians in charge intend to make it even harder,” Anthony Gutierrez, the head of Common Cause Texas, a non-partisan public-interest group, said in a statement. “We’ll be fighting to stop them at every step.”