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Associated Press: Indiana governor urged to expand mail voting during pandemic
On Thursday, a federal lawsuit filed by the Indiana State Conference of the NAACP and Common Cause Indiana seeks to further compel the state to expand absentee voting. The lawsuit argues that the state’s deadline for mail-in ballots — noon on Election Day — doesn’t account for expected surges in mail-in ballots and potential mail delays caused by the pandemic. The nonprofit contends that any ballot postmarked by Election Day should be counted without penalty. “Indiana has seen a surge in requests for mail-in ballots and now we must make sure all those voters who chose to vote by mail to protect their health do not face barriers in making their voice heard,” Julia Vaughn, policy director at Common Cause Indiana, said in a statement. The lawsuit is one of at least three pending in federal court to challenge Indiana’s election protocols. Another of the federal lawsuits, filed on behalf of Common Cause Indiana, argues that an Indiana law blocking voters and candidates from asking courts to keep polling places open past the state’s 6 p.m. closing time because of Election Day troubles violates the U.S. Constitution.
Found in: Common Cause
Sinclair Broadcast Group: Despite coronavirus complications, experts confident election will be safe and secure
“Both the good and bad about our election system is that it is completely decentralized. Each state and each local jurisdiction can make the changes necessary to have safe, free, and fair voting in November...,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause. “We know how to do it. They just have to execute the plan.” That plan, according to Albert, is to make sure voters have options to vote however they choose: providing multiple methods to register, to request absentee ballots, and to vote in person without putting their health at risk. “The reality is none of us know what the world is going to look like Nov. 3, so we need to be prepared for whatever choices the voter makes,” she said.
Found in: Common Cause
New York Times: Trump can’t postpone the election. But the courts will help shape how Americans vote this fall.
Decisions over how the general election will be conducted need to be sorted out now, said Sylvia Albert, the director of Voting and Elections at Common Cause, a voting rights group. “The key is not waiting for November,” Ms. Albert said. “The point of those lawsuits is to establish the policies and procedures that are going to be used in November so there isn’t going to be confusion on the day of the election.”
Found in: Common Cause
Washington Post: Trump can’t delay the election, experts say
“In an emergency, the president is able to do a lot of things he normally could not do, but only because he has been designated these powers by Congress in laws such as the National Emergencies Act,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause, a nonprofit group that advocates for eased ballot access. “But in this case, the Constitution empowers Congress, not the president, to select Election Day. No laws passed by Congress have delegated these powers to the president, even in an emergency, so Congress is the only entity that has the power to change the date of the election.”
Found in: Common Cause
Associated Press: Advocates urge Hogan to adjust plan for traditional election
Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, said a “hybrid election” with automatically mailed ballots and in-person voting would be the safest option. “We are still in a crisis, and we have no idea what October and November are going to look like,” she said during an online press briefing.
Found in: Common Cause
Bloomberg: Biden Campaign Bans Staff From Trading Stocks Without Approval
“Usually we see a winning president begin to impose ethical restrictions during a transition, but I think this is unprecedented,” said Paul S. Ryan, the vice president for policy and litigation at Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog. “The Biden campaign’s policy is a breath of fresh air after more than three years of a Trump administration that has been mired in conflicts of interest.”
Found in: Common Cause
Dallas Morning News: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott extends early voting period for November elections citing COVID-19
“These steps are good but nowhere near good enough,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of the government watchdog group, Common Cause Texas. “Other states are doing so much more while Governor Abbott is doing literally the least he can. We need swift and decisive action from either the Governor or Secretary of State to avoid a complete meltdown at the polls in November.”
Found in: Common Cause
Associated Press: NY mail-in voting deluge fuels uncounted ballots, confusion
Common Cause New York Executive Director Susan Lerner called it “unacceptable and unfortunate” that so many absentee ballots are being disqualified. “Right now an absentee ballot can be discarded if a cautious voter puts tape on their envelope to make sure the ballot doesn’t fall out,” she said. Her group wants lawmakers to allow voters to request absentee ballots earlier and allow election workers to start counting absentee ballots sooner after Election Day.
Found in: Common Cause
Associated Press: Bribery scheme implicating Madigan revives term limits talk
So remarkable is his run that, for many, “term limits is code in this state for opposition to the speaker,” said Jay Young, executive director of Common Cause Illinois. Young calls limits a “blunt-force tool” when other reforms, such as overhauling the way legislative districts are drawn, would do more good.
Found in: Common Cause
Washington Post: Trump faces multiple lawsuits over directive to exclude undocumented immigrants from representation
But even if it is likely the directive would lose in court, it is necessary to seek an immediate block to the directive because it could affect the 2020 Census count that is underway, said Kathay Feng, Common Cause’s national director of redistricting and representation. “It could affect response because most immigrant families have a mix of people of different status,” she said. The directive could also affect the Census Bureau’s process in deciding which households to go to, Feng said. Instead of attempting to count every household in the United States, she said, the bureau could “only go to households which they think fall into the category that the president wants counted.”