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Baltimore Sun: ‘Sustained, egregious, and damaging to your reputation’: Baltimore County officials, residents criticize council chair for inspector general amendments
The League of Women Voters of Baltimore County, Common Cause Maryland, and the Association of Inspectors General, an industry group, all issued statements in support of the inspector general and opposing any legislation that would undermine the office’s ability to “perform its work in an effective and independent manner.” Joanne Antoine, the executive director of Common Cause Maryland and a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission, said Jones’ amendments were a “slap in the face” to everyone who had worked on the commission. “These amendments are disrespectful, not only to myself and others who served on the commission but to the taxpayers who invested in our work,” she said. “The last-minute weakening amendments being proposed by Council Chair Jones not only undermine the purpose of the office, but shield the bad actors seeking to use county resources for their own interests.” “If he refuses [to withdraw his bill], we urge the County Council to reject the amendments put before them and support the effort to create a truly independent OIG with the resources it needs to be effective.”
Found in: Common Cause
WGCU (NPR): Gulf Coast Live: Meet the new Executive Director of Common Cause Florida, a nonpartisan nonprofit that works to uphold the core values of American democracy
Common Cause Florida is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that has been working for nearly 50 years to uphold the core values of American democracy, including an open, accountable government that is of, by, and for the people. They focus on issues around voting, and ensuring that every vote counts, that every eligible voter gets their chance to have a say, and that our elections represent the will of the people. Our guest today, Amy Keith, started working for Common Cause Florida about a year and a half ago as Florida Program Director, leading the organization’s voting rights, redistricting, and accountability work, including its federal congressional redistricting case that’s still working its way through the system. As of December 1st she now serves as the organization’s Executive Director.
Found in: Common Cause
Colorado Newsline (Op-Ed): To protect our democracy, Donald Trump must be barred from the Colorado ballot
Following this ruling, Colorado Common Cause and former Colorado Secretary of State Mary Estill Buchanan filed an amicus brief in the Colorado Supreme Court asserting that former President Donald Trump should be excluded from the ballot under the 14th Amendment for his role in the January 6th insurrection. Specifically, Common Cause’s amicus brief urges that the Court affirm the findings of the District Court that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution of the United States, and that the Court reverse the finding that the disqualification clause does not apply to the presidency.
Found in: Common Cause
Daily Beast: ‘Absurd’: As 2024 Looms, Counties Won’t Update Voting Tech
Emma Steiner, Information Accountability Project manager at the watchdog group Common Cause, said the Albert plays a role in a broader far-right conspiracy theory about “the role of connection to the internet at polling places.” “It’s all part of this broader narrative that election workers are conspiring against voters, and that voting machines cannot be trusted,” Steiner noted. In actuality, the sensors are passive devices that listen for known intrusions on a county’s internet network, said Susannah Goodman, director of election security at Common Cause. “Elections weren’t declared critical infrastructure until 2017. To us, Albert sensors were a step in the right direction. They won’t stop an attack from happening, but they’ll tell you that bad actors are circling,” Goodman said, likening the sensor to an alarm system. “I thought it was too passive when I first heard about it.” While watchdogs like Goodman describe the Albert as a useful tool for monitoring and sharing threats, conspiracy theories caught the ear of Republicans in Ferry County, where the GOP chair authored a memo casting suspicion on the devices, the CIS, and a CIS co-founder’s work for Democratic presidential administrations.
Found in: Common Cause
Santa Fe New Mexican (Editorial): Increase the alcohol tax and save lives: It's that simple
It’s no wonder New Mexico hasn’t raised the excise tax on alcohol over the past 40 years. A report from citizens’ interest group Common Cause New Mexico lays out just why legislators are so reluctant to tax alcohol, both as a means of raising revenue and to reduce drinking. Called “Still Under the Influence,” the report successfully — as it intends — “connects the dots” from contributions to policy outcome. In 2023 alone, liquor lobbyists spent $74,968 on entertaining and wining and dining legislators, according to the Common Cause report. These are not campaign contributions. These are just dollars to grease the gears of government, and liquor lobbyists ensure there is plenty of grease. Their force showed during the 2023 session, when yet another attempt to increase the excise tax on liquor failed. It’s past time to act, with what has always been a crisis in New Mexico growing more acute. The Common Cause New Mexico report is clear: “Between 2019 and 2021, the state’s alcohol-related death rate increased by 31 percent.”
Found in: Common Cause
KUNM (NPR): Advocates for drawing fairer voting maps will try again to take the job away from NM lawmakers
Dede Feldman, former Democratic state Senator and advocate with Common Cause New Mexico, said on New Mexico in Focus that the current process is inherently partisan. “The Legislature is always going to fall into the trap of having the majority party draw the map that they like to maximize their influence,” she said.
Found in: Common Cause
Detroit Free Press: Whitmer signs bills implementing Proposal 1
"We're pleased to see Governor Whitmer sign this long overdue ethics reform into law—but ultimately, the law falls short of voters' expectations," said Quentin Turner, director of Common Cause Michigan, an organization seeking to promote greater government accountability. "Despite overwhelming, bi-partisan support for greater transparency from our elected officials, lawmakers weakened the law to shield themselves from public scrutiny."
Found in: Common Cause
PolitiFact - Half True: Wisconsin Republicans are backing “a nonpartisan redistricting plan based off the Iowa Model. ... Republicans, Democrats, and the Governor pushed this plan last time redistricting happened in 2020.”
Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, pointed to the change in support of the Iowa model by Republican lawmakers. "The short answer is that very few Republicans and certainly not Tusler ever supported any version of the Iowa model legislation before Sept. 11, 2023 -- the date Robin Vos announced his plan," Heck told PolitiFact Wisconsin. Common Cause is a nonpartisan national group with state chapters devoted to fighting for reforms to gerrymandering, political spending and other issues.
Found in: Common Cause
Reuters: Voter advocates, conservative activists brace for 2024 election showdowns
Ahead of the election, officials can avoid some of the chaos that fraud-chasing poll watchers created in 2020 by setting clear rules and educating the public about the way tabulation processes, such as signature verification, normally work, said Suzanne Almeida, who leads political violence prevention and response work at the non-partisan Common Cause.