2128 Search Results Containing ":"
Washington Post: Ohio’s GOP supermajority tests limits of democracy before abortion vote
“This was about playing games with an election, not about playing around with the language that goes directly into the Ohio Constitution,” said Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio and a member of the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition’s steering committee.
Found in: Common Cause
The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com: National Democrats ask Ohio Supreme Court to block new legislative redistricting maps
One group that has decided against litigation over this year’s redistricting process is Common Cause Ohio, a left-leaning good-government group. Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio’s executive director, said last week that her organization was considering filing a lawsuit against the Ohio Redistricting Commission, primarily to assert that the closed-door negotiations held by commission members violated state open-meetings law. But on Wednesday, Turcer said Common Cause Ohio decided that it would be better for them to spend their time and money on getting Ohio voters to approve a proposed constitutional amendment in 2024 that would overhaul the state’s redistricting process entirely. “This is a hard one to let go,” she said.
Found in: Common Cause
Boston Globe: Trump uses presidential run to attack the institutions he says are after him
“He used his words to hammer at democratic institutions in ways that undermine trust and confidence, and it’s dangerous,” said Stephen Spaulding, vice president of policy at Common Cause, a nonpartisan good government group. “That is part of his playbook, which is to soften the ground to then attack the legitimate outcome of an election.”
Found in: Common Cause
Ohio Capital Journal: Even before office move is complete, Ohio Sec. of State LaRose appears to blur ethical lines
LaRose hasn’t responded to repeated questions from the Capital Journal about the move. But it would be improper for him to engage in campaign activities in the downtown Columbus building, said Mia Lewis of Common Cause Ohio, because it’s vital to keep the work of running a fair election walled off from that of trying to win one. “You have to keep the campaign and the government work separate,” she said. “Once those things start to blur, it becomes harder and harder for voters to trust their elected officials.” “This man is our secretary of state,” Lewis said. “He’s supposed to be in charge of elections in Ohio. And yet he seems to spend an incredible amount of his time putting his thumb on the scale of one issue or another — openly campaigning for one result or another.” She added, “Now he’s running for office himself and the fact that he doesn’t see that it is unseemly at the very least to be operating as secretary of state while in the same building you’re running your campaign for Senate at the same time. How are Ohioans supposed to trust you when you have so much trouble putting the voters first?”
Found in: Common Cause
The Guardian: Rightwing group behind regressive US state laws to face protest at DC gala
“The model bills sound like they are protecting our country but are actually designed to protect corporate interests. We have to shine a light on this,” said Viki Harrison from Common Cause, a group which for years has pushed corporations to break ties with Alec over the racist impact of its legislation.
Found in: Common Cause
Tallahassee Democrat/USA Today Florida Network: Judges to decide whether DeSantis intentionally hurt Black voters with North Florida map
"It is blatantly about race from Day 1," said Gregory Diskant, attorney for plaintiffs including the NAACP, Common Cause, Fair Districts Now and individual voters who want the congressional boundaries thrown out by the court. They charge that DeSantis violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection and voting rights protections with the Republican-heavy map that has left no Black member of Congress from North Florida for the first time in 30 years. "Why did he care about this so much?" Diskant said, answering by claiming that "racial animus" was behind the governor's actions. "He did not want a Black performing district in North Florida," he added.
Found in: Common Cause
Denver Post: Colorado lawmakers often win seats with dozens of votes. Would a different process to fill vacancies be fairer?
“We have every confidence that lawmakers who enter the legislature this way are able to earn the trust of their district and represent the interests of the voters in their district,” said Aly Belknap, the executive director of Colorado Common Cause, an election-advocacy group. “Even so,” she added, “we know that this process doesn’t meet the standards of an inclusive and representative democracy because vacancy committees entrust this (decision) to a fraction of district voters.”
Found in: Common Cause
Newsweek: Ron DeSantis Poised for Huge Blow if Florida Election Map Redrawn
Common Cause Florida, the Florida branch of the NAACP and Fair Districts Now are suing to have the map which saw a North Florida district held by Rep. Al Lawson, a Black congressman, eliminated. On the first day of trial, attorney Greg Baker, who is representing the plaintiff, accused DeSantis of having "pushed and pushed" to endorse the disputed congressional map which helped the Florida GOP pick up four House seats at last year's midterms elections. "He pressed his argument by sound bite bullying," Baker added, noting the Florida governor posted on social media in 2022 that he would "veto the congressional reapportionment plan currently being debated by the House. DOA [dead on arrival] while the legislature was debating a map that would have kept a Black performing district in North Florida."
Found in: Common Cause
TODAY at 10:30am MST: Common Cause Arizona to Join President Biden in Tempe
Program Director Jenny Guzman to urge passage of voting rights legislation
Found in: Common Cause
The Messenger: Elon Musk’s X Cuts Half of Election Integrity Team
Ishan Mehta, director for media and democracy at Common Cause, another watchdog organization, said X has largely severed communications with groups like his and that the layoffs were "dangerous and irresponsible for a platform that has many millions of users."