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NM Political Report: Watchdog groups file brief in congressional gerrymandering case
The brief was filed in state judicial district court by watchdog groups Common Cause New Mexico, Election Reformers Network and the League of Women Voters New Mexico and it supports neither party in the case. The amicus brief seeks to help the court apply the New Mexico Supreme Court’s three-part test that was adapted from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan’s dissenting opinion in the Rucho v. Common Cause case of 2019. “We are gratified that the district court is using the three-part test suggested by Justice Kagan in Rucho v. Common Cause,” Mason Graham, Common Cause New Mexico Policy Director, said in a press release. “It’s a reasonable way to determine if there was an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander and if the will of the voters was diluted or overturned.”
Found in: Common Cause
The Center Square: Gavin Newsom's national Constitutional amendment to limit gun access put on hold
“Doing a convention puts every civil right we have in this country at risk,” said Viki Harrison, Director of Constitutional Conventions and Protecting Dissent Programs for left-of-center watchdog group Common Cause in an interview with The Center Square. “The entire Constitution could be rewritten.” “The amendment process is a lot more in the open,” Harrison said. “You're going through the state legislatures where people can testify. You are going through Congress where people can interact with their legislators and their senators.”
Found in: Common Cause
The Oregonian: Oregon labor group launches end run around effort to curb political donations, shed light on dark money
Kate Titus, executive director of good government group Common Cause Oregon, said that Our Oregon’s initiatives are “clearly an effort to try to derail (the proposal for stricter limits) and offer a different alternative.” “I’m pleased that there’s a proactive movement toward campaign finance reform and more players are looking for ways to do this,” said Titus, who gave input on the development of the reform advocates’ proposal but whose organization has yet to endorse any measure for 2024. “Unfortunately, some of the changes that they’ve made … do appear on the surface to be highly problematic.” Titus, with Common Cause, said she looks forward to voters weighing in. “The thing to remember is a loophole for one is a loophole for all,” said Titus. “Letting money rule the day is never going to get us to the type of governing we need, and we should all have a stake in that.”
Found in: Common Cause
The Hill (Op-Ed): How the Federal Election Commission is undermining the integrity of our elections
Georgia’s elections are all over the headlines this past week after the Trump indictment, but there is one issue key to protecting our votes missing from those headlines: transparency in campaign spending. In Georgia, we believe all voters have a right to know when wealthy special interests are spending big to influence our vote. Unfortunately, the Federal Election Commission, the agency tasked with enforcing federal campaign finance laws, has failed Georgia voters and left us in the dark about an out-of-state group that illegally spent untold sums to try and stop some of us from voting in the 2021 U.S. Senate runoff elections.
Found in: Common Cause
Bolts: ‘We Have a Right to Put It on the Ballot’: How Organizers Are Defending Direct Democracy
Bolts this week gathered three organizers who have fought this dynamic in each of three states that are undergoing this dynamic: Ohio, Arkansas, and Idaho. Their meeting sparked a wide-ranging conversation about their shared frustrations and strategies. Mia Lewis, associate director of Common Cause Ohio, was active in the campaign to defeat Issue 1 this summer. “This is a great group to be talking to,” Lewis said. “Because they’re not doing this in one state, they do these things repeatedly in different states, so why shouldn’t we strategize?”
Found in: Common Cause
Ms. Magazine: Keeping Score
“No American is above the law—not even former presidents. The charges that a federal grand jury leveled today against former President Donald Trump are profoundly serious and must go to trial. The charges themselves are unprecedented, but so are the events that led to them. “The nonpartisan January 6 Select Committee revealed the months-long conspiracy to overturn the legitimate results of the 2020 presidential election and its culmination in the deadly insurrection. Anyone and everyone who broke the laws of this nation participating in that conspiracy must be held accountable.” —Marilyn Carpinteyro, interim co-president of Common Cause, on the indictment of former President Donald Trump for felony charges related to the 2020 election.
Found in: Common Cause
KUNM: Non-partisan groups offer mixed evidence to judge deciding fairness of NM congressional map
Dan Vicuña, national redistricting manager for Common Cause, said to back its answers to the test’s questions, “there is a range of evidence a court can use.” That includes qualitative data like legislative documents and testimony. Vicuña said that could mean asking questions like, “Were meetings held in secret? Did you see partisan votes in committees? Did you see secretive proceedings in which one party was boxed out of having any input?” Vicuña said the mixed results could mean the partisan intent suggested by the first test isn’t actually there, or that one test is potentially more appropriate than the other in evaluating New Mexico specifically. “What it creates is just an opportunity for experts to provide a variety of evidence and give the court an opportunity to weigh those,” he said.
Found in: Common Cause
Common Dreams: 'Criminal Enterprise': Trump and 18 Co-Conspirators Indicted in Georgia Election Case
Common Cause Georgia executive director Aunna Dennis added that "we know today's indictment is just the beginning of what might be a long process in the courts, and that an indictment is not a conviction." Nevertheless, Dennis said, "today's indictment of Trump and his co-conspirators highlights Georgia voters' steadfast insistence that anyone who attempts to steal our most sacred of rights must be held accountable." "The people of Georgia can now take a moment to reflect on what type of government we want moving forward," said Dennis. "Do we want a democracy in the hands of a wealthy few, or in the hands of the people?"
Found in: Common Cause
Raw Story: Sold! Wealthy N.Y. congressman dumps up to $37.1 million in stocks and bonds amid pressure to divest
“When elected officials are trading stocks at a time when they’re supposed to be overseeing companies, we need to make sure that the public has the faith and confidence that elected officials are doing the bidding of the public interest and not trying to line their pockets and do what’s in their private interest,” Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a nonpartisan government reform organization, said at the time.
Found in: Common Cause
Palm Beach Daily News/USA Today Network: DeSantis-led redistricting under legal fire after boosting GOP, erasing Black district
“We’re very hopeful that what came out in Alabama will bode well for Florida,” said Kathay Feng, vice president of programs for Common Cause, one of the plaintiffs in the federal court challenge set for next month in Tallahassee. Feng said justices signaled that the “Voting Rights Act is not dead.”