2127 Search Results Containing ":"
Las Vegas Sun/Tribune News Service (Op-Ed): Supreme Court case could undermine the blueprint of our democracy
We know those who penned our Constitution in 1787 were unequivocal about the importance of putting checks and balances into every level of government and vesting power in the people. It was essential to the Founders to guard against any one person, group or political party seizing control in a way that undermines public will. If our Supreme Court justices ignore 250-plus years of legal precedent, they’ll also be setting the stage for election pandemonium: One set of rules for state and local elections and another for congressional and presidential elections. Imagine, as a voter, having to figure out where and when to vote to cast a ballot for president and then finding out you need to vote at a different time and place while choosing your next governor.
Found in: Common Cause
VoteBeat: Unequal election policies disenfranchised some Pennsylvania voters in 2022. Explore what each county did.
Ideally, Pennsylvania counties should make it as easy as possible to vote, said Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a group that advocates for expanding public participation in the government and protecting voting rights. “It’s the beauty and the pain that’s associated with the commonwealth,” Ali said. “We have essentially a number of fiefdoms and each of them has their own budgets, their own way of looking at the law, and applying that law on the ground level.” ... Ali of Common Cause said that the different practices across the state favor some voters over others based on where they live. He argued that it violates the spirit of the Pennsylvania Constitution, which states “elections shall be free and equal.” He emphasized that inconsistencies can discourage voters from participating in the process. “We need to be able to share information and tell people exactly what’s going on,” Ali said.
Found in: Common Cause
Salon: Joe Biden's agenda faces an unprecedented onslaught of dark money: The FCC is just the start
"It's clear the industry sees no problems with the status quo," said Getachew. "In a Senate where the Democratic majority is not high, they only need a couple of Democrats to tilt the balance in their favor." Lobbying campaigns against Sohn, Getachew noted, have included those from the Fraternal Order of Police, which has opposed Sohn on the grounds that she personally supports end-to-end encrypted messaging (over which the FCC has no jurisdiction). The FOP argues it can delay police efforts to access cell phone records. Everyone involved understands that "law enforcement access issues are not in the purview of the FCC," said Getachew. The FOP's opposition to Sohn, he suggested, is "driven by a larger industry."
Found in: Common Cause
Bolts/Center for Public Integrity: How one city ended prison gerrymandering
Some of these asymmetries stem from state legislators’ decision to exempt local governments from the laws they passed. Kathay Feng, an advocate at the voting rights organization Common Cause, said this may have been a tactic in some states to avoid paying the cost of local changes, or to sidestep conflicts with “home rule” laws that give localities wide latitude.
Found in: Common Cause
The Guardian: ‘We’re hitting the soil’: Georgia activists mobilize voters in an off year
“No matter the time of year, it’s about paying close attention to the laws impacting voters, taking the opportunity to gather the information that’s going to impact their access, and working to keep their best interests in mind,” said Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia. “We are, of course, a hub for boots-on-the-ground work, but for us, the work is also getting our hands really wet with election reform work, like drafting legislation to create accessibility or even giving testimony, like we will for HB200.”
Found in: Common Cause
Wisconsin Examiner: Bipartisan vote tracking measure brings parties together on elections
“My concern always is that a generally positive measure like this might later during the legislative process be amended to include some onerous (anti-voting ) provision which then makes it impossible to support the overall measure,” says Jay Heck of Common Cause Wisconsin. “That occurred a few times in the last session with some voting measures.” One positive aspect of SB-39 is that it’s a stand-alone measure, Heck says, “rather than the mixed packages of bills we saw last session on elections and voting where some parts of the bill might have been something to support but there was always a part (or several parts) of the bill that would be terrible for voters so it could not have been supported as a whole,” Heck adds. “That’s very important.”
Found in: Common Cause
NBC News: Sex, drugs and deleted ballots? New Mexico elections official hit with ethics charge
Mario Jimenez, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico and a former elections official, applauded the ethics commission for investigating the matter but said he was nonetheless disheartened to learn of the allegations. "When I read it, I was nothing short of infuriated," he told NBC News. "We're losing public trust."
Found in: Common Cause
Honolulu Civil Beat: ‘Pay To Play’: Hawaii Moves To Expand The Ban On Contractor Campaign Donations
Heather Ferguson, director of state operations for Common Cause, said the good-government group supports extending Hawaii’s ban on contractor donations to include at least the officers of a contracted entity. “It erodes public trust when contractors are allowed to contribute to campaigns because of the public perception of those donations due to many of the high-profile federal cases,” Ferguson said. “It would be helpful for the public to know that contractors can’t use campaign contributions as an additional way to bid for a job.”
Found in: Common Cause
Dallas Morning News: Big bucks, powerful influence at play as Texans rise to key leadership jobs in U.S. House
In the House it’s one year and in the Senate it’s two — though there are all sorts of ways to “lobby under the table,” said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, a government watchdog group that decries the revolving door and its role in policymaking. “This is one among many of the problems that just show the influence that big money and special interests have in D.C.,” Scherb said. “Congress has to change the incentive structure, so that people don’t feel the need to go lobby for big business or corporate special interests,” Common Cause’s Scherb said.
Found in: Common Cause
NPR (AUDIO): Pennsylvania voting officials are still fighting election deniers
"We're a purple state, so it makes for a bit of a contentious conversation at times around democracy," says Khalif Ali, executive director of the advocacy group Common Cause Pennsylvania.