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Associated Press: Political lobbyists denounce harassment by state senator
Heather Ferguson, a co-signor of the letter and executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, said that Ivey-Soto referred to her and a female colleague by the nickname “Lips and Hips” in 2016. “We walked into a meeting with him,” Ferguson said. “He said, ‘Here comes Lips and Hips.’” Ferguson said she told Ivey-Soto the nickname was sexist and degrading, and that he repeated it later. She described a “toxic culture” at the Legislature, praised Anaya’s courage for filing a formal complaint and said greater whistleblower protections are needed.
Found in: Common Cause
Raleigh News & Observer: Is gerrymandering to blame for more extremism in US politics?
“The winner is chosen in the primary and the primary draws, for lack of a better way of saying it, the most extreme and emotional voters,” said Bob Phillips, who leads the redistricting reform group Common Cause NC. He said he’s heard state legislators on both sides of the aisle complain that their party’s leaders instruct them not to even mingle with the other side when they’re in Raleigh, let alone vote with them. “We’ve seen it in Raleigh and seen it in Washington,” he said. “Folks that come have no incentive to compromise because they’ll only be punished for it.” Phillips said House Bill 2, the controversial 2016 law that became known nationally as the “bathroom bill” and ended up costing North Carolina millions of dollars, is an example of politicians supporting polarizing bills. It’s OK for them to pass laws that please their base even if it goes against popular opinion, he said, because gerrymandering insulates them from any fallout. The state legislative districts in use at the time were later ruled unconstitutional gerrymanders, and Phillips said that looking at those maps, 92% of those who voted for HB2 in the N.C. House either didn’t have an opponent in their previous election or won it by double digits. Phillips said he blames gerrymandering in part for this, since it tends to make politicians beholden more to their party’s furthest wings, but he also blames also other factors, including media coverage focused on the most extreme views from either side. “It may also embolden you to speak in a more shrill, harsh, attacking mode,” he said. “We’ve certainly seen that decline in civility.”
Found in: Common Cause
MSN/Austin American-Statesman: Central Texas counties report 'higher than ever' rejection rates for primary mail ballots
“I think we were all worried about vote-by-mail requirements, but I don’t think anyone expected for it to be quite this much of a catastrophe,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of the nonpartisan elections and democracy organization Common Cause Texas, which is is suing state officials over SB 1. Part of the problem, Gutierrez said, is that he is not seeing an earnest effort from the secretary of state to alert voters of the new changes. "The secretary of state seemed to be doing little to nothing to educate Texans about the new requirements until the very last minute," Gutierrez said. "Counties were just given the statute and left to figure it out by themselves.”
Found in: Common Cause
USA Today: Ohio's redistricting is in disarray weeks before the primary. Can it pull off the election?
“What’s really sad about all of this for Ohio voters: not that many people vote in primaries anyway," said Mia Lewis, associate director of the good-government group Common Cause Ohio. "What’s going to be the incentive for an Ohio voter to bother to pay attention and figure all of this out?”
Found in: Common Cause
Business Insider: How more than $407 million in taxpayer money got locked away in a forgotten government fund — and lawmakers won't spend it or return it
The For the People Act "represents the boldest democracy reform since Watergate, and any funds currently available for the old system should be used for the new system of federal citizen-funded elections, which must pass so we can get big money out of politics," Beth Rotman, the director of money in politics and ethics for Common Cause, said prior to the bill's stall-out.
Found in: Common Cause
Associated Press: DeSantis, lawmakers sued by groups over congressional maps
Voter rights groups are suing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, his secretary of state and lawmakers in a bid to throw out redrawn congressional districts, saying the governor inappropriately influenced the once-a-decade process. The lawsuit was filed Friday in federal court in Tallahassee by Common Cause Florida and Fair Districts Now, two non-partisan groups advocating for good government. The complaint states DeSantis overstepped his executive powers to propose his own maps to favor Republicans. It says his plans violate state and federal laws protecting the redistricting process against partisan gerrymandering. DeSantis’ plans would likely eliminate two Black plurality districts. The lawsuit says his first plan also weakened one Hispanic district, favoring Republican candidates.
Found in: Common Cause
Associated Press: Some in GOP want ballots to be counted by hand, not machines
“It’s coming from conspiracy theories and lies,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, a nonpartisan group that advocates for expanded voter access. “It’s attempting to lower people’s confidence in elections.” Albert and others said it’s unrealistic to think election officials can count millions of ballots by hand and report results quickly, given that ballots often include dozens of races. The partisan review last summer of the 2 million ballots cast in Maricopa County, Arizona, which included a hand count, took several months and hundreds of people to complete.
Found in: Common Cause
VICE News: Looks Like Ron DeSantis Is Getting His Election Police Force
“The governor of Florida does not have control over all Florida police departments or the FBI,” Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, told VICE News when DeSantis first announced his plans. “And by proposing this integrity unit, it seems like that’s what he wants: a personal, political goon squad.”
Found in: Common Cause
Salon: Trump wants his fans to pay for new “Trump Force One” plane after emergency landing
"PACs are often used as slush funds," Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance expert at the good government nonprofit Common Cause, told CNN. "Campaign finance law doesn't require PAC money to be used for political purposes, leaving open the possibility that Trump could use PAC funds to pay for private plane repairs."