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Santa Fe New Mexican: Sen. Ivey-Soto faces inquiry on harassment claim
"The current process right now will not even inform the public that anything is happening one way or the other," Heather Ferguson, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico. She said the process is "completely behind closed doors and out of public view. That does not instill trust in the public in the process itself." Nor will it encourage others who may have similar complaints against lawmakers to come forward, Ferguson added.
Found in: Common Cause
Daily Beast: How the Hell Is Trump 43-0 vs. Campaign Finance Watchdogs?
Paul S. Ryan, vice president of litigation at good government group Common Cause, was on the receiving end of a number of those decisions, and did not mince words. “Trump is a walking playbook for how to violate campaign finance laws and get away with it,” Ryan told The Daily Beast, noting that several cases hit close to home, including the Daniels payment, “complaints related to his soft money group America First Policies, his involvement with now-disgraced Cambridge Analytica, his solicitation of foreign campaign assistance and more.” Because his organization filed those complaints, he said, seeing Trump walk “really stings.” Ryan added that Common Cause wasn’t alone, noting that the Trump campaign skated on complaints from the Campaign Legal Center, End Citizens United, Democracy 21 and other watchdogs.
Found in: Common Cause
TIME: Texas Primary Unfolds as Advocates Sound the Alarm About Mail Ballot Rejections
Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections at Common Cause, describes provisions like the Texas one and accompanying voting restrictions as “death by a thousand cuts.” “When you put so many restrictions on the election that a certain percentage of people can’t vote or don’t have votes counted then the election is no longer a reflection of the will of the people,” Albert says.
Found in: Common Cause
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Unlike Texas, new voter ID rules in Georgia didn’t cause surge in rejections
Voters should prepare in advance if they want to cast an absentee ballot this year, said Aunna Dennis, executive director for Common Cause Georgia, a government accountability organization. “Start the process early to be as prepared as possible so you don’t have to face hurdles that may come,” Dennis said. “We don’t know just yet what the impact is going to be until we actually have the primary.”
Found in: Common Cause
Associated Press: NC Republicans ask US Supreme Court to block Congress map
Allison Riggs, a lawyer representing Common Cause in the litigation, said GOP legislators were now “outrageously” attempting to insert the U.S. Supreme Court into state laws less than three years after the justices ruled state courts could use their own laws to curb partisan gerrymandering. “We are confident this specious attempt to undermine our judiciary will be rejected,” Riggs said in a news release. The U.S. Supreme Court told Common Cause and other litigants to respond to the stay request by Wednesday.
Found in: Common Cause
Gannett/Providence Journal: Are campaign donations to MA sheriffs too suggestive of pay-to-play? CT may have solution
“This is not just about bribery. It’s also about public faith in government,” said Beth Rotman, a Common Cause national director and the person who led the implementation of Connecticut’s democracy reform program. “People don’t always know what’s going to influence them and what isn’t going to influence them, but certainly if you’re taking all of your money from an industry that wants something very valuable from you, it looks horrible and casts a tremendous shadow over any decision you make.”
Found in: Common Cause
At Common Cause: Recognizing Our Democracy Fellows During Black History Month
As we honor and work to advance the legacies of Black change-makers this Black History Month, we here at Common Cause want to take a special moment to highlight some of our Democracy Fellows – as well as the transformative work they have spearheaded at their Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
Found in: Common Cause
Ms. Magazine (Op-Ed): Our Democracy Has Problems. Women Have Solutions.
My dream is to live in an inclusive democracy that lives up to its promise. Where everyone has a say in the future for their family and community; where anyone can run for public office; where everyone plays by the same fair rules; and where our government reflects who we are because people vote in high numbers. We must not yield to a cynicism that says we can never improve. Making the dream real means ensuring those who represent us are reflective and responsive to the people—not the wealthy who dominate campaign and lobbyist spending. It means ending voter suppression that silences Black and brown voters; replacing unaccountable secret money in elections with small dollar donor laws that shift power from wealthy special interests to the people; ending racial and partisan gerrymandering by shifting power from politicians to impartial commissions; and preventing election sabotage that would steal power from voters by overturning elections. —Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause
Found in: Common Cause
Reuters: Thousands of Texas ballots rejected as new voter ID law causes confusion
"Anytime you add a step to the process ... you lose voters who are making a good-faith effort to cast their ballot," said Katya Ehresman, the grassroots organizer for Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan group that advocates for government reform.
Found in: Common Cause
Kansas City Star: Kris Kobach, running for Kansas AG, still working for scandal-tainted border wall group
Washington-based Common Cause in 2019 filed a complaint with the Department of Justice, asking for an investigation. Campaign finance experts at the time pointed to the lack of a “paid for” disclosure in the message and said if Kobach didn’t pay a fair market price for access to the email list, it could be a violation of campaign finance law. “Any time a candidate for public office is associated with an outside political organization, it warrants scrutiny to make sure the candidate is not getting an unfair or even illegal boost from the outside organization,” Paul S. Ryan, Common Cause’s vice president of policy and litigation, said in an interview this week.