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Los Angeles Times: Why pay TV operators are dropping Trump-loving cable networks
“The network is a known perpetrator of disinformation and extremism, fueling real-world violence and placing the health and safety of so many in jeopardy,” said Yosef Getachew, director of Common Cause Media & Democracy Program.
Found in: Common Cause
Boston Globe: Follow the money: Sheriffs’ campaign donations get a much-needed look
“Sheriffs and campaign finance — that is, who is donating to sheriffs’ campaigns — are a virtual blind spot that has not been covered enough,” said Keshia Morris Desir, Common Cause’s census and mass incarceration project manager and one of the authors of the report. “The role of the sheriff is not often talked about, but they have a huge impact on our daily lives. Sheriffs should be listening to their constituents and not wealthy special interests.” Beth Rotman, director of money in politics and ethics at Common Cause and a coauthor of the report, pointed to the need to reform campaign finance by limiting contributions from donors associated with entities seeking or doing business with the sheriffs’ offices. Rotman highlighted Connecticut and New York City’s example as evidence that it can be done. Both have strong “good government” programs, including limits on such campaign contributions and small-donor democracy programs, which is a form of public financing that seeks to replace the role of big money in electoral politics.
Found in: Common Cause
YES! Magazine: Citizens Wanted Fairer Electoral Districts. Politicians … Not So Much
“I view the court process as a continuation of the redistricting process,” says Kathay Feng, the national redistricting manager of Common Cause. Unfortunately, some states don’t seem to mind being sued. North Carolina’s maps were among those struck down in the last cycle. Yet, Feng says its lawmakers again approved maps that already are being challenged in new lawsuits. “They cracked and packed Black voters, resulting in the dilution of their votes,” says Feng of North Carolina’s most recent maps, referring to practices in which communities of color are “cracked,” or split up to reduce their political power, or “packed” into the same district in greater numbers than necessary to reduce their power in surrounding districts. “They held sham hearings where locations were moved or, in one instance, the doors to the building were locked. All in all, a bad process.”
Found in: Common Cause
CNN (VIDEO): Battleground state county weighs closing all but one polling place
Election officials in a rural Georgia county are weighing plans to close all but one polling place ahead of this year's elections, alarming local voting and civil rights groups. CNN's Dianne Gallagher reports and speaks with Common Cause Georgia Executive Director Aunna Dennis.
Found in: Common Cause
The New Republic: Hope and Despair on Capitol Hill as Democrats’ Voting Reforms Die by Republican Filibuster (and Manchinema)
“We’re not going to give up and take our marbles and go home. We’re going to continue to fight, as we are also fighting at the state level,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, the president of Common Cause. She said that Common Cause would work to educate voters about their rights, recruiting poll monitors, and support groups that are bringing forward litigation. “There are going to be a lot of fronts to fight this battle at the state level, but in many ways it’s going to be a whack-a-mole,” Flynn said.
Found in: Common Cause
Toledo Blade (Op-Ed): The whole truth about national voting rights legislation
It’s a now or never moment for our democracy. With an imminent vote to advance the voting rights legislation facing the U.S. Senate, there’s one truth Mr. Portman and other Republican senators can’t escape: The vote is a choice between voter protection and voter suppression. We hope they stand on the side of the voters and choose to protect and strengthen our freedom to vote in Ohio. No Senate rule like the filibuster should stand in its way.
Found in: Common Cause
San Antonio Express-News: Texas Secretary of State scrambles to address mail ballot application problems as deadline looms
The issue has drawn the ire of voting rights groups like Common Cause and the League of Women Voters who have for years pushed the state to move to allow online voter registration. Texas is one of eight states that does not offer it. The League depends on the state's paper copies to provide new citizens with the forms in their welcome packets at naturalization ... ceremonies. "This is a problem that's easily solvable," said Common Cause executive director Anthony Gutierrez. "We ask that the state immediately take steps to fix this problem that they have manufactured. It's time for the state of Texas to join the 21st century, and the rest of the country, and provide online voter registration to every eligible voter in Texas."
Found in: Common Cause
Texas Public Radio: Texas election officials blame new voting law for rise in rejected mail-in ballot applications
“As things stand now, about half of those voters are being blocked from having their voices heard,” Stephanie Gomez, the associate director at Common Cause Texas, said in a statement. “If this isn’t fixed, this single provision of SB 1 could block up to a half-million Texans from voting by mail this year.” “In the meantime, we urge all Texans to be your own advocates for your freedom to vote,” added Gomez. “While the politicians in charge are determined to make it as hard as possible to vote, Common Cause Texas is ramping up our Texas-sized election protection to ensure our communities can make their voice heard at the ballot box.”
Found in: Common Cause
Cleveland Plain Dealer (Op-Ed): A second chance for fair maps in Ohio
These decisions by the Ohio Supreme Court are tremendous wins for every Ohio voter, and for all Americans whose voting rights are being undermined by shameless gerrymandering. No politicians should be given carte blanche to cherry-pick and distort rules to maintain their power, to undermine democracy for the sake of partisan gain.
Found in: Common Cause
Wisconsin State Journal (Op-Ed): The war on voting is doomed to fail
This country needs to have two or more vibrant political parties contesting elections and trying to win the battle of ideas by persuading voters that their proposals are best. But when one of the major political parties doesn’t really believe in elections and in democracy, then it follows that it can’t possibly win the hearts and minds of citizens at the ballot box because the outcome of free and fair elections doesn’t really matter to them. That sick mindset will eventually destroy that party. If it ceases to believe in elections, then it will cease to be able to win them. The great majority of Wisconsinites and Americans will never adopt that cynical and destructive vision. It’s up to Republicans to dramatically change direction and to again work to strengthen democracy instead of trying to destroy it.