Press Release
High Scores for New York on Common Cause’s 2024 Democracy Scorecard
“The 2024 Democracy Scorecard empowers voters with information to hold their leaders in Washington accountable for a government that works for all.”
Press
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"People begging the state to engage in census outreach, nothing happened - 89 people. If there had been state outreach which began even in November or December of 2019, it's easy to see that we would've had hundreds of more people,” said Executive Director Susan Lerner.
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“It’s very difficult to see how a Manhattan D.A. candidate can accept really large and numerous donations from people who are involved in industries who could easily be the subject of that office’s attention,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government reform group.
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Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/New York, said the fact that the work occurred on a weekend lent credence to the idea that the senior staff was working voluntarily.
"This is obviously outside of the work week and that is what we would want to see, that this sort of assistance would take place outside of the work week," she said. "That certainly strengthens the argument that it is a voluntary activity."
"This is obviously outside of the work week and that is what we would want to see, that this sort of assistance would take place outside of the work week," she said. "That certainly strengthens the argument that it is a voluntary activity."
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The reported conduct may be a violation of ethics rules set forth in the state’s public officers law which states public officials aren’t allowed to use “his or her official position to secure unwarranted privileges or exemptions for himself or herself or others.” Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, saw it as a clear breach of the law.
“It’s unethical and yes, I think there needs to be a serious investigation,” she said. “Our law is very clear. You cannot use state resources for...
“It’s unethical and yes, I think there needs to be a serious investigation,” she said. “Our law is very clear. You cannot use state resources for...
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Susan Lerner from Common Cause New York said she thought the city’s campaign finance system was far better than the state’s approach to running special elections. The state offers no public financing, making it even more difficult for someone like Benjamin to succeed, and relies instead on the local county chair of the party to pick a candidate who almost always wins the seat.
“Now some of the people who run ultimately don’t garner a large percentage,” she said. “It’s still healthier to have a real choice for the...
“Now some of the people who run ultimately don’t garner a large percentage,” she said. “It’s still healthier to have a real choice for the...
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“These are not exotic, difficult criteria,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, one of the groups that signed the letter. “These are real, bread-and butter, good management skills.”
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Susan Lerner, executive director of the advocacy group Common Cause New York, said the state needed professionalized election administration staff who were hired based on their qualifications.
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“I think that the pandemic and miscommunication from the State BOE slowed down the process,” said Susan Lerner, head of Common Cause New York which advocated for the city’s ranked-choice voting referendum and has been leading voter education efforts across the city.
“The major vendors were well aware of the opportunity. ES&S, the current vendor for the voting scanning machines, has been in contact with our BOE since December of 2019, discussing rank choice voting. So, if ES&S were interested, they certainly could...
“The major vendors were well aware of the opportunity. ES&S, the current vendor for the voting scanning machines, has been in contact with our BOE since December of 2019, discussing rank choice voting. So, if ES&S were interested, they certainly could...
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“Our system is set up so that the boards of elections have relatively little, if any, oversight, and virtually no accountability.” – Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York
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“New York voters should understand that we will not know the results of many close races until some weeks later,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group. ”And that is not the death of democracy, but a sign of life.”
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Was your voter registration purged? Why it might, and what you can do about it
"The whole concept is backwards. It’s about discouraging people from voting," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY, which has sued and won to reform the purging of voters in New York.
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"We're glad to see Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden step up to become poll sites, but other cultural institutions need to do their civic duty too,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY. She also noted that many of the cultural institutions that receive public support and tax benefits are either empty or operating at reduced capacity.