News Clips

“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.

“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.

“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.”

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.

“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.

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.