News Clips

“Every Texan needs should be able to safely register to vote and cast their ballot whether by mail or in person,” Anthony Gutierrez, Executive Director of Common Cause Texas, said in a statement. “The way we make that happen is to use these funds to implement online voter registration, expand vote by mail, extend early voting, recruit more election workers, and ensure all poll sites meets public health safety standards.”

The $400 million is welcome, but not nearly enough, said Karen Hobert Flynn, president of Common Cause. “Given the recent health crisis, states and localities immediately need significantly more resources to make critical investments to ensure that all voters can participate in free, fair, orderly and safe elections this year, or else millions of voters could be disenfranchised,” she said.

"I think we could see, worst-case scenario, millions of Americans disenfranchised and would not be able to have their voices heard or votes counted," said Aaron Scherb, director of legislative affairs at the nonpartisan government watchdog Common Cause. "We should really be able to get to a bipartisan solution to prevent the worst-case scenario from happening."

Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, said she expected the legislature to be receptive to recommendations from voting rights advocates. But whatever happens, she said, officials must clearly communicate their decisions to the public. “People are sitting at home, and they are anxious,” Turcer said, arguing that confusion about elections “just compounds people’s worries” about the covid-19 crisis. “There are pros and cons of all sorts of decisions we could make here, but what we really do need is that clarity.”

Common Cause legislative affairs director Aaron Scherb said Paul’s failure to quarantine himself potentially endangered the hundreds of individuals he came into contact with in the U.S. Capitol complex in addition to U.S. senators, including janitors, police officers, and food service workers. His use of the Senate gym after its March 19 closure to stop the spread of COVID-19 “calls into question his ability to follow rules,” said Scherb, adding that Paul should have known better because he’s a doctor. “As a U.S. senator, he should certainly set an example for everyone else especially during a pandemic like this,” said Scherb. “I am sure he wouldn’t be the first Senator who has ignored rules. Some of them think they’re invincible.” He said Paul’s diagnosis would likely curtail further use of the Senate gym during the pandemic, and would make the coronavirus issue even more personal for Senate members. “The average age of the U.S. Senate is above 60,” said Scherb. “They are not immune to this.”

Common Cause said the trades by the senators as alleged involved “potentially criminal misconduct.” “These Senators appear to have used classified intelligence briefings as stock tips and sold off significant holdings to avoid losses in the markets,” said Paul Ryan, Common Cause Vice President for Policy and Litigation. “These laws are on the books for a good reason, without them the potential to abuse the power of elected office for personal enrichment would be virtually unlimited.”