News Clips

Common Cause, a citizens advocacy group, said states should do what is necessary to protect individuals, as long as the primaries are held in a timely manner and actions are taken to make sure the November elections are held without a hitch. "The COVID-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented challenge to our elections, but those elections can and must be held this year," said Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn. "Americans expect and deserve to have their say at the polls to choose their representatives and to hold their elected officials accountable."

“These are unusual restrictions,” Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, said of recommended federal limits to try and control the spread of the virus. Her group is urging the delay of that state’s 2020 presidential primary from April 28 to June 23, when congressional and legislative primaries are already scheduled. “Normally, we do not support postponing elections, but these are extraordinary circumstances,” Lerner said.

Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, said the public’s fears could overtake their desire to vote — though she encouraged people who feel comfortable to turn out. “We’re asking people to go into pretty confined conditions, and even with all sorts of wipes and the things that can be done to make things safe, it is anxiety-provoking,” she said.

Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for advocacy group Common Cause, said her organization supports moving forward with next week’s elections, but it is too soon to say what other states should do if the virus continues to spread. “It’s an ever-changing situation,” Albert said. “I wouldn’t want to opine on what somebody should do in four weeks because we don’t know what four weeks will look like.”

But unforeseen disruptors such as the coronavirus underscore why it is important to staff polling locations robustly, said Catherine Turcer, executive director of the Ohio branch of Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group. “If we have a reduction in poll workers plus people calling off sick, it could be really problematic,” Turcer said. “That’s why it makes sense to have more poll workers than you really need.”

Jesse Littlewood, vice president for campaigns at Common Cause, a nonpartisan nonprofit, said this is the first time the group has monitored misinformation on social media during the primary season, and he had expected to find less of what he terms “cyber suppression.” “We’re talking dozens to hundreds of pieces of content — not thousands or millions — but even that I’m quite surprised at,” he said. Littlewood said it’s difficult to tell how much of the bad content comes from bad actors, as opposed to “users who just think it’s funny to say [Joe] Biden voters vote on Wednesday.”