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Voting & Elections 10.22.2021

‘Our information is at stake,’ Keith Whitson, an attorney for the interveners, said in court Friday

If the subpoena is approved, Griffin, Robinson, and Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said their respective groups would have to shift resources to educate voters on security and what to do if their information is compromised.

Ethics 10.12.2021

Congressman Scott Perry (R-PA 10th) admits he is on the hot seat and on Tuesday spoke for the first time about a senate report alleging he sowed seeds of mistrust following the 2020 election.

“When you’re in a position of leadership, you have a responsibility, to tell the truth,” Executive Director of Common Cause Pa., Khalif Ali said. He says Perry should step down for sowing seeds of mistrust in our democracy. “You can’t just arbitrarily object and call into question the integrity of the process that was questioned in previous elections in which Republicans were successful.”

Voting & Elections 09.22.2021

Pennsylvania's five-member panel redrawing the boundaries of state legislative districts has decided to roll back part of a new policy that dictates how state prison inmates are counted.

“We have talked to inmates who have said that, you know, in trying to contact representatives, it's been a non-responsive situation.” Says Khalif Ali, Executive Director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. Ali says these inmates don't feel adequately represented in prisons outside of their permanent addresses and will disenfranchise 7,000 people.

Voting & Elections 09.15.2021

Republican lawmakers in Pennsylvania on Wednesday approved subpoenas for a wide range of data and personal information on voters, advancing a probe of the 2020 election in a key battleground state former president Donald Trump has repeatedly targeted with baseless claims of fraud.

Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a good-government advocacy group that works on issues related to voter access, called the subpoenas approved Wednesday a “frightening violation of voters’ privacy and an egregious abuse of power.” “There’s no explanation about what they intend to do with the information, or why they think they need it,” he said in a statement. “They also have not announced any plans for security measures to protect the information from disclosure. … Pennsylvanians deserve to have their private information protected by the people they elected to office, not used as political fodder to appease lies told by a former president.”

Voting & Elections 09.12.2021

Most inmates in Pennsylvania jails are allowed to vote, but they do so at low rates and a new report finds that the ease of casting a ballot varies widely by county.

“You have jails with the actual policies in place, and there’s a gap between the policy and actual implementation,” said Khalif Ali, head of Common Cause Pennsylvania. “If you simply say, ‘Oh, yeah, you guys can vote,’ and there’s nothing else, you’re essentially telling them: ‘Figure it out.’”

Zoom meetings are not addressed in Sunshine Act, so schools can choose; IUP ending practice nowBil

“The goal of the Sunshine Act is to encourage and guarantee the public’s right to participate in government decision making, and all agencies should take steps to make it easier for the public to attend public meetings,” she said. “ When virtual technology is used in addition to in-person public meetings, it can result in increased public participation.’’ Khalif Ali, executive director of Pennsylvania Common Cause, offered a similar view.

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