Press Release
Common Cause Pennsylvania: Election Night is Not Results Night
As voters head to the polls, Common Cause Pennsylvania is reminding voters that it may take days for election officials to finalize results.
Press
Media Contacts
Katie Scally
Director of communications
kscally@commoncause.org
(408) 205-1257
News Clip
‘I’m in the hot seat’: Perry admits while answering questions regarding scathing Senate report
“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.”
Press Release
Report by U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee singled out two Pennsylvania Republicans — U.S. Rep. Scott Perry and State Sen. Doug Mastriano
It is clear from what we’ve seen in this report that these men do not respect the will of the voters. No elected official should remain in office, if they do not respect the voters who put them there.
Press Release
Advocates and Voters Ask to Join Election Review Lawsuit Against the PA Senate to Defend Voters’ Privacy Rights
Common Cause Pennsylvania, the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, Make the Road Pennsylvania, and the voters say that they have an interest in the case because voters’ constitutional right to privacy will be compromised if the Senate Republicans are allowed to enforce their subpoena for voters’ private personal data.
News Clip
Changes to ‘Prison Gerrymandering’ decision
“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.
Ali says these inmates don't feel adequately represented in prisons outside of their permanent addresses and will disenfranchise 7,000 people.
Press Release
Pennsylvania LRC Rolls Back Decision; Will Allocate Only Some Incarcerated People in Their Home Districts
Today, the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission voted to approve a resolution that effectively rolls back the much-needed prison gerrymandering reforms passed last month. The resolution seeks to count incarcerated people whose sentences are ten years or longer at the location they are currently housed in, rather than in their communities.
Press Release
Senate Committee to Vote Today on Subpoenas of Voters’ Personal Information
"These subpoenas are a frightening violation of voters’ privacy and an egregious abuse of power. State regulations specifically exempt certain information from public release, because of privacy concerns -- but these subpoenas would require the Department of State to provide that information anyway."
News Clip
Pennsylvania GOP lawmakers approve wide-ranging subpoenas for personal information of 2020 voters
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...
“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...
News Clip
New report about voting in Pennsylvania jails shows each county runs things differently, creating a patchwork of policies across the state
“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.’”
News Clip
Want to see in real time how Pa. state universities do business? Your window may be closing
“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.
Khalif Ali, executive director of Pennsylvania Common Cause, offered a similar view.
Press Release
Legislative Reapportionment Commission Votes to Count Incarcerated People in Home Districts
The vote to allocate incarcerated people to their home districts, rather than the districts where they are incarcerated, is an important step toward fully representative legislative districts in Pennsylvania.
News Clip
Pa. ends ‘prison gerrymandering’ with closely divided committee vote
Khalif Ali, who directs Pennsylvania’s chapter of government accountability nonprofit Common Cause, called the change “is an important step toward fully representative legislative districts in Pennsylvania” that has been “a long time coming.”
News Clip
New Census data shows population shifts in PA
“While this process has historically been conducted behind closed doors with little to no public input, 2021 is our year to flip the script and ensure that the voices of our communities, particularly those of Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, and other communities of color, are at the center of the conversation,” said Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause in Pennsylvania.