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Justice & Democracy

The mass criminalization and incarceration of people of color dis-empowers millions of people, undermining the promise of a democracy that works for everyone. Common Cause is fighting back.

The United States’ system of mass incarceration—which disproportionately targets Black and brown people—threatens the core values of our democracy. Common Cause joined the fight to end this harmful system because of our longstanding commitments to holding power accountable, defending and strengthening voting and civil rights, and ensuring that our voices (not those of monied interests) matter most in our country.

Through our Justice & Democracy Initiative, we work on issues like prison gerrymandering, or the counting of incarcerated people as residents of the prison rather than their home districts, as well as felony disenfranchisement and the political spending of incarceration-adjacent entities.

What We’re Doing

End Prison Gerrymandering

Campaign

End Prison Gerrymandering

End Prison Gerrymandering
Voting districts should be drawn in a way that ensures everyone has a voice in our democracy.

Take Action

Tell Congress: End Shameful Felony Disenfranchisement

Petition

Tell Congress: End Shameful Felony Disenfranchisement

Every American citizen deserves to be heard in our democracy. But right now, Jim Crow-era felony disenfranchisement laws deny this fundamental right to over 4.6 million Americans.

Congress must take action to fix this by passing the Inclusive Democracy Act, which would guarantee voting rights to ALL American citizens.

Your financial support helps us make an impact by holding power accountable and strengthening democracy.

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Updates

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Black Americans have always been resistant — now it’s time for our elected officials to step up

Blog Post

Black Americans have always been resistant — now it’s time for our elected officials to step up

"Since the country’s inception, Black people have been at the forefront of those consistently pushing the U.S. to live up to its ideals of being a free, fair, and just country. Once again, we’re calling on America to start taking big steps to continue striving for those ideals — to be the country we never have been but must be."

Related Resources

See all Related Resources

Report

The Paid Jailer

Guide

Step by Step Guide: How to count incarcerated people at home

An overview of the steps involved in adjusting state redistricting data to
create equitable solutions to prison gerrymandering

Report

Zero Disenfranchisement: The Movement to Restore Voting Rights

Americans deserve a democracy that fosters their ability to vote and holds their elected leaders accountable, regardless of whether they have a felony The practice of disenfranchising people because of a felony conviction should no longer be practiced in the U.S.

Letter

Common Cause Urges South Carolina to Evacuate Prison Inmates in Path of Hurricane Florence

Common Cause urges you to begin the immediate evacuation of all incarcerated individuals under your care that are in Hurricane Florence evacuation zones.

Press

Trump Raids An Attack on Civil Rights in All Communities

Press Release

Trump Raids An Attack on Civil Rights in All Communities

“These raids are nothing more than an abuse of power meant to divide communities, strip Latino Americans of their dignity, and stop new Americans from participating in our democracy."

Groups Urge Census Changes to Accurately Count Prison Populations For Redistricting

Press Release

Groups Urge Census Changes to Accurately Count Prison Populations For Redistricting

Today, Common Cause and the Prison Policy Initiative urged the U.S. Census Bureau to change how it counts prison populations each decade. The Bureau’s use of differential privacy, the intentional infusion of inaccurate information into population data, creates unnecessary miscounts in data used by state and local officials for redistricting. In a letter to Director Robert L. Santos and other senior officials, the groups emphasized that the populations of correctional facilities are already publicly available and that differential privacy is...

NATIONAL VOTING IN PRISON COALITION RESPONDS TO THE RECENT ROLLBACKS OF FELONY DISENFRANCHISEMENT REFORMS IN NEBRASKA & MISSISSIPPI 

Press Release

NATIONAL VOTING IN PRISON COALITION RESPONDS TO THE RECENT ROLLBACKS OF FELONY DISENFRANCHISEMENT REFORMS IN NEBRASKA & MISSISSIPPI 

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the National Voting In Prison Coalition (NVPC), a group of organizations dedicated to dismantling barriers to voting rights, objects to the recent legal efforts in Nebraska and Mississippi which undermine the voting rights of individuals impacted by the criminal legal system.