836 Search Results Containing "voting"
TIME: After Senate Republicans Block Voting Rights Legislation, the Filibuster Is Back in the Crosshairs
The reason Neil Gorsuch is sitting on the Supreme Court right now is because Senate Republicans carved out Supreme Court nominations from the filibuster rule, says Stephen Spaulding, senior counsel for public policy and government affairs at Common Cause, an advocacy organization focused on promoting democracy. Democrats did the same for President Barack Obama’s nominees were appointed to the D.C. circuit, he says. “It’s not unprecedented at all. It’s now a choice to keep the filibuster in place rather than pass legislation that would project the freedom to vote,” Spaulding says.
Found in: Common Cause
Salon: Big corporations that claim to support voting rights are still funding right-wing state AGs
"Voting rights should never be a partisan issue, and for decades it wasn't," Karen Hobert Flynn, president of the nonpartisan good-government group Common Cause, said in a statement. "Many current GOP senators have backed strong voting rights protections in the past. In fact, 10 current Republican senators voted for the Voting Rights Act reauthorization when it passed the Senate 98-0 in 2006, only one week after it was passed by the House. If 10 Senate Republicans will not support this bill, then Senate Democrats must reform the filibuster."
Found in: Common Cause
Voting rights advocates express concerns over redistricting process at the General Assembly
In a statement, Common Cause NC complained that “improvements to the livestream are sorely needed to ensure the public can more clearly observe the map-drawing process.” The group’s executive director, Bob Phillips, said that it is insufficient to only have the overhead camera showing committee room “from an eye-straining distance” and not to show the names of legislators who appear on the screen. “Those drawing maps should be identified on screen and their faces clearly seen, side by side with the maps they are drawing, and their voices clearly heard,” he said.
Found in: Common Cause North Carolina
Senate Introduces & Must Pass the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to Protect the Freedom to Vote from Racial Discrimination
Every American deserves the freedom to vote regardless of our color, background or zip code, but that freedom is under siege in many states. The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, introduced in the Senate today, will protect the freedom of every American to cast a ballot and have a say in decisions that impact our lives—from combatting the pandemic to creating jobs to making health care affordable.
Found in: Common Cause
Austin American-Statesman: Texas Senate begins work on election audit, voting felony bills
"This decision to inject partisan politics into our elections process will only sow doubts in our democracy, distract and divide us, and stick taxpayers with these giant bills," said Stephanie Gómez, associate director of Common Cause Texas. "Texans deserve better than to have our ballots serve as fuel for an election conspiracy," she said.
Found in: Common Cause
‘Stop Gerrymandering’ billboard in Raleigh highlights call for fair voting maps
Found in: Common Cause North Carolina
The Hill: Voting bill seeks to crack down on gerrymandering
Kathay Feng, director of redistricting and representation with Common Cause, said the bar on partisan redistricting will nix a frequent excuse for maps that otherwise negatively affect minority voters. “It will eliminate the most extreme partisan gerrymanders, and it will send a clear signal to those that are drawing the lines that they can no longer use that as their escape valve for all the manipulation they’re doing,” she said.
Found in: Common Cause
Insider: Democrats' 'bold' new attempt at bipartisan voting rights reform is failing to win over Manchin's GOP allies
"It's a very bold bill," Steve Spaulding, senior counsel for Public Policy & Government Affairs at Common Cause, told Insider. "It is still a sweeping, bold bill with many of the main pillars of the For The People Act in it." "I think there is room for common ground, but at the end of the day, given that we're talking about the fundamental freedom to vote, we need to give Senator Manchin room to bring along the Republicans that will see the wisdom of supporting this revised bill," Spaulding said. "But at the end of the day, if that doesn't happen, we do think it's incumbent upon the majority to find a path forward to get this bill to the president's desk."
Found in: Common Cause
Coalition of Voting Rights Groups File Amicus Brief to Restore the Freedom to Vote
Today, Common Cause Minnesota, the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and the Minnesota Second Chance Coalition, filed an amicus brief with the State Supreme Court to restore the voting rights of tens of thousands of Minnesotans in Schroeder v. Minnesota Secretary of State.