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.
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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.
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Common Cause has spent 2025 proving that special interests are no match for our people-powered movement that began over 50 years ago.
From the halls of Congress to local election offices, we’ve built a movement that stands up to corruption, strengthens accountability, and protects the power of the people. And with your help, we can go even further.
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