North Carolina Press Release
Press
Media Contacts
Katie Scally
Communications Director
kscally@commoncause.org
202-736-5713
Ariana Marmolejo
Communications Strategist
amarmolejo@commoncause.org
Kenny Colston
Regional Communications Strategist (Midwest)
kcolston@commoncause.org
Maya Majikas
Communications Strategist
mmajikas@commoncause.org
Common Cause’s network of national and state democracy reform experts are frequent media commentators. To talk with one of our experts, please reach out to any member of the press team above.
News Clip
Oregon Capital Insider: Oregon lawmakers pass first campaign finance limits in 50 years
Kate Titus, executive director of Common Cause Oregon, said she never bought into the assumption that legislators could do nothing about regulating campaign finances.
“The question is not whether we can do anything to restrict the influence of big money. It is: Will we? I think what we have finally seen this legislative session is that we will,” Titus said. “What we passed here is not everything we need. There is still work to be done. But it is a big leap forward for Oregon.”
“The question is not whether we can do anything to restrict the influence of big money. It is: Will we? I think what we have finally seen this legislative session is that we will,” Titus said. “What we passed here is not everything we need. There is still work to be done. But it is a big leap forward for Oregon.”
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Yahoo! News/Texas Tribune: Most 18-year-old Texans aren’t signed up to vote despite a law requiring voter registration in high schools
Katya Ehresman, voting rights program manager at Common Cause Texas, noted that some states reward schools that register students. Tennessee acknowledges schools that reach a certain voter registration threshold, and Pennsylvania has a governor’s civic engagement award to celebrate schools that register 85% of eligible students to vote, for example.
Common Cause also recommends that the secretary of state’s office mail each school voter registration applications, instead of requiring schools to request them twice a year.
Common Cause also recommends that the secretary of state’s office mail each school voter registration applications, instead of requiring schools to request them twice a year.
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Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer: FirstEnergy made secret $1 million payment for ‘Husted campaign’ in 2017, documents show
Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, said the records showing the payment is another example of why Ohio needs greater transparency in political spending. We're still learning about public officials proximity to a bribery scandal after years of a swarm of criminal, civil, and regulatory investigations, she said.
The complicated picture is a feature and not a bug, she said. The system is built to hide malfeasance.
"What we do know from this is the governor and lieutenant governor are very...
The complicated picture is a feature and not a bug, she said. The system is built to hide malfeasance.
"What we do know from this is the governor and lieutenant governor are very...
News Clip
Washington Times: Defendants not named ‘Trump’ usually go to trial years after indictment
Meanwhile, the fair election advocacy group Common Cause filed a brief supporting Mr. Smith at the Supreme Court in the D.C. case over Mr. Trump's claim of absolute immunity, saying the justices must decide the issue swiftly so the trial can take place before the November election and, ironically, so politics don't appear to be at play.
"The American people deserve a trial and a verdict on these serious charges before they go to the polls in November," said Virginia Kase Solomón, president of Common Cause. "The presumptive...
"The American people deserve a trial and a verdict on these serious charges before they go to the polls in November," said Virginia Kase Solomón, president of Common Cause. "The presumptive...
Press Release
Common Cause Urges SCOTUS to Rule Quickly in Trump v. U.S. to Avoid Perception of Bias
Today, Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of the United States urging the court to decide Donald J. Trump v. United States expeditiously in order to avoid perceptions of political bias and to allow a lower court trial of the former president on conspiracy and corruption charges to be held before the November presidential election.
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PolitiFact: FALSE: Texas found that 95,000 noncitizens were registered to vote.
"For those of us who’ve worked in Texas politics for years, it was a huge deal because you almost never see a gubernatorial appointee fail to get confirmed by the state senate," Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a voting advocacy group, told PolitiFact. "It goes to show just how wildly false their claim of 95,000 non-citizens being on the voter rolls was that it resulted in the Republican-dominated Texas Legislature refusing to confirm the nomination of the Republican governor."
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Salon/Yahoo! News: Rebooting digital equality: FCC to restore net neutrality, reversing Trump-era repeal
Government watchdog group Common Cause has long championed net neutrality protections, arguing that the rules protect the public's right to the equal access of publicly-funded internet infrastructure.
“The internet is a gateway to democracy for many and every voter has the right to a free and fair internet. From looking up information about candidates to finding polling sites, this net neutrality proposal will make it easier for every voter to participate in our modern democracy. We strongly encourage the FCC to restore net...
“The internet is a gateway to democracy for many and every voter has the right to a free and fair internet. From looking up information about candidates to finding polling sites, this net neutrality proposal will make it easier for every voter to participate in our modern democracy. We strongly encourage the FCC to restore net...
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Washington Post: Nebraska lawmakers vote against Trump-fueled push to change electoral vote system
“Until yesterday, this wasn’t a discussion at all, and then suddenly it blew up, and several of our legislators that are process-oriented will take a skeptical line,” said Gavin Geis, executive director of Common Cause Nebraska.
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Star Tribune/Yahoo! News: ‘Book Senator Hoffman to speak’: DFL state senator’s consulting firm raises ethical questions
Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, executive director of Common Cause Minnesota, a nonprofit that advocates for government transparency, also had concerns. She said, "Sen. Hoffman's use of this title for marketing his consulting business as 'senator', along with the use of pictures taken while at the Capitol campus, can arguably be seen as him leveraging his public role for private gain."
Belladonna-Carrera suggested the legislative branch could benefit from having clearer rules for lawmakers.
"This branch of...
Belladonna-Carrera suggested the legislative branch could benefit from having clearer rules for lawmakers.
"This branch of...
Press Release
Common Cause Urges FCC to Approve Net Neutrality Proposal
"We strongly encourage the FCC to restore net neutrality and return control of the internet to the people."
News Clip
NBC News: Wisconsin voters approve two GOP-backed ballot measures that will change how elections are run
“In the April elections Wisconsin tends to have low turnout, and not many people are going to look at these [closely]. Maybe they’ll read it and think, ‘yeah, that sounds reasonable,’” Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, the state’s branch of the national nonpartisan government watchdog group, said ahead of the results. “But they are both the product of election denial.”
Their impact could be notable, Heck suggested. With avenues for additional funding roped off, and with the scope of who...
Their impact could be notable, Heck suggested. With avenues for additional funding roped off, and with the scope of who...
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CBS/Associated Press: Writing the wrong date on your mail-in ballot in Pa. could get your vote thrown out, judges rule
Common Cause Pennsylvania issued this statement about the ruling:
"This ruling means that counties will be permitted to throw out ballots that were submitted in time, for reasons irrelevant to the voters' eligibility to vote. We are disheartened by this ruling and maintain our position that every voter who makes the effort to participate should have their vote counted. But our work will continue regardless. Though this ruling will undoubtedly have a negative impact on elderly voters and voters of color, we will work with...
"This ruling means that counties will be permitted to throw out ballots that were submitted in time, for reasons irrelevant to the voters' eligibility to vote. We are disheartened by this ruling and maintain our position that every voter who makes the effort to participate should have their vote counted. But our work will continue regardless. Though this ruling will undoubtedly have a negative impact on elderly voters and voters of color, we will work with...
