North Carolina Press Release
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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.
Press Release
Arizona: Democracy Advocates Urge Need for Clean Recount Fix
Today, Common Cause Arizona joined voting rights activists to call for a clean fix to the ballot recount issue in response to negotiations on a proposal that could further disenfranchise Arizonans’ voting rights.
News Clip
Syracuse Post-Standard: Republicans push Onondaga County to sue NY over change to election schedule
"Moving local elections to even years will boost turnout, reduce voter fatigue, and minimize stressors on the local boards of elections,'' said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York.
News Clip
Yahoo! News/Providence Journal: Everyone wants something from Rhode Island’s part-time lawmakers. Here’s the list.
"It targets specific instances when the government has used APRA to stonewall specific requests, like RIDOT's decision to withhold accident data it collects from all of Rhode Island's municipalities," says John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island.
"With respect to the Washington Bridge emails," he said of emails for which different media outlets were charged anything from zero to $450 for the same 236 pages, "the bill would lower the costs by doubling the amount of free search time given for each...
"With respect to the Washington Bridge emails," he said of emails for which different media outlets were charged anything from zero to $450 for the same 236 pages, "the bill would lower the costs by doubling the amount of free search time given for each...
News Clip
San Diego Union Tribune: In Chula Vista, when it comes to public records, not much is public
Sean McMorris of California Common Cause, a Los Angeles-area nonprofit that advocates for good government and open records, said there are many reasons cities should post responses to public-records requests.
Activists, lawyers, business owners and everyday citizens can review the postings themselves without having to interrupt city employees by submitting a redundant request, he said.
"It also creates a record for the city in terms of litigation," McMorris said. "It induces them to respond more thoroughly because...
Activists, lawyers, business owners and everyday citizens can review the postings themselves without having to interrupt city employees by submitting a redundant request, he said.
"It also creates a record for the city in terms of litigation," McMorris said. "It induces them to respond more thoroughly because...
News Clip
Capitol Beat News Service: Paper ballots focus of latest election reform push
Anne Herring, policy analyst for Common Cause Georgia, raised concerns about the latter provision.
“The governor and lieutenant governor get to vote on whether their own races will be audited,” Herring told LaHood’s committee. “That’s a little concerning to me in terms of public confidence in elections.”
“The governor and lieutenant governor get to vote on whether their own races will be audited,” Herring told LaHood’s committee. “That’s a little concerning to me in terms of public confidence in elections.”
News Clip
The Guardian: How Ohio Republicans ignore voters – and the governor – in power grab to pass laws
According to Catherine Turcer, the executive director of the government watchdog group Common Cause Ohio, which is part of the Citizens Not Politicians coalition, the group has trained about 2,000 volunteers to collect petition signatures.
“It’s clear there’s this disconnect between what it is that ordinary Ohioans want, and what it is that the state legislature chooses to do,” said Turcer. “There is real interest in ensuring that we have accountable government.”
“It’s clear there’s this disconnect between what it is that ordinary Ohioans want, and what it is that the state legislature chooses to do,” said Turcer. “There is real interest in ensuring that we have accountable government.”
News Clip
Yahoo! News/WCMH: Ohio GOP at odds over future of House Bill 6
“At the end of the day, this corrupt legislation means that we don’t have money we could be spending on other things,” Executive Director of Common Cause Ohio Catherine Turcer said.
HB6, in part, gave two Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) coal plants a consistent stream of revenue, from Ohioans.
“To the tune of $153,000 per day,” Turcer said.
HB6, in part, gave two Ohio Valley Electric Corporation (OVEC) coal plants a consistent stream of revenue, from Ohioans.
“To the tune of $153,000 per day,” Turcer said.
News Clip
Albany Tines Union (Op-Ed): These measures would protect election integrity in New York
2023 was a challenging test of New York’s elections. Voters endured persistent legal fights over redistricting and a congressional election scandal that captured national attention. It’s no surprise that trust in government continues to decline nationwide. With changing congressional boundaries and a contentious election season looming, voters face an even busier year.
That’s why lawmakers must work quickly to institute guardrails that address existing gaps in our laws and protect voters from the threat of...
That’s why lawmakers must work quickly to institute guardrails that address existing gaps in our laws and protect voters from the threat of...
News Clip
Gannett/Wilmington Star News: Are Black voters in North Carolina at risk with redistricting maps under litigation? NAACP, Common Cause and NC voters sue Republican legislatures for racially gerrymandered maps
On Dec. 19, the North Carolina NAACP along with Common Cause, a nonpartisan nonprofit advocating for fair and transparent elections, and a group of eight residents filed a lawsuit against Republican mapmakers, including Philip Berger, Tim Moore and the State Board of Elections, for passing allegedly racially adjusted and rushed gerrymandered maps.
Bob Phillips, the executive director at Common Cause North Carolina, said in an interview that minority communities, like the Black community, will not get to choose...
Bob Phillips, the executive director at Common Cause North Carolina, said in an interview that minority communities, like the Black community, will not get to choose...
News Clip
Associated Press: Indiana legislation would add extra verification steps to prove voters are eligible
Julia Vaughn, executive director of transparency and voting advocacy group Common Cause Indiana, said that 30-day timeframe is unfair. She worries the bill could catch people who become lawful citizens and voters whose names are still on the temporary list.
“The failsafe has to move like clockwork right?” she said. “And in the real world, clockwork doesn’t always happen.”
“The failsafe has to move like clockwork right?” she said. “And in the real world, clockwork doesn’t always happen.”
Press Release
Amicus Brief Filed to Uphold Constitution in Trump’s SCOTUS Case
Today, Common Cause filed an amicus brief to the Supreme Court of the United States asserting that former President Donald Trump should be excluded from the Colorado ballot under the 14th Amendment for his role in the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
The case comes on appeal after Colorado’s High Court recently ruled that the “disqualification clause” of the 14th Amendment applied to Presidents, thus making former President Trump ineligible for the state ballot. Colorado Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the...
The case comes on appeal after Colorado’s High Court recently ruled that the “disqualification clause” of the 14th Amendment applied to Presidents, thus making former President Trump ineligible for the state ballot. Colorado Common Cause filed an amicus brief in the...
News Clip
San Francisco Chronicle: Scholars urge Supreme Court to ban Trump from ballot
In another Supreme Court filing Tuesday, the advocacy group Common Cause said the case is “a moment of truth for American democracy.” Trump’s actions on Jan. 6, “and his open and ongoing support, even today, for the insurrectionists and their cause poses the greatest danger to our free democratic system since the Civil War,” the group said.
