North Carolina Press Release
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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.
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PolitiFact: FALSE: “Illegal immigrants now have the right to vote in New York.”
Susan Lerner, the executive director of the voting rights group Common Cause New York, said that only U.S. citizens can vote in New York state.
"Permanent residents and people authorized to work here are documented and approved by the federal government," Lerner said. "They pay state and federal taxes, and pay into Social Security as well. In many cases, they’ve lived in the United States for decades. There is nothing ‘illegal’ about them."
"Permanent residents and people authorized to work here are documented and approved by the federal government," Lerner said. "They pay state and federal taxes, and pay into Social Security as well. In many cases, they’ve lived in the United States for decades. There is nothing ‘illegal’ about them."
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NPR (Audio): The RNC wants Republicans to embrace early voting. Trump’s rhetoric makes it tough
Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, said he thinks that Republicans lost recent state Supreme Court elections and a recent gubernatorial election partly because of their voters' aversion to early voting.
"There is, I think, a realization on the part of some of them that they had better begin to do the things that progressives and Democrats are doing to turn out the vote if they want to carry the state for Trump or if they want to win a gubernatorial election in the near future," he said.
"There is, I think, a realization on the part of some of them that they had better begin to do the things that progressives and Democrats are doing to turn out the vote if they want to carry the state for Trump or if they want to win a gubernatorial election in the near future," he said.
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NPR Morning Edition (AUDIO): The GOP needs more of its voters to cast ballots early. What’s the problem?
Despite endorsing Bank Your Vote, on the trail, Trump has continued to cast doubt on the legitimacy and security of mail voting in particular. Aaron Scherb with Common Cause says this is a huge hurdle for the RNC. He says Republicans across the country have been maligning mail voting since 2020. He says it's going to be hard for them to convince their voters to get over a distrust they created.
AARON SCHERB: So getting voters to, like, unlearn or unhear those messages is tough to undo that damage. And so I think that's what this...
AARON SCHERB: So getting voters to, like, unlearn or unhear those messages is tough to undo that damage. And so I think that's what this...
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Yahoo! News/Providence Journal: ‘Relentless grind’: Providence City Council is a big job. Some members aren’t always doing it.
"Certainly the fact that it is very low-paying, that’s kind of a reflection of the value that has pervaded for a long time in America – that legislatures should be made up of regular citizens or residents of the state or city that they’re representing," said John Marion, executive director of Common Cause Rhode Island. "But we know that it can result in bodies not being necessarily as representative of a community as [they] could be because the lack of pay means that people who don’t have flexible jobs or don’t have a source of...
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New York Times: Candidates Lay Groundwork For Fraud Cries Before Caucuses
“This follows the general playbook, the election denier playbook of just pre-emptively laying the groundwork for claims of fraud in the event of a loss,” said Emma Steiner, the Information Accountability Project Manager at Common Cause. “It’s sort of future-proofing.”
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Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer: $15k on tickets. $2k/month on meals. Inside a Cleveland-area House rep’s campaign spending
Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, which advocates for better government ethics laws and transparency in campaign finance, reviewed Patton’s audits. She said the most obvious aggrieved party to questionable campaign spending would be the donors. But in a less-direct way, she said problems arise in a representative democracy when public officials can enrich themselves in the process via interested donors.
“Campaign cash is not a slush fund,” she said. “It is intended to be spent to get yourself...
“Campaign cash is not a slush fund,” she said. “It is intended to be spent to get yourself...
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Texas Tribune/San Antonio Express-News: Texas GOP chair Matt Rinaldi backed a group with white supremacist ties — while working for its billionaire funder
Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause Texas, said Rinaldi’s legal representation of Wilks was “shocking,” especially in light of the ongoing scandals involving Defend Texas Liberty that Rinaldi has been involved in.
“We all know money equals power in Texas politics and billionaires like the Wilks use their wealth liberally to bend public policy to their liking all the time,” he said. “But it's still pretty shocking.”
“We all know money equals power in Texas politics and billionaires like the Wilks use their wealth liberally to bend public policy to their liking all the time,” he said. “But it's still pretty shocking.”
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Washington Post: Maryland Elections Board member arrested on Jan. 6 riot charges, resigns
“After the 2024 election, the General Assembly should seriously consider whether the process for selecting board members needs to be changed. This should be a wake-up call,” Morgan Drayton, policy and engagement manager at the nonpartisan government watchdog group Common Cause Maryland, said in a statement.
“It is sickening to think that Ayala was making decisions about our elections after allegedly participating in the attempted insurrection. His disrespect for the voices of Maryland voters and his disregard for the...
“It is sickening to think that Ayala was making decisions about our elections after allegedly participating in the attempted insurrection. His disrespect for the voices of Maryland voters and his disregard for the...
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Axios: Lawmaker says free bus rides on Election Day are “not fair”
Julia Vaughn, Common Cause Indiana executive director, doesn't think the legislation would have a significant impact on elections or voter turnout, but said it sends a bad message in a state that already struggles with low voter turnout.
"We need to make voting more accessible and convenient to people," she said.
"We need to make voting more accessible and convenient to people," she said.
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Star-Ledger/NY.Com (Op-Ed): It’s time for Newark to include young people in school board elections
With just over 3% participation, Newark’s school board elections could use an infusion of fresh, young energy. Give these students the chance to be heard, and you might be surprised by how much they can do.
We encourage the Newark City Council to favorably pass their ordinance to lower the voting age for school board elections, and we can’t wait to see what these students accomplish when they’re given the chance.
We encourage the Newark City Council to favorably pass their ordinance to lower the voting age for school board elections, and we can’t wait to see what these students accomplish when they’re given the chance.
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KQED/NPR – Political Breakdown (Audio): Can Election Law Keep Up With AI and Deep Fakes?
The 2024 election will be the first where artificial intelligence, or AI, could play a big role — and not necessarily a good one. Today in Sacramento, the head of California Common Cause announced proposals to address the potential problems from things like deepfakes intended to confuse voters. Scott Shafer is joined by Jonathan Mehta Stein, head of Common Cause, to discuss threats posed by technology for this election.
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Raw Story: Revealed: Donors foot the bill for Marjorie Taylor Greene’s election law violation
“If I was one of her donors, I wouldn’t want my donations to be paying fines for when she did something wrong,” said Aaron Scherb, senior director of legislative affairs for Common Cause, a nonprofit watchdog organization that filed an initial FEC complaint against Greene. “There’s a little bit of an optics issue.”
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