Press Release
Government Watchdog Supports New Bill to Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stock
Majority of Americans support a stock trading ban
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
Santa Fe New Mexican: New Mexico’s redistricting effort receives high grade
The coalition hub, which included the national Common Cause and the National Congress of American Indians, talked to over 2,000 people involved in the redistricting process in all 50 states.
Dan Vicuña, director of redistricting and representation for Common Cause, a voting-rights nonprofit headquartered in Washington, D.C., said in an interview those compiling the report put less focus on partisan conflicts and court cases and more on “whether public input was implemented in the maps.”
He said while the...
Dan Vicuña, director of redistricting and representation for Common Cause, a voting-rights nonprofit headquartered in Washington, D.C., said in an interview those compiling the report put less focus on partisan conflicts and court cases and more on “whether public input was implemented in the maps.”
He said while the...
News Clip
The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com: Ohio’s redistricting process gets an ‘F’ from national group
“This redistricting cycle in Ohio provided a textbook example of the lengths elected officials will go to prioritize partisanship over fair representation for the public,” the report by Common Cause stated, adding that Republican lawmakers and redistricting commission members showed a “complete disregard... for the rule of law in Ohio.”
News Clip
Omaha World-Herald: Nebraska rated a C+ for redistricting process by national group
Gavin Geis, director of Common Cause Nebraska, said a C+ is a fair grade for Nebraska. He said he believes Nebraska’s maps ended up pretty good, yet the redistricting process had issues with public access, transparency and politicization.
Besides three public hearings across the state on the proposed maps, Geis said, it was difficult to get committee members to engage with public input. He said lawmakers largely ignored suggested maps proposed by community organizations.
“Citizens’ work on this is why we had...
Besides three public hearings across the state on the proposed maps, Geis said, it was difficult to get committee members to engage with public input. He said lawmakers largely ignored suggested maps proposed by community organizations.
“Citizens’ work on this is why we had...
Press Release
New 50 State Report Finds Massive Failures in Redistricting Process
A coalition of national organizations advocating for a stronger democracy published a report today evaluating redistricting efforts across all 50 states, awarding just two states with an “A” grade while 20 states earned a “D” or an “F” for their failures in transparency, opportunities for public input, nonpartisanship, and empowerment of communities of color.
Press Release
50 State Report: Arizona Earns B- for Redistricting from Common Cause
Arizona scored above average nationally for a transparent and inclusive process, but still has room for improvement
News Clip
Briefing Room with Ian Masters (AUDIO): Elon Musk’s X Now Monetizes Disinformation by Fake Journalists With Blue- Check Accounts Who Get Paid to Spread Lies
We examine the flood of disinformation about the war in Israel on Twitter or X since Elon Musk allows anyone to buy Blue-Check accounts previously restricted to journalists, politicians and business and world leaders which fake journalists can now use to spread outrageous lies that can be monetized depending on the millions they deceive. Joining us is Emma Steiner, the Information Accountability Project Manager at Common Cause where she leads efforts to protect voters from disinformation related to voting rights and democracy, and to help...
News Clip
HuffPost: Twitter’s Monetization For Blue-Check Accounts May Be Fueling Fake News On Israel-Palestine
Emma Steiner, the information accountability project manager at Common Cause, told HuffPost that Musk’s monetization program, combined with his new system for receiving “verified” badges, had encouraged misleading information.
“The new verification system means that it’s almost impossible to discern real news from fake news on the platform now, especially since people are posting specifically to gain revenue for engagement,” Steiner said. “That creates some really perverse incentives for breaking news events.”
“The new verification system means that it’s almost impossible to discern real news from fake news on the platform now, especially since people are posting specifically to gain revenue for engagement,” Steiner said. “That creates some really perverse incentives for breaking news events.”
News Clip
Wisconsin Public Radio: Redistricting activists speak out against GOP plan to redraw Wisconsin’s political maps
Jay Heck, executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, argued the redistricting proposal lacked transparency and safeguards against a majority party power grab.
"Broad bipartisan support and consensus must be attained for any nonpartisan redistricting plan to work (so) that it can be assured that it will have the trust and confidence of Wisconsin voters," he said. "Please pardon the voters of Wisconsin if they don't believe that, after 12 years of attacking, resisting and blocking any attempt or discussion of redistricting...
"Broad bipartisan support and consensus must be attained for any nonpartisan redistricting plan to work (so) that it can be assured that it will have the trust and confidence of Wisconsin voters," he said. "Please pardon the voters of Wisconsin if they don't believe that, after 12 years of attacking, resisting and blocking any attempt or discussion of redistricting...
News Clip
Associated Press: California governor vetoes bill requiring independent panels to draw local voting districts
“We’re frustrated, confused and deeply disappointed,” Jonathan Mehta Stein, executive director of voting rights group California Common Cause, said Monday. He added: “We were hopeful that this was an opportunity for California to show the rest of the nation what it looks like to put gerrymandering behind us.”
Had Newsom signed the measure, California could have become the first state to mandate redistricting commissions for local jurisdictions over certain sizes, said Dan Vicuna, national director of redistricting and...
Had Newsom signed the measure, California could have become the first state to mandate redistricting commissions for local jurisdictions over certain sizes, said Dan Vicuna, national director of redistricting and...
News Clip
Associated Press: Drop boxes have become key to election conspiracy theories. Two Democrats just fueled those claims
“It’s not the ballot boxes that are the problem,” said Cheri Quickmire, executive director of the voter advocacy group Common Cause in Connecticut. “In this particular case, it seems like the problem is the leadership of campaigns that permit that kind of activity, that has staff, that has campaign staff who ... would put ballots in big envelopes and stuff them into the ballot box.”
News Clip
Washington Post: Ohio’s GOP supermajority tests limits of democracy before abortion vote
“This was about playing games with an election, not about playing around with the language that goes directly into the Ohio Constitution,” said Catherine Turcer, the executive director of Common Cause Ohio and a member of the Ohio Voter Rights Coalition’s steering committee.
News Clip
The Plain Dealer/Cleveland.com: National Democrats ask Ohio Supreme Court to block new legislative redistricting maps
One group that has decided against litigation over this year’s redistricting process is Common Cause Ohio, a left-leaning good-government group. Catherine Turcer, Common Cause Ohio’s executive director, said last week that her organization was considering filing a lawsuit against the Ohio Redistricting Commission, primarily to assert that the closed-door negotiations held by commission members violated state open-meetings law.
But on Wednesday, Turcer said Common Cause Ohio decided that it would be better for them to spend...
But on Wednesday, Turcer said Common Cause Ohio decided that it would be better for them to spend...
