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
Charlotte Observer: Redistricting has started in NC. Wait, again? Here’s what to know.
Over 50 groups, led by Common Cause NC, sent a letter to lawmakers on Monday expressing concern about the budget provision and demanding an “open and transparent” redistricting process. “We urge you to make the promise of democracy real by leading a redistricting process that creates voting plans reflective of the actual demographics, values, interests, and needs of North Carolinians,” the letter said.
News Clip
Politico: DeSantis top aide grilled over map that dismantled seat held by Black Democrat
Kathay Feng, Common Cause vice president for programs who was on hand for the trial, contended that Kelly’s testimony showed that the DeSantis administration was struggling to explain their actions.
“There’s a lot of twisting and turning, there’s a lot of fabrication, there’s a lot of denial of history,” Feng said.
“There’s a lot of twisting and turning, there’s a lot of fabrication, there’s a lot of denial of history,” Feng said.
News Clip
Associated Press: DeSantis purposely dismantled a Black congressional district, attorney says as trial over map begins
“The governor pushed and pushed and pushed,” said attorney Greg Baker who represents Common Cause Florida, the Florida branch of the NAACP and Fair Districts who are now are suing to have the map thrown out.. “He pressed his argument by sound bite bullying.”
Baker, who represents the three organizations along with 10 individual voters, told a three-judge panel that DeSantis’ goal was to dismantle the district then held by Democratic Rep. Al Lawson, who is Black, and disperse it among other conservative north Florida...
Baker, who represents the three organizations along with 10 individual voters, told a three-judge panel that DeSantis’ goal was to dismantle the district then held by Democratic Rep. Al Lawson, who is Black, and disperse it among other conservative north Florida...
Press Release
FCC Chair Announces Proceeding to Restore Net Neutrality
Today, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Jessica Rosenworcel announced that the agency will begin proceedings to restore Net Neutrality. In a speech at the National Press Club, Chair Rosenworcel said she will formally introduce a “Notice of Proposed Rulemaking” at the agency’s Open Meeting on October 19, 2023. The rulemaking will restore the FCC’s authority under Title II of the Communications Act to oversee broadband providers and enforce the open-internet protections. The Open Internet Order was repealed during the Trump...
News Clip
Indianapolis Star (Op-Ed): Lax Indiana lobbying laws bring legislator ethics into question
From shameful loopholes to murky transparency, Indiana lags on lobbying ethics. It's time for the Statehouse to make sure legislators spend less time enjoying steakhouse dinners from the moneyed interests who pay for them - and more time listening to their constituents.
News Clip
Bergen Record/NorthJersey.com: If he doesn’t resign, could indicted Bob Menendez be expelled from the Senate?
Impeachment has generally been held for civil officers and members of the judiciary and the executive branch, said Stephen Spaulding, vice president at Common Cause, a Washington, D.C.-based watchdog group.
“Anything can move quickly in the Senate if senators want to,” Spaulding said.
The punishment granted in Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution has been rare: The Senate has expelled 15 members since 1789, and the 14 cases other than Blount's occurred during the Civil War for support of the...
“Anything can move quickly in the Senate if senators want to,” Spaulding said.
The punishment granted in Article I, Section 5, of the Constitution has been rare: The Senate has expelled 15 members since 1789, and the 14 cases other than Blount's occurred during the Civil War for support of the...
News Clip
Ohio Capital Journal: Ohio Redistricting Commission kicks off regional hearings
Common Cause executive director Catherine Turcer urged the panel to start over. She insisted there’s a strong argument the newest proposal makes “zero improvement” on the current unconstitutional map.
“The manipulation of district lines is the manipulation of elections,” Turcer argued. “The manipulation of elections is the manipulation of public policy.”
“So at the end of the day,” she continued, “manipulating districts to favor one political party over the other manipulates all sorts of...
“The manipulation of district lines is the manipulation of elections,” Turcer argued. “The manipulation of elections is the manipulation of public policy.”
“So at the end of the day,” she continued, “manipulating districts to favor one political party over the other manipulates all sorts of...
News Clip
New York Times: In North Carolina, Republicans Seek More Control Over Elections
The legislation “will leave us with county and state boards that can gridlock,” said Ann Webb, the policy director for Common Cause North Carolina, which opposes the measures. “And in this political environment of hyperpartisanship, we fully expect that they will gridlock.”
Ms. Webb and other critics say their concerns might have been allayed had the legislature added language to the House bill that laid out instructions to break deadlocks. But “those suggestions have been rejected,” she said.
Ms. Webb...
Ms. Webb and other critics say their concerns might have been allayed had the legislature added language to the House bill that laid out instructions to break deadlocks. But “those suggestions have been rejected,” she said.
Ms. Webb...
Press Release
CFTC Rejects Bid to Legalize Gambling on U.S. Elections
Today, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) rejected a request to legalize gambling on U.S. election outcomes. In July, Common Cause filed comments, co-signed by more than 15,000 of its members, strongly urging the CFTC to reject the proposal arguing that KalshiEX, LLC’s (“Kalshi”) proposed Congressional control event contract posed “new and profound threats to the integrity of our democracy and our elections.”
News Clip
Orlando Sentinel: Fight teed up in federal court over controversial Florida congressional redistricting map
White Republicans won all North Florida congressional districts in the November elections after the map was redrawn. Attorneys for plaintiffs such as the NAACP and Common Cause Florida argue in the federal lawsuit that the overhaul to Congressional District 5 involved "intentional discrimination" and violated the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment and 15th Amendment. The 14th Amendment ensures equal protection, while the 15th Amendment prohibits denying or abridging the right to vote based on race.
The Legislature passed the...
The Legislature passed the...
News Clip
Patriot News/PennLive (Op-Ed): Effective, useful, and secure: Why Dush is wrong about ERIC
There is no viable alternative to ERIC. Other states have tried, but to no avail; for example, the Interstate Crosscheck System, a program started in Kansas, had a 99% error rate. It was found to eliminate about 200 registrations used to cast legitimate votes for every one duplicate voter registration. As explained by the Louisiana Illuminator, “Replicating what ERIC built would be a major technical, scientific, administrative and political challenge, even for a state committed to making it work.”
News Clip
PolitiFact: Vivek Ramaswamy has called for ‘paper ballots.’ Most Americans vote that way already
"There was a big movement on the left and right to move to paper and it was backed by computer scientists," as well as voting rights advocates and lawyers with expertise in elections, said Susannah Goodman, director of the Election Security Program at Common Cause.
