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.
Press Release
Common Cause: “Our Nation is Stronger When Colleges are Racially Diverse”
“Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision is nothing but a willful disregard for the racial diversity that makes our country great."
News Clip
Associated Press: Supreme Court rejects novel legislative theory but leaves a door open for 2024 election challenges
“We beat back the most serious legal threat our democracy has ever faced today,” said Kathay Feng of Common Cause, whose lawsuit challenging congressional districts drawn by North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature triggered the case.
News Clip
CNN: Supreme Court rejects controversial Trump-backed election law theory
“As we argued to the Supreme Court, the independent state legislature theory was contrary to precedent and would have called into question hundreds of state constitutional provisions and decisions,” said former Acting US Solicitor General Neal Katyal, who represented Common Cause, one of the voting rights groups that challenged the Republican-drawn map. “Today’s ruling affirms the crucial role state courts play in overseeing federal elections.”
News Clip
The Guardian: US supreme court rules against fringe legal theory in key voting rights case
“This is a historic victory for the people of North Carolina and for American democracy. Today, the US supreme court made clear that state courts and state constitutions should serve as a critical check against abuses of power by legislators. Now, we must ensure our state courts fulfill their duty to protect our freedoms against attacks by extremist politicians,” Bob Phillips, the executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, one of the challengers in the suit, said in a statement.
Press Release
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Dangerous Attempt to Destroy Democracy
The U.S. Supreme Court handed voters a major victory today with their ruling that state courts can review — and rectify — election-related rules and voting maps passed by state legislatures.
News Clip
Miami Herald/Tribune News Service: Alabama ruling could bring good news to Florida Democrats
In the federal case, Common Cause vice president Kathay Feng said her group’s lawsuit also is supported by the Alabama decision, despite focusing on a different section of law.
“The Alabama ruling sent a very clear message that the court was going to look closely at the history of discrimination,” Feng said. “… Florida has a history of discriminating against black voters. And the impact was directly to take away the opportunity to vote from Black voters in the panhandle of Florida.”
“The Alabama ruling sent a very clear message that the court was going to look closely at the history of discrimination,” Feng said. “… Florida has a history of discriminating against black voters. And the impact was directly to take away the opportunity to vote from Black voters in the panhandle of Florida.”
News Clip
States Newsroom: Red and blue state divide grows even wider in 2023’s top voting and election laws
"Allowing New Yorkers to vote by mail increases voter turnout in harder to reach populations, including young people and voters of color," said Common Cause New York in a statement released the day the bill passed. “(N)ot only is this absolutely legal under our constitution, but the right thing to do."
News Clip
Mercury News: Can Alameda County recover from botched elections?
“These things take time. You don’t just earn the public trust overnight,” said Pedro Hernandez, the Legal and Policy Director for California Common Cause, a voting rights and government transparency group. “We have to show the county’s voters that we are taking concerns seriously.”
In Hernandez’s view, the buck must ultimately stop at the Board of Supervisors. An oversight commission may ultimately help bring light to concerns and potential election issues, but it does not have the authority to resolve those issues.
In Hernandez’s view, the buck must ultimately stop at the Board of Supervisors. An oversight commission may ultimately help bring light to concerns and potential election issues, but it does not have the authority to resolve those issues.
News Clip
CBS News: A Delaware city is set to give corporations the right to vote in elections
"It was very shocking to see this attempt to have artificial entities have voting rights," said Claire Snyder-Hall, executive director of Common Cause Delaware, a watchdog group.
"We're seeing voter suppression all over the county, and this is the flipside," she added. "It's not saying the residents of Seaford can't vote, but it's diluting their votes by allowing nonresidents to vote."
"We're seeing voter suppression all over the county, and this is the flipside," she added. "It's not saying the residents of Seaford can't vote, but it's diluting their votes by allowing nonresidents to vote."
News Clip
Boston Globe: Healey created a nonprofit to bankroll her transition into office. But, the donors are secret, and so is how much they gave her.
Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, said while Healey’s use of the nonprofit is legal, it’s an example of why the state needs stronger disclosure laws to dispel any appearance of undue influence on an elected official.
“While we know there are precedents for this practice, for us at Common Cause it’s always concerning when private donations to public officials are not fully disclosed,” Foster said.
“While we know there are precedents for this practice, for us at Common Cause it’s always concerning when private donations to public officials are not fully disclosed,” Foster said.
News Clip
Newsday: Hochul weighs Legislature’s plan for broader mail-in voting
"Allowing New Yorkers to vote by mail increases voter turnout in harder to reach populations, including young people and voters of color," said Susan Lerner of Common Cause-NY. "We know vote by mail works: New York did it successfully in 2020 when faced with the COVID-19 pandemic ... not only is this absolutely legal under our Constitution, but the right thing to do."
News Clip
News Nation: Campaign finance rules blurred by super PAC backing DeSantis
“We’ve seen…candidates really pushing the envelope here, and there has been a rise in single-candidate super PACs,” said Stephen Spaulding, Vice President of Common Cause, a group dedicated to lessening the impact of special interests in government and politics.
“You have super PACs essentially operating as arms of campaigns — only they can take unlimited amounts of money from nearly any source,” Spaulding said.
“It’s time for Congress to step in and pass legislation to make clear that...
“You have super PACs essentially operating as arms of campaigns — only they can take unlimited amounts of money from nearly any source,” Spaulding said.
“It’s time for Congress to step in and pass legislation to make clear that...
