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
Irresponsible Greed Drives Facebook to Restore Trump’s Account
Facebook has once again missed the opportunity to be the adult in the room when it comes to checking the clear and present danger that Donald Trump poses to the nation on social media. Instead, the company and its founder Mark Zuckerberg decided to try to plunge headlong into a race to the bottom with Elon Musk and Twitter, irrespective of the threat to public safety and national security.
News Clip
Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Looking to solve a Harrisburg problem, Pa. House Speaker Rozzi turns to Pittsburgh for advice
Khalif Ali, executive director of the good government group Common Cause Pennsylvania, told Rozzi his organization is concerned about the way legislators have attempted to use amendments to the state constitution.
“The constitutional amendment process was never meant to be used as a means to advance vetoed and failed legislation, or to punish the court for decisions that weren’t favorable to a party’s agenda,” Ali said.
He pointed to Senate Bill 106, a multi-pronged constitutional amendment package,...
“The constitutional amendment process was never meant to be used as a means to advance vetoed and failed legislation, or to punish the court for decisions that weren’t favorable to a party’s agenda,” Ali said.
He pointed to Senate Bill 106, a multi-pronged constitutional amendment package,...
News Clip
Tampa Bay Times: Tampa election first locally to test new absentee ballot law
“Tampa is a huge city. A major city and it’s one of the first (to deal with the new law),” said Amy Keith, program director for Common Cause Florida, a branch of the national voting rights and government accountability organization.
The extra step required to request a mail ballot for each election makes accessing a ballot harder, especially for the disabled, elderly, working poor and other groups, Keith said.
“It makes it harder to participate, for people to have their voice heard and have a say,” Keith...
The extra step required to request a mail ballot for each election makes accessing a ballot harder, especially for the disabled, elderly, working poor and other groups, Keith said.
“It makes it harder to participate, for people to have their voice heard and have a say,” Keith...
News Clip
Texas Tribune/Houston Chronicle: Two years after Texas’ voting rights showdown gripped the nation, lawmakers again push dozens of elections bills
“Looking back over the past few legislative sessions, there have been repeated attempts to find creative ways to prosecute people for what really looks like an honest mistake,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan organization that advocates for policies such as online voting registration and ending gerrymandering. “There’s no infrastructure to tell people what the process is for when you can vote again [after release from prison] or how you can vote again.”
News Clip
HuffPost: Democrats Are Mounting A Push To Expand Voting Rights After Big State-Level Midterm Wins
“New York historically has been a state that did not keep up with other states’ election administration and voting reforms,” Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a nonprofit that works on democracy-related issues, said.
News Clip
Bloomberg: Ohio’s Historic Corruption Case Tests Limits of Citizens United
“We’ve legalized bribery in our campaign finance system,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio and a longtime Ohio advocate of campaign finance and government reform. “This case proves we’ve essentially set the stage for Ohioans to be taken advantage of. And they were.”
News Clip
New York Magazine: Democrats Defeat Kathy Hochul’s Pick to Be New York’s Top Judge
Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, said she was “horrified” Hochul was contemplating hiring a litigator, adding that it would be “a brutal attack on a democratically elected institution.”
Press Release
The Danger of Trump on Social Media has Not Abated Since January 6th
It would be dangerously irresponsible for the social media platforms to restore Donald Trump’s accounts and risk the further spread of disinformation, hate speech, and the potential for real-world violence. The former president proved himself a clear and present danger on social media on January 6th – and in fact well before that infamous day. He utilized Twitter, Facebook, and other platforms to assemble and incite the mob of insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol that day with tragic and deadly results.
News Clip
Arizona Republic: Hobbs reveals donations to inauguration; APS ‘pleased’ to give $250K for celebration at Capitol
"It is absolutely integral that the administration has a transparent and honest line of communication with Arizona and Arizona voters, as well as the different (news) outlets across the state, in order to ensure that Arizonans are able to access that information," said Jenny Guzman, program director for Common Cause Arizona, a government accountability group that launched its office in the Grand Canyon State this month.
Press Release
Government Accountability Groups: Independent House Ethics Office Must be Strengthened and Made Permanent
Today, Common Cause and more than 20 other government accountability groups urged every member of the U.S. House of Representatives to codify the independent Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) into law. The letter follows a recent move by House Republicans to hobble the independent ethics watchdog in the new rules package for the 118th Congress. The letter emphasizes that voters made it very clear in the midterm elections that they are demanding more accountability from their elected representatives in Washington, not less.
News Clip
Patriot-News/PennLive (OP-ED): Some lawmakers are trying to sneak through legislation to advance their hardline agenda
Despite Pennsylvania voters’ overwhelming rejection of hardliner policies this past November, as the new legislative session begins, it’s clear very little has changed in Harrisburg.
Lawmakers are still using sleight-of-hand tricks to force their hardliner agenda on Pennsylvanians because they can’t pass it through regular legislation.
As they have for so many years, these lawmakers have ignored the voice of the people and are trying to circumvent the legislative process by forcing through constitutional...
Lawmakers are still using sleight-of-hand tricks to force their hardliner agenda on Pennsylvanians because they can’t pass it through regular legislation.
As they have for so many years, these lawmakers have ignored the voice of the people and are trying to circumvent the legislative process by forcing through constitutional...
News Clip
CBS News: George Santos’ backers include a migrant smuggler, a big Trump donor and the cousin of a sanctioned Russian oligarch
"This member of Congress has flaunted campaign finance laws," Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause/New York said. "There is no respect for the rules or the voters."
According to Lerner, the personal financial disclosures made by candidates are critical for voters to have at their disposal prior to casting their vote. She says "porous" campaign finance laws and lack of enforcement from the FEC have allowed this particular situation to devolve.
According to Lerner, the personal financial disclosures made by candidates are critical for voters to have at their disposal prior to casting their vote. She says "porous" campaign finance laws and lack of enforcement from the FEC have allowed this particular situation to devolve.
