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Ariana Marmolejo
Communications Strategist
amarmolejo@commoncause.org
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Thumbs Down: Just what politics needs. More money.
Raise your hand if you think money plays too big a role in politics. We may be naive, but we wouldn’t be surprised if a few officeholders out there are holding their hands in the air, because they’d like to spend less time with their palms out. It’s expensive to communicate with voters. Mail and advertising cost a lot of money, and legislative candidates can burn a lot of fuel getting around geographically large districts.
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California Democratic Party and open-government groups fight proposal to lift contribution limits for legislative leaders
Faced with opposition from the California Democratic Party and open-government advocates, divided state lawmakers advanced a bill Tuesday that would increase the amount of campaign money that can be accepted by Democratic and Republican legislative leaders.
The proposal approved Tuesday by a 3-2 vote of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee would allow partisan caucuses in the Legislature to accept campaign contributions of $36,000 from individual sources for state races, up from the current limit of $4,400.
The proposal approved Tuesday by a 3-2 vote of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee would allow partisan caucuses in the Legislature to accept campaign contributions of $36,000 from individual sources for state races, up from the current limit of $4,400.
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California lawmakers advance bill to boost leaders’ power
California lawmakers on Tuesday advanced a bill to let legislative leaders raise and spend more money to help their preferred candidates, despite opposition from open-government groups. The bill would let leaders in the Legislature operate fundraising committees governed like political party committees at the state and county level. Such committees have higher contribution limits than regular campaigns and can give unlimited amounts to help their chosen state candidates.
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Equitable Redistricting for Cambodians host community forum on redistricting in Long Beach
Dan Vicuna, Common Cause's National Redistricting Manager, and Sylvia Moore, Southern California Organizer for California Common Cause appeared at Equitable Redistricting for Cambodians community forum on redistricting reform in Long Beach at the MAYE Center, Aug. 4, 2018. The Long Beach City Council is poised to ask voters to end political gerrymandering in its city by placing the proposal on the November ballot.
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Will California Democrats be hypocrites on campaign donations?
In 2014, the California Legislature made a big deal of calling for a constitutional convention to overturn the Citizens United ruling, which allows unlimited corporate and union spending in campaigns.
Now, in 2018, some legislators are pushing a bill that critics say will open the floodgates to special interest money in legislative races, as soon as the November election.
It’s not only hypocritical, it’s a bad idea. Assembly Bill 84 should get a quick death before the Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday.
Now, in 2018, some legislators are pushing a bill that critics say will open the floodgates to special interest money in legislative races, as soon as the November election.
It’s not only hypocritical, it’s a bad idea. Assembly Bill 84 should get a quick death before the Senate Elections Committee on Tuesday.
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Common Cause hails new Secretary of State initiative while ACLU sued the same office for lack of voter outreach
A joint effort between California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and the Department of Motor Vehicles managed to get 250,000 new registered voters on the rolls between April and June, according to the government watchdog group Common Cause.
Press Release
Good Government Groups Unite Against AB 84
SACRAMENTO, Wednesday, August 8, 2018 — A group of California’s major good government organizations announced their joint opposition to AB 84 today and urged California senators to put a brick on the bill before it fast-tracks a flood of special interest campaign donations to legislative leaders.
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Forum on How to End Gerrymandering in Long Beach
LONG BEACH, Monday, July 30, 2018 - California Common Cause and Equity for Cambodians are inviting community members to a public forum August 4 to learn more about how a proposal to create an independent citizens redistricting commission to draw Long Beach City Council districts will make redistricting more responsive to Long Beach communities. The Long Beach City Council is poised to ask voters to end political gerrymandering in its city by placing the proposal on the November ballot.
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Voting rights groups praise California Motor Voter for reaching nearly 800,000 voter registration transactions
California voting rights organizations today praised the California Motor Voter program for dramatically increasing statewide voter registration. The joint effort between the Secretary of State and Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) processed nearly 800,000 voter registration transactions at the DMV from April through June and ensures voter registration will be convenient and voter rolls more accurate going forward.
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California’s political watchdog panel balks at lifting donor limits for legislative leaders
alifornia’s political watchdog panel deadlocked Thursday over allowing legislative leaders to accept much larger campaign contributions, after several open-government groups said the proposal raises “important concerns” about increasing the influence of special interests.
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More campaign money could flow to California legislative leaders under new bill
Special interests could put more money directly into the hands of California legislative leaders, giving them greater influence over campaigns, under a bill unveiled last week as lawmakers left Sacramento for summer recess.
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Is Montebello fair in how it allocates road repair money?
“Generally speaking as a matter of practice, most city council members will recuse themselves on votes that impact their own personal street,” Feng said. “(But) recusal rules only apply when somebody has a direct financial interest.”
Protect Voters This November — Sponsor a Volunteer
Just days after a court order stopped Trump’s authoritarian occupation of California, his hand-picked Supreme Court justices overturned that decision.
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Will you chip in $50 today to support our volunteer network and stand with us to protect democracy this November?