Voting & Elections

Quentin Turner, executive director of Common Cause Michigan, a voting rights group, said recounts are handled by election administrators who lack the authority to investigate criminal fraud. "Voter fraud is a crime and investigations into crime can only be done by law enforcement," Turner said.

“It’s absurd to spend this money on this when elections in Texas especially are just so chronically underfunded,” said Anthony Guitierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas, a nonpartisan voter advocacy and government watchdog organization. “They could have used this funding for the election staff who are overworked and underpaid everywhere in Texas. It could be spent on election infrastructure so that voters have a more efficient voting experience, or on public outreach.”

The legal seesaw over the broader issue reveals that both parties understand what’s at stake, said Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, the state’s branch of the national nonpartisan government watchdog group. “It could make a difference around the margins,” said Heck, whose group filed an amicus brief in support of overturning the 2022 ruling. “But, you know, the small margins are important in Wisconsin.”

Common Cause-Wisconsin has joined the case on the side of the plaintiffs. Executive Director Jay Heck explains: “There should be ways for voters to return their absentee ballots so they have some assurance that they’ll be counted. The U.S. Mail is not always reliable in getting them back to the clerks in time. So, this is just something that benefits every voter regardless of how they vote," Heck says. Heck also says people with disabilities would be able to return their ballot more efficiently. The Associated Press says 29 states allow some form of absentee drop box, but Heck says Wisconsin is the only purple or swing state that does not.

“My worry is” that the bill “will cause a higher success rate for the challenges,” said Anne Gray Herring, a policy analyst for nonprofit watchdog group Common Cause Georgia.

RISE is among the 31 member groups that make up the Nebraska Voting Rights Restoration Coalition, which counts Common Cause Nebraska among its members. Gavin Geis, the Executive Director, says restoring voting rights helps reduce recidivism by creating stronger community ties. "It's a way of engaging people in their communities that was cut off before," Geis said. "So beyond getting to vote on who represents you, I think this helps tie people back into their neighbors and their community in a way that will hopefully reduce the reasons why one ends up back in prison."