Voting Rights

“We know that there are going to be issues on June 2nd,” said Suzanne Almeida, interim executive director of Common Cause PA, citing instances in which county offices have sent out duplicate mail-in ballots, or even the wrong political party’s primary ballot; the massive consolidation of polling places in places like Philadelphia; and the use of new machines in many places. “The way that we’re looking at this is really that we we will have a lot of clarity after June 2nd about what needs to be fixed for November," Almeida said. "And we’re hoping we can come up with some really clear, practical solutions... to make sure that no voter is disenfranchised in November.”

Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, a nonpartisan watchdog group, said the state was doing its best to accommodate Baltimore in an unprecedented situation. “It’s just unfortunate that it’s always these areas that are hit the most,” she said.

Suzanne Almeida, the interim executive director for Common Cause Pennsylvania, a voting rights organization, told ABC that for officials in Pennsylvania, "this was never going to be an easy election." "Pennsylvania in 2020 was always going to be crazy. It's a swing state in the presidential election year. And then on top of that, in 2019 we passed historic voting reform that gave us vote-by-mail for the first time, and changed the voter registration deadline closer to election day," Almeida said.

Bob Phillips, executive director of the group Common Cause NC, said in a news release Friday that the bill is “a positive step” but could still use some additional provisions. “We applaud members on both sides of the aisle for this bipartisan effort,” he said. “As the bill makes its way through each legislative chamber, we urge lawmakers to be responsive to suggestions from election experts and the public.”

However, Common Cause Pennsylvania is claiming the lawsuit is a “political ploy” designed “to remove specific voters from the voter rolls.” “Our job with Common Cause is to make sure this doesn't turn into a democracy crisis with people who should be able to show up and vote on Election Day being removed,” Suzanne Almedia, the interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, told Fox News. “This is about the process that an eligible voter would go through if they're purged from the rolls mistakenly."

Today, Common Cause and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law condemned recently announced plans by the Republican National Committee and outside groups to suppress the vote amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The group announced plans to double its litigation budget to $20 million to fight efforts to make voting more accessible in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic and recruit 50,000 poll watchers to “challenge ballots and voters deemed suspicious” at polling places in 15 states.