Democracy Wire

Common Cause Ohio is celebrating one victory and going to work toward another in the ongoing fight to ensure that citizens have ready and complete access to information about the workings of government.

Amid an outbreak of ethical violations in southern states, Common Cause is pushing reforms that increase transparency of political spending, limit the amount of money candidates can accept and establish reasonable enforcement mechanisms

Today, our State Assembly votes on legislation to both dismantle Wisconsin's nonpartisan Government Accountability Board (GAB), and significantly expand the corrupting influence of out-of-state, secret cash in our elections. The State Senate is expected to do the same next week.

The resignation of Rep. Aaron Schock makes an open and shut case for stronger ethics enforcement and training in Congress, Common Cause said today.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s week started with a bad case of foot-in-mouth during his three-day trip to England, and went downhill from there, reaching new lows for ethics and good, open government – even for New Jersey. But his woes are about more than the Governor; they’re a reminder of the the yawning gap between the political machinations America gets and the democracy it deserves.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced today his support for important ethics and campaign finance changes proposed by Common Cause New York and other public interest allies in the wake of the arrest of New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.