« Le gagnant est choisi lors des primaires et les primaires attirent, faute d'une meilleure façon de le dire, les électeurs les plus extrêmes et les plus émotifs », a déclaré Bob Phillips, qui dirige le groupe de réforme du redécoupage électoral Common Cause NC.

Il a déclaré avoir entendu des législateurs d'État des deux côtés de l'allée se plaindre que les dirigeants de leur parti leur ordonnent de ne même pas se mêler à l'autre côté lorsqu'ils sont à Raleigh, et encore moins de voter avec eux.

« Nous l'avons vu à Raleigh et à Washington », a-t-il déclaré. « Les gens qui viennent…

“The governor of Florida does not have control over all Florida police departments or the FBI,” Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, told VICE News when DeSantis first announced his plans. “And by proposing this integrity unit, it seems like that’s what he wants: a personal, political goon squad.”

The Paid Jailer report suggests that industry donations to sheriffs are not only likely damaging to justice and democracy but also incredibly common. Construction companies contribute tens of thousands of dollars and then go on to build bigger jails. Legal firms fund races and end up representing the sheriff’s office in misconduct cases. Our research uncovered more than $6 million in contributions from donors with potential ethical conflicts. More than 40 percent of contributions to sheriffs we studied came from conflicted donors whose...

Constitutional amendments – which must be passed in identical form in two legislative sessions before being presented to voters on a ballot – should be used sparingly. And they certainly should not be used to let one branch of government sidestep the checks and balances of the other branches.

But Pennsylvania legislators are now using the amendment process to take power from other branches of government and increase their own influence.

The fight for voting rights goes on, even though every Senate Republican, joined by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), tried to shut it down on January 19. They refused to adjust a Senate rule best known for obstructing civil rights legislation. The filibuster rule – requiring 60 votes to advance most legislation if any senator objects – has been modified or waived more than 160 times in recent decades. Just in December, an exception was granted for legislation dealing with the debt ceiling, with the support of...

Viki Harrison, director of state operations for Common Cause, said fringe groups from both sides of the aisle have called for a convention of states over the years, but her organization is opposed, noting the gathering could easily be influenced by powerful special interests.

"Who's going to choose who goes to the convention?" Harrison wondered. "We already see how outside special-interest groups, big-money donors, have so much influence in elections, so why would we think this would be any different?"

Supporters...

“The governor of Florida does not have control over all Florida police departments or the FBI. And by proposing this integrity unit, it seems like that’s what he wants: personal, political goon squad,” said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause.

“A police force under the authority of a political individual becomes a political army. That’s similar to, I don’t know, Russia?” Albert said. “In America, we have separation of powers. We have politicians, we have police, we have the judiciary....

“Texas has the weakest, most corruption-prone campaign finance system in the country,” said Anthony Gutierrez, executive director of Common Cause Texas. “It is striking that our top law enforcement official can’t manage to meet our extremely low disclosure requirements.”

It’s important for voters to know who is donating to a candidate, Gutierrez said, especially in a state where there’s no cap on contributions.

“We really can’t make decisions about whether a public official is acting in our best...

Cette question a suscité l'ire d'associations de défense du droit de vote comme Common Cause et la Ligue des électrices, qui militent depuis des années pour que l'État autorise l'inscription électorale en ligne. Le Texas est l'un des huit États à ne pas proposer cette option. La Ligue dépend des formulaires papier de l'État pour fournir aux nouveaux citoyens les documents contenus dans leur trousse de bienvenue lors des cérémonies de naturalisation.

« C'est un problème facilement résoluble », a déclaré Anthony Gutierrez, directeur général de Common Cause. « Nous demandons à l'État de prendre immédiatement des mesures pour y remédier… »

De telles contributions peuvent aider les entreprises à acheter l’accès aux représentants du gouvernement, a déclaré Paul S. Ryan, vice-président du groupe de surveillance gouvernementale Common Cause.

« Chaque fois qu'un intérêt particulier faisant affaire avec le gouvernement peut contribuer de manière significative à l'attribution de contrats ou à la prise de décisions gouvernementales par des fonctionnaires, c'est préoccupant », a-t-il déclaré. « L'Américain moyen ne peut pas s'acheter la même influence. »