Media Center

In the midterm election, 38 million Americans in 37 states voted early. None of them were in New York. Instead, eager New Yorkers turned out in record numbers only to wait in long lines, in the rain, sometimes for hours at a time.

Strong sexual harassment legislation requires input from experts, advocates, and those who have experienced sexual harassment themselves. New York State has not held a public hearing on sexual harassment since 1992.

Last Tuesday during the Ohio-12 special election, Americans found themselves angry at third party voters – again – for “wasting” their votes. This problem is not unique to Ohio: in multi-candidate competitive races, we see upset voters of one party or candidate hold others accountable for their loss. The blame should not be placed on voters -- it should be on the broken election system. Just look at New York City. New York City primaries are crowded fields, with sometimes with as many as seven people vying for one ballot line.

Sheldon Silver is absolutely guilty of corrupting his office and violating the public trust of 19 million New Yorkers

Today, Common Cause released a comparative analysis of Legal Defense Fund (LDF) models across the country and recommendations for New York City. A framework does not currently exist in New York, creating a policy gap in the campaign finance law. The paper was co-authored by Michael Halberstam, Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Law and Economic Studies at Columbia Law School.

Please join us for the first of Common Cause/ New York's John Gardner Breakfast Series on the challenges facing our democracy, bringing together leading speakers, thinkers, and elected officials from across the political spectrum to explore solutions and stimulate thought and discussion.