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Voting & Elections 03.28.2020

Gov Cuomo Moves Presidential Primary to June to Avoid Health Risks, Joins Congressional Contests

Common Cause/NY Executive Director Susan Lerner applauded the move. "Consolidating the presidential primary to June 23rd is the right move to protect voters' health and free up much needed funding for more immediate public health needs. We applaud Governor Cuomo for taking this step. Next, New York lawmakers must expand absentee voting to ensure all voters can exercise their right to vote -- no matter the situation," Lerner said in a release. Common Cause suggests Boards of Elections immediately inform voters of the move in primary date to June 23rd, amid other suggestions to ensure voter safety, voting accuracy, and encourage participation.

Voting & Elections 03.24.2020

Common Cause NY: state not ready to implement vote by mail system

Executive Director of Common Cause N.Y., Susan Lerner says there are steps the state can take in order to make sure every voter who wants to vote is given the opportunity to, despite the coronavirus health emergency. Lerner says a move to have New Yorkers vote by mail could mean hundreds of thousands of them won’t get the chance to vote because of voter roll inadequacies. She says the state should move to make absentee ballots readily available to anyone who wants one.

03.9.2020

De Blasio must ditch encrypted messaging app, watchdog groups say

Good government groups demanded Monday that Mayor Bill de Blasio end his staff’s use of messaging apps that encrypt and automatically delete messages, because they provide a powerful and easy tool to circumvent the state’s open government laws... A slew of prominent good government groups signed onto the letter, including Reinvent Albany, Common Cause, the League of Women Voters and the New York News Publishers Association, which includes the New York Times and Wall Street Journal.

Ethics 03.3.2020

He Ran for President. Now He’s Politicking for His Wife in Brooklyn

“Gracie Mansion is the official residence of the mayor of New York City. It should not be used for donor cultivation events,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a nonpartisan good government group. “If the mayor wants to have a Super Bowl where he invites donors, then pay to have it at a bar.”

Voting & Elections 10.28.2019

How Early Voting Process Is Working So Far in NYC

"If I am not going to be the voter's number one, I want to be their number two or their number three."

10.28.2019

How the NYC charter revision questions would change the CCRB

The changes seem minor compared to an overhaul of the city’s electoral system – the first question on the ballot would institute a new voting system called ranked choice for municipal primaries and special elections. “These changes are nominal, but serve to signal the city’s continued commitment to substantive accountability measures,” Common Cause Executive Director Susan Lerner wrote in a statement of support, echoing others who support the changes while adding the city could do more when it comes to police accountability.

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