Press Release
Voting Rights Groups to New Yorkers: Don’t Wait, Vote Early!
Launch nonpartisan Election Protection Program at polls in sensitive locations in New York City
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Media Contacts
Maya Majikas
East Regional Communications Strategist
mmajikas@commoncause.org
202-736-5708
Press Release
Common Cause/NY Calls to Consolidate April Primaries on June 23rd in light of COVID-19
We urge the Governor and lawmakers to consolidate the presidential primary and other relevant special elections with the June 23rd legislative and congressional primary. Generally we believe that elections should not be postponed, however, the current circumstances require extraordinary measures. Consolidating the primaries is a prudent public health measure that does not undermine our democracy, and frees up much needed funding for more immediate public health needs.
Press Release
Good Gov’t Groups to NYS Lawmakers: “Keep Policy Out of the Budget”
"...We are all agreed on a unified and focused fiscal response to the health crisis facing our state, providing the necessary funds as part of the budget so that all levels of government can respond aggressively to the public health threat presented by COVID-19. Lawmakers must remain focused on that goal alone, and not try to cram through unrelated policy issues as part of the budget. ..."
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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.
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“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.”
Press Release
NY Judge Issues Landmark Ruling Affecting More than a Million New York Voters in Advance of April 2020
Judge orders that all inactive voters' names must be included on lists maintained at all New York polling places after finding that voters' rights were violated.
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"If I am not going to be the voter's number one, I want to be their number two or their number three."
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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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“Early voting is a game-changer for New Yorkers who no longer have to choose between getting to work on time or exercising their democratic rights. We hope every New York voter will join us and vote early,” said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY.
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“What we see in the current system is that politicians are advised to dig down into their base of existing supporters and don’t worry about voters in other communities who didn’t vote for you last time,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a good-government group. “With ranked-choice voting, candidates are unlikely to be successful if they only speak to their base, because that slice of voters won’t be enough.”
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Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a good-government group, said Mr. King’s conduct should be examined by criminal authorities. “I hope there would an independent investigation by criminal authorities to determine whether there was criminal activity or not,” Ms. Lerner said, adding that Mr. King’s conduct justified expulsion from the City Council. “The Council does not believe he has the ability to behave appropriately, so to ask the taxpayers to pay for a babysitter is inappropriate,” Ms. Lerner...
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New York’s Early Voting Change Expected to Boost Turnout
State lawmakers enacted early voting in their last legislative session, delivering a victory to open-government advocates such as Common Cause Executive Director Susan Lerner, who have long pushed for the change... The new system will help election officials work out bugs and help people with rigid schedules, Ms. Lerner said. “It takes the stress off Election Day,” she added.
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Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Mayor Bill de Blasio have called on King to resign while Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and Susan Lerner, head of good government group Common Cause, have called on the body to go further and expel King.