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
Press
Media Contacts
Maya Majikas
East Regional Communications Strategist
mmajikas@commoncause.org
202-736-5708
News Clip
News Clips
The commission has until Dec. 1 to announce rules that will become law unless lawmakers hold a rare end-of-year special session to reject them. It’s a looming timeline for such a weighty subject, according to the letter from advocacy groups, which also include Reinvent Albany, Common Cause New York and the Brennan Center for Justice. “You have a challenging task crafting a public financing system, made even more challenging by your lack of staff support and getting it completed in the 37 working days left,” reads the letter.
News Clip
News Clips
A half dozen good-government organizations on Monday in a letter to the commission determining the contours and specifics of New York’s system of publicly financed campaigns urged the panel to release a draft report of its recommendations... The letter was signed by Laura Ladd Bierman, League of Women Voters of New York State; Betsy Gotbaum, Citizens Union; Blair Horner, New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG); John Kaehny, Reinvent Albany; Susan Lerner, Common Cause New York; and Lawrence Norden, Brennan Center for Justice.
News Clip
News Clips
“New Yorkers deserve elections that lift up our voices, and push candidates to campaign better,” said Susan Lerner.
News Clip
News Clips
On Sept. 19, the Rank the Vote coalition launched. It is spearheaded by the good government group Common Cause. It explicitly advocates that New Yorkers vote “yes on 1,” the ballot question that includes the proposal instituting ranked choice voting in primaries and special elections.
News Clip
News Clips
“For almost three years, Common Cause/NY has said Keith Wright can either be party chairman or a lobbyist but he can’t have it both ways,” Susan Lerner, executive director of the group said. “The opportunities to wield his political position for personal enrichment, or use his position to advance a client’s agenda present a clear conflict of interest.”
News Clip
News Clips
“This is really not acceptable conduct by any government agency,” said Susan Lerner, the head of watchdog group Common Cause New York. “The data is subject to FOIL, there is no excuse for playing games.”
“Certainly the spirit of the law has been violated,” she added. “This sort of game-playing should not be countenanced.”
“Certainly the spirit of the law has been violated,” she added. “This sort of game-playing should not be countenanced.”
News Clip
News Clips
Representatives for Blake and Airbnb denied any connection between Blake’s consulting work and his support of the Airbnb bill, and Blake was paid by Hilltop for work with out-of-state clients. Even so, Susan Lerner of the good government group Common Cause New York told the Times Union that the situation has “the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
News Clip
News Clips
"It has the appearance of a conflict of interest," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a leading good government group. "The basis on which all of this took place, we don't know. But no legislator should be in this situation."
News Clip
News Clips
But nonpartisan groups like Common Cause NY say they have long recognized that Independence has survived and prospered for a quarter century through its name. Executive Director Susan Lerner said Dixon is proving no exception. “She is not an independent, she is a member of the Independence Party endorsed by Republicans,” Lerner said. “This seems to be misleading the voters.”
News Clip
News Clips
“I know that they are very security-conscious, but they need to compile a program, they absolutely need to put that in with the state,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a nonprofit dedicated to good government.
News Clip
News Clips
“Frankly, we’re all aware that this is an off-year election — some ballot initiatives and some judicial races,” said a spokeswoman for Common Cause, the civic watchdog group. “That makes this a good test run for early voting here.”
News Clip
News Clips
Sharing Cuomo's announcement on Twitter Thursday, the state chapter of the watchdog group Common Cause declared, "This is a huge victory for all New Yorker voters." In a message to state residents, the group added, "Know your new deadlines and don't forget to register to vote!"