News Clips

“We don’t believe that Gov. Hogan is acting in the best interest of Maryland voters,” said Joanne Antoine, executive director of Common Cause Maryland, noting that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that voters consider alternatives to casting ballots in person.

“On the positive side, the judges ruled that expired photo student IDs can be used as proof of identity to vote,” said Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause in Wisconsin, who called the state's rules among the most restrictive in the country.

Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has attacked democratic institutions and undermined independent agencies. Now, as millions of voters are relying on the Postal Service to support our elections during the coronavirus pandemic, Trump is politicizing another once-nonpartisan government agency. Having a political ally with ethical and competence questions like DeJoy lead the agency potentially puts November's election at risk.

Just to be sure, though, we asked a couple of campaign law experts how much Mr. West’s filings meant. “Very little,” said Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause. Candidates are not required to register with the F.E.C. unless they have raised or spent more than $5,000, but “there is nothing that prohibits someone who hasn’t raised or spent that amount of money from filing,” Mr. Ryan said. “That’s why you see hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of not serious candidates, and to some extent completely fake or joke candidates.” “Filing these two forms with the Federal Election Commission are really the two easiest parts of running for president,” Mr. Ryan said. “Every state has its own rules for what it takes to have your name on the ballot, their own deadlines, their own requirements. That’s the hard part — and then actually running a campaign.”

“The big issue we’ve seen is poll workers saying, ‘We don’t want to work this election because the governor isn’t requiring masks at polling locations,’” said Anthony Gutierrez, the executive director of Common Cause Texas, another voting rights group.

“If things don’t change drastically, we’re going to have huge problems in November,” Anthony Gutierrez, the executive director of the good-government group Common Cause Texas.