News Clips

The executive director of Common Cause Ohio, Catherine Turcer, noted that the 1912 constitutional convention that birthed the current amendment provisions sought to check a corrupt and unaccountable government. Now, in the wake of perhaps the biggest corruption scandal in state government history — the racketeering conviction of the former House speaker Larry L. Householder for accepting $60 million in bribes — “the State Legislature should choose to actually make changes that create greater transparency and greater accountability,” Ms. Turcer said. “But they’re not. Instead, they’re playing around with the rules.”

Proponents of the new threshold are “willing to change the rules because they don’t trust voters,” said Catherine Turcer, executive director of Common Cause Ohio, a nonprofit group focused on strengthening democratic institutions.

“If it wasn’t for Charley and the people he brought from Common Cause, the Ethics Commission would not have had the courage to put Proposition O on the ballot,” said Paul Melbostad, who served eight years on the Ethics Commission. Prop. O passed by a wide margin setting a $500 ceiling on donations, a limit that remains to this day. “Charley had credibility because he never sought personal gain and avoided endorsing candidates and ballot measures other than on (matters of) ethics,” Melbostad said.

"Today is another day of Michigan values holding strong against lies about our elections," Quentin Turner, program director at Common Cause Michigan, said in a statement. "For years, Michiganders of all parties have continued to resoundingly reject lies and conspiracy theories about our election." "Mr. DePerno, Ms. Rendon, and their team's alleged actions do not reflect the voices of millions who believe in fair, accessible elections and upholding the will of the people," Turner added. "We are convinced that the upcoming case against DePerno and Rendon will result in accountability and show, once again, that Michigan is a state that believes in protecting the rights of its citizens."

Marilyn Carpinteyro, Common Cause interim co-president "No American is above the law – not even former presidents. The charges that a federal grand jury leveled today against former President Donald Trump are profoundly serious and must go to trial. The charges themselves are unprecedented, but so are the events that led to them.”

Aunna Dennis, executive director of the watchdog group Common Cause Georgia, said Trump’s expected indictment in Fulton county “validates the concerns of folks who don’t want the elections to be interfered with”. “Even if you are in the highest seat in the country, that does not mean you can trample or mislead or manipulate the voices of voters and the voices of communities,” Dennis said. “We are not a fascist society. We are not an authoritarian society here. That’s not how our democracy works.”