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Voting & Elections 11.18.2020

New York Times: Why New York Again Trails Almost All States in Counting Votes

“New York voters should understand that we will not know the results of many close races until some weeks later,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government watchdog group. ”And that is not the death of democracy, but a sign of life.”

Voting & Elections 11.18.2020

Palm Beach Post/Inside Sources (Op-Ed): Ballot initiatives strengthen our democracy

Democracy is not a state or frame of mind, it is an act guaranteed only by us — the voters. Despite the coronavirus pandemic and the deliberate barriers set to silence the voices of Black people, new Americans and people just struggling to make ends meet, voters turned out in record numbers. We showed up to pick new leaders and pass political reform ballot measures that will shift power to the people and away from politicians. In this act, we — the voters — showed what a democracy that is based on fairness, justice and equality could look like.

New York Times Magazine: Can America Restore the Rule of Law Without Prosecuting Trump?

Campaign-finance laws were designed to limit the influence of private actors in elections — “to prevent not only the actual corruption of public officials but even the appearance of corruption that could undermine voter faith in government,” as Paul S. Ryan, the vice president of policy and litigation at the election-watchdog group Common Cause, told me.

Media & Democracy 11.17.2020

ABC News: 'Free speech' social media platform Parler is a hit among Trump supporters, but experts say it won't last

Similarly, Jesse Littlewood, vice president of campaigns at Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog group, told ABC News that some of Facebook's actions have been inefficient. "I would give them a mixed grade," said Littlewood. "On the one hand, they've been quick on some issues, but I still think they step in after a post has been circulating on the web for a while when damage has already been done and there's already a huge amount of influence."

Voting & Elections 11.13.2020

Associated Press: Debunking false and misleading claims about the 2020 election

Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, a nonpartisan election watchdog group, told the AP, “There’s no evidence of this taking place.” Albert said that under the Help America Vote Act, the first time anyone votes it has to be verified with identification. “Yes it’s possible for someone’s maiden name to be on the voter rolls during the time in which the name is being changed and the records are being updated,” Albert said. But voting using someone else’s identity is a crime and could not be accomplished by thousands of people in different states.

Money & Influence 11.12.2020

USA Today (Op-Ed): Trump wants to make money off the fake 'stolen election' crisis he created. Don't let him.

Trump donors beware! President Trump is saying he needs your money for legal challenges to last week’s election outcome, but he’s showing you in the fine print that your money won’t be used for legal challenges. What will he do with your money? Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. During his 2016 campaign, Trump’s campaign paid his businesses more than $12 million. Since taking office in 2017, Trump’s campaign has continued paying his businesses millions more of his donors’ dollars, together with millions of taxpayer dollars paid to Trump’s businesses. 

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