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Voting & Elections 10.13.2020

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Judge rejects more emergency paper ballot backups at Georgia polls

“We are disappointed that the court did not grant the relief we requested,” said Aunna Dennis, executive director for Common Cause Georgia . “It’s clear that the demand for these ballots will be extremely high in this election and will far exceed the statutory minimum of 10%.”

Voting & Elections 10.12.2020

NBC News: Early voting begins in Georgia with long lines, high turnout

Aunna Dennis, executive director of the voter advocacy organization Common Cause Georgia, said what happened Monday was a "math problem." "A lot of people voted on the first day," and "Covid-19 precautions means each voter takes longer," Dennis said, adding that there were also reports of machine problems and a shortage of paper ballots that could be used as backups. "That needs to change," she said.

Voting & Elections 10.11.2020

Washington Post: Pennsylvania emerges as ‘tipping-point’ battleground for Biden and Trump — before and after Election Day

“There are a lot of eyes on the state that’s leading to a sense of increased voter anxiety,” said Suzanne Almeida, interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, a voting rights group that is involved in some of the litigation. “There’s a universe of potential litigation out there, and I would be very surprised if we don’t see at least some of it after Nov. 3.”

Roanoke Times (Op-Ed): In redistricting, 'compromise' isn't a bad word

Common Cause endorses Amendment One because “fairness” and “compromise” aren’t bad words. This referendum is at the heart of our mission to empower people to come together to find common solutions. Justice Ginsburg described the danger of partisan gerrymandering: “It’s drawing a map so people think, ‘Why bother voting? This is a secure Republican district or this is a secure Democratic district, so my vote doesn’t count.’ That’s not a good thing for democracy.” By shifting the power from politicians drawing maps behind closed doors to a public panel led by voters, you would send an unmistakable message to all Virginians: your voice matters. It’s time to put Virginia above party and self-interest. Vote yes on Amendment One.

ABC News: Election experts implore Congress to extend ‘arbitrary’ vote-tallying deadlines

Despite a consensus among experts that extending the safe harbor deadlines would help states avoid a constitutional crisis, Aaron Scherb, the legislative director at the nonpartisan ethics group Common Cause, said any change could hold “unintended consequences.” “We think, given the president’s previous remarks … it could be misconstrued by the president as Democrats trying to ‘rig’ the election,” he said. Scherb argued Congress could wait until after the election and then consider extending the deadlines.

Voting & Elections 10.8.2020

Mashable: How to combat voter suppression before, during, and after voting

Sylvia Albert is the director of voting and elections for Common Cause, a national nonpartisan group that runs the Election Protection initiative, which coordinates a coalition of more than 100 organizations to facilitate voting across the country. Albert says that forms of physical intimidation at the polls, including protesters or the illegal threat of violence, have long been used to suppress votes, since the passage of the 14th and 15th Amendments. Threats like these were most recently seen during the 2016 presidential and 2018 midterm elections. "We saw a few isolated incidents, but those isolated incidents were quick. We dealt with them and voters were allowed to vote," Albert explained.

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