News Clips

“Common Cause has no doubt Congress will be able to meet the Court’s clarified standard and will finally see the financial records President Trump has been hiding for years,” said a statement from Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn.

Across the country, moves to reopen the economy before containing the virus offered a lesson in “how the political system accommodates the needs of business,” said Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at the watchdog group Common Cause.

“Indiana is the only state that has tied the voters’ hands in this way,” Julia Vaughn, policy director of Common Cause Indiana, said in a statement. “Our aim is to disrupt what could become a dangerous trend across the country.”

“It certainly looks bad and smells bad,” said Aaron Scherb, a spokesperson for Common Cause, a watchdog group whose education arm was also approved for a loan through the program. Members of Congress should not be allowed to vote on bills in which they can personally benefit, he said.

The blizzard of litigation — more suits have been pressed by voting rights advocates like Common Cause and the Brennan Center for Justice, and conservative groups like True the Vote and the Honest Elections Project — reflects the high stakes in 2020. Having seen the 2016 presidential race defined by harrowingly close margins in swing states, strategists are scrambling for the advantages conferred by even minor clauses in election rules. ... Voting rights advocates note that some states vote almost entirely by mail with almost no instances of fraud. “This has nothing to do with the safety and security of the election,” said Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections for Common Cause. “It’s clear their intention is to limit access to the ballot for people who they think won’t vote for them.”

While voting on legislation for which their companies may benefit may not be illegal, it does appear to be a conflict of interest, said Aaron Scherb, a spokesman for Common Cause, a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan government watchdog. “Unfortunately, members of Congress frequently vote on bills in which they can personally benefit, and in nearly all cases it’s not illegal, although it certainly looks bad and smells bad,” Scherb said. “We think it certainly should be illegal.”