News Clips

Government watchdog group Common Cause has called on all states to "expand vote-by-mail programs and absentee voting wherever possible." "This is a time for our country to be united to protect each other as we face COVID-19, and that includes rethinking the way we manage our elections in many states," Karen Hobert Flynn, the nonprofit's president, said in a press release.

Common Cause New York, a voting rights group, had called on Gov. Cuomo and state officials to consolidate the primary, contending that officials have made it clear that they won’t have the bandwidth to conduct an entirely absentee election by late April. “We don't have the infrastructure in place to do it quite frankly, so that's anything from having enough paper to print all the ballots, to making sure that we have prepaid postage, to make sure folks can return their ballot. It's a lot of smaller logistical decisions and preparations that would need to have started weeks ago,” Sarah Goff, the deputy director of Common Cause New York had previously said.

"Americans expect and deserve accountability for the $2 trillion coronavirus emergency spending bill, and Congressional oversight of this Administration’s handling of the funds is absolutely critical," Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn said in a statement. "This attempt by President Trump to bypass oversight is nothing more than a corrupt power grab by an administration known for bending over backwards to shower rewards on its political supporters," she added. 

“If nothing changes by November, there will be a lot of voters who are disenfranchised,” said Sylvia Albert, voting and elections director for good-government watchdog Common Cause.

“This provision helps ensure President Trump and his family can’t benefit from coronavirus pandemic, but there are some loopholes,” said Aaron Scherb, director of legislative affairs at Common Cause, an advocacy group that works closely with House committee staffers. “They could benefit in indirect ways.”

"States need to make critical investments in their election infrastructure," said Sylvia Albert, the director of voting and elections at the nonpartisan group Common Cause. She said the $400 million in the stimulus package was a "step in the right direction" but not enough. "What is important that we establish a system where people can feel safe about exercising their right to vote," Albert said. She added that means having numerous options available to voters.