News Clips

“This is a historic victory for the people of North Carolina and for American democracy. Today, the US supreme court made clear that state courts and state constitutions should serve as a critical check against abuses of power by legislators. Now, we must ensure our state courts fulfill their duty to protect our freedoms against attacks by extremist politicians,” Bob Phillips, the executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, one of the challengers in the suit, said in a statement.

In the federal case, Common Cause vice president Kathay Feng said her group’s lawsuit also is supported by the Alabama decision, despite focusing on a different section of law. “The Alabama ruling sent a very clear message that the court was going to look closely at the history of discrimination,” Feng said. “… Florida has a history of discriminating against black voters. And the impact was directly to take away the opportunity to vote from Black voters in the panhandle of Florida.”

"Allowing New Yorkers to vote by mail increases voter turnout in harder to reach populations, including young people and voters of color," said Common Cause New York in a statement released the day the bill passed. “(N)ot only is this absolutely legal under our constitution, but the right thing to do."

“These things take time. You don’t just earn the public trust overnight,” said Pedro Hernandez, the Legal and Policy Director for California Common Cause, a voting rights and government transparency group. “We have to show the county’s voters that we are taking concerns seriously.” In Hernandez’s view, the buck must ultimately stop at the Board of Supervisors. An oversight commission may ultimately help bring light to concerns and potential election issues, but it does not have the authority to resolve those issues.

"It was very shocking to see this attempt to have artificial entities have voting rights," said Claire Snyder-Hall, executive director of Common Cause Delaware, a watchdog group. "We're seeing voter suppression all over the county, and this is the flipside," she added. "It's not saying the residents of Seaford can't vote, but it's diluting their votes by allowing nonresidents to vote."

Geoff Foster, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, said while Healey’s use of the nonprofit is legal, it’s an example of why the state needs stronger disclosure laws to dispel any appearance of undue influence on an elected official. “While we know there are precedents for this practice, for us at Common Cause it’s always concerning when private donations to public officials are not fully disclosed,” Foster said.