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I am very sorry to announce that Ann McBride, who served in many capacities at Common Cause, including President, passed away on May 5. She was 75 and had been in declining health. Ann is an important part of Common Cause’s history and was a cherished mentor and role-model to me. Ann’s message was clear. Our victories were, she would often say, a message of hope for citizens – a reminder that working together, we all could make a difference in our government and our world.

Today, Common Cause called on Congress to hold emergency hearings to examine why Wisconsin voters were forced to risk their lives by standing in lines at polling places on April 7th during the COVID-19 pandemic when public gatherings were prohibited in the state. The letter to the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the Committee on House Administration also urged the committees to explore how other states are adjusting their elections to ensure that all voters can be counted during the current pandemic in both the primaries and the general election. The letter also emphasizes the need for Congress to provide additional election funding to states in its next stimulus bill to help ensure every American is able to cast their ballot in a safe and secure manner.

Congress’s revised Coronavirus emergency response package provides critical funds to address our public health crisis, offers a lifeline to struggling Americans, and makes a significant down payment toward safeguarding our democracy. Every American expects and deserves to have their vote counted and their voice heard in our democracy, and the $400 million in election funding for states and localities is a step in the right direction. That total is nearly triple what Senate Republicans proposed in their initial bill. However, given the recent health crisis, states and localities immediately need significantly more resources to make critical investments to ensure that all voters can participate in free, fair, orderly, and safe elections this year, or else millions of voters could be disenfranchised. These resources need to be made available as soon as possible to prepare for the health and safety concerns around upcoming primaries and general elections while offering all feasible methods of voting to give voters the chance to participate in the election.

Democracy reform, driven by the people, is on the march in states and municipalities across the nation where scores of pro-democracy reforms have been enacted. But democracy reform remains stalled in the U.S. Senate where the Republican majority ignores the will of the people. Sunday will mark one year since the U.S. House of Representatives passed its sweeping and transformative package of pro-democracy reforms in the For the People Act, or H.R. 1.

As millions of voters head to the polls today, Common Cause is working in the Election Protection coalition to help voters across the country who are having issues voting and working with election administrators to solve problems. For 50 years, Common Cause has a nonpartisan resource to voters, helping solve problems and making our elections more accessible and secure for all voters. Common Cause’s work in the 2020 Election Protection effort is focused on running field programs in targeted states where we organize and train nonpartisan volunteers to help voters and monitor issues at polling places. Common Cause also leads a social media monitoring program to flag and work with social media platforms to remove posts that spread misinformation and disinformation about people’s right to vote or posts that attempt to confuse people about when, where, and how to vote. 

We commend the Virginia Senate for passing SJ18 and strong enabling legislation to establish a redistricting commission that will end gerrymandering of congressional and state legislative districts.