Search

Menu

Close

796 results

Boston Globe: Public records undergird R.I.’s biggest news stories

“There’s extreme public interest on what happened on that trip,” Common Cause Rhode Island Executive Director John M. Marion said, noting that one of the former state officials, David Patten, was recently fined $5,000 by the state Ethics Commission for accepting a free lunch at an upscale Sicilian restaurant during that trip. ”So great example of sort of how public records get us information that holds government officials accountable.”

Yahoo! News/Texas Tribune: Most 18-year-old Texans aren’t signed up to vote despite a law requiring voter registration in high schools

Katya Ehresman, voting rights program manager at Common Cause Texas, noted that some states reward schools that register students. Tennessee acknowledges schools that reach a certain voter registration threshold, and Pennsylvania has a governor’s civic engagement award to celebrate schools that register 85% of eligible students to vote, for example.

Common Cause also recommends that the secretary of state’s office mail each school voter registration applications, instead of requiring schools to request them twice a year.

Salon/Yahoo! News: Rebooting digital equality: FCC to restore net neutrality, reversing Trump-era repeal

Government watchdog group Common Cause has long championed net neutrality protections, arguing that the rules protect the public's right to the equal access of publicly-funded internet infrastructure.

“The internet is a gateway to democracy for many and every voter has the right to a free and fair internet. From looking up information about candidates to finding polling sites, this net neutrality proposal will make it easier for every voter to participate in our modern democracy. We strongly encourage the FCC to restore net...

Star Tribune/Yahoo! News: ‘Book Senator Hoffman to speak’: DFL state senator’s consulting firm raises ethical questions

Annastacia Belladonna-Carrera, executive director of Common Cause Minnesota, a nonprofit that advocates for government transparency, also had concerns. She said, "Sen. Hoffman's use of this title for marketing his consulting business as 'senator', along with the use of pictures taken while at the Capitol campus, can arguably be seen as him leveraging his public role for private gain."

Belladonna-Carrera suggested the legislative branch could benefit from having clearer rules for lawmakers.

"This branch of...

NBC News: Wisconsin voters approve two GOP-backed ballot measures that will change how elections are run

“In the April elections Wisconsin tends to have low turnout, and not many people are going to look at these [closely]. Maybe they’ll read it and think, ‘yeah, that sounds reasonable,’” Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin, the state’s branch of the national nonpartisan government watchdog group, said ahead of the results. “But they are both the product of election denial.”

Their impact could be notable, Heck suggested. With avenues for additional funding roped off, and with the scope of who...

NBC News: Wisconsin is lagging behind other swing states in shoring up election policies following 2020 chaos

Jay Heck, the executive director Common Cause Wisconsin, the state’s branch of the national nonpartisan government watchdog group, added that the consequences could be dire if the right mix of circumstances were to emerge on or following Election Day.

“It could all explode,” he said.

The April 2 primary ballot in Wisconsin will ask voters to decide on two proposed constitutional amendments that critics contend are byproducts of conspiracy theories touted by election deniers.

“[Passage of...

Colorado Newsline: ‘Dark day for democracy’: Coloradans highlight election threats in wake of 14th Amendment ruling

In a statement, Aly Belknap, executive director of the nonprofit Colorado Common Cause, which filed several amicus, or friend-of-the-court, briefs in support of the Colorado plaintiffs, called the ruling “a dark day for our democracy.”

“Donald Trump lied, cheated, and unleashed violence when the election did not go his way, and his ongoing incitement has led to an unprecedented rise in attacks and death threats against election workers, judges, and other public servants,” Belknap said. “By refusing to hold Trump...

Yahoo! News/PolitiFact: Yes, an Arizona voter received two mail ballots. That’s not a sign of wrongdoing or fraud.

Voters can do their part by updating their voter registration in a timely fashion, said Jenny Guzman, program director of Common Cause Arizona.

Mercury News: The campaign to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo is California’s most expensive House race. Here’s where the money is flowing.

Sean McMorris, the transparency, ethics and accountability program manager for good government group California Common Cause, said it becomes an accountability issue because some self-funded candidates don’t engage with voters as much because they don’t need to solicit as many donations.

“Money should not dictate who should run for office or who gets elected,” he said.

At the congressional level, money plays a large role in the election, and while McMorris said it’s not the “determining factor,”...

Spectrum News (VIDEO): Four Republican committee chairs, including Wisconsin’s Mike Gallagher, are leaving Congress

“This is money that was contributed to a campaign for a purpose of getting them elected or re-elected to a specific office,” said Jay Heck, the executive director of Common Cause Wisconsin. “And once a member of Congress has decided they’re no longer going to run for that office, it seems to me that any leftover money ought to be liquidated, that the money should either be donated to a charity, maybe given back to the U.S. taxpayers in the form of a contribution to the debt.”

Load More

Close

    • Close

    Hello! It looks like you're joining us from {state}.

    Want to see what's happening in your state?

    Go to Common Cause {state}