"Inaasahan ng mga taga-New York na ang mga pampublikong tagapaglingkod ay tinanggap batay sa kanilang natatanging mga kwalipikasyon at hindi dahil sila ay kapatid ng alkalde," sabi ng Executive Director ng Common Cause ng New York na si Susan Lerner sa isang email.

"Ito ay hindi malinaw kung ang isang waiver mula sa Conflict of Interest Board ay kinakailangan para sa appointment na ito," sabi ni Lerner. Idinagdag niya: "Kahit na may waiver, ang paghirang sa malapit na kamag-anak ng Alkalde ay hindi nagbibigay inspirasyon sa kumpiyansa ng publiko."

“The insurrection was a violent affront to free and fair elections and the orderly transition of power,” said Karen Hobart Flynn, president of the liberal group Common Cause.

“January 6th interrupted two centuries of the peaceful transfer of power. It was staged by a domestic enemy fueled by the lies fed by the former president, some Republican politicians, and their allies who tried to subvert a bedrock democratic principle: that voters decide elections,” she said.

Our country has survived the Civil War, two world wars, the Great Depression, the Great Recession, and many other hardships along the way. Although many have been left behind or left out during those struggles, we must expand our efforts for an inclusive democracy so that it lives up to its promise. We survived the insurrection and a coup attempt last year. Can our democracy withstand another attempt in the next presidential election? We cannot afford to find out.

The Senate must immediately pass pending legislation that has...

Khalif Ali, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, said the map in its current form does not allow for a community-level dive, making it harder for residents to provide feedback.

"We don't have the underlying shapefiles," Ali explained. "We have no way again to evaluate whether and how this map divides communities of color. Particularly in Philadelphia, Allegheny County, Lancaster, Dauphin, York, all those counties are really relevant when we're talking about this question of racial equity and adhering to the Voting...

Sinabi ni Kathay Feng, national redistricting director para sa Common Cause, kapag ang mga mapa ng pagboto ay tumama sa mga korte, nagiging mas mahirap para sa mga mamamayan na timbangin ang proseso. Sa pagsasalita sa isang seminar sa pagbabago ng distrito, nabanggit niya na ang pinakamahusay na paraan upang maimpluwensyahan ang proseso ay sa pamamagitan ng isang balota.

"Sa ilang mga estado kung saan mayroon kang mga hudisyal na halalan, o mayroong isang paraan upang maimpluwensyahan ang mga hukom na pinili, tinitiyak nito na mayroong napakalaking halaga ng edukasyon ng botante," hinimok ni Feng.

Walang kapalit ang batas, at ang oras para kumilos ay ngayon na. Kamakailan, mahigit 150 na iskolar ng demokrasya ang sumulat na "ang mga tagapagtanggol ng demokrasya sa Amerika ay mayroon pa ring maliit na window ng pagkakataon na kumilos. Ngunit ang oras ay lumilipas, at ang hatinggabi ay nalalapit na."

Kung tayo ay mamumuno sa pamamagitan ng "kapangyarihan ng ating halimbawa," dapat na kumilos si Pangulong Biden at mga senador at gawin ang kinakailangan upang maipasa ang mga panukalang batas na ito sa lalong madaling panahon. Kapag ang ating mga pinuno ay nagsimula sa taon ng pagkilos sa summit, ito ay dapat na isang pangunahing priyoridad. Ang demokrasya ay...

This year's process and these maps were approved against our will. In more than 10 hours of testimony on congressional plans, not a single Texan spoke in favor of the draft maps.

Without reform, we're bound to repeat this flawed process in another 10 years. It's time to put an end to a process that allows the politicians to choose which Texans they want to represent.

It’s time for congressional Republicans to learn from the states, listen to the voters and find their way back to the principle of a government “by the people.” Our generation has a responsibility to add our own chapter to the unfolding story of freedom. It’s beyond time for Senate Republicans to advance the Freedom to Vote Act. If they don’t, Senate Democrats must reform the filibuster to protect our sacred freedom to vote.

“With his signature today, Governor Abbott continues the shameful five-decade-long tradition of ramming through extremely gerrymandered maps in an undemocratic process,” Anthony Gutierrez, Common Cause Texas executive director, said in a news release. “These racially and partisan gerrymandered maps deny every voter in Texas from having an equal say in the issues we care about most, like a stronger economy, better schools, and affordable healthcare.”

The 2020 Census demonstrated what most have long known – we are a nation that is growing increasingly diverse. But for too long, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian American/Pacific Islander, and other communities of color driving our growth have been sidelined in our democracy. While it’s more common to hear about voter suppression laws and gerrymandered district maps, one lesser-known evil is prison gerrymandering. Thankfully, there is still time in this redistricting cycle to change this harmful practice in the current redistricting cycle.