Thursday, April 17, 2025

👋 Hi John! Happy Friday Eve. We made it to the end of the week.  

We are happy to bring you The People’s Bi-Weekly Watchdog Newsletter, delivered to your inbox every Thursday. We bring you the news you need to know to hold power accountable from the nonpartisan source you can trust.  

This week’s Common Cause newsletter is just a 5 minute read at 688 words.

🦀 Voter Victory in Maryland!

While President Trump and his cronies in Congress try to take away our right to vote, we’re working at the state-level to make voting more accessible. Just last week, we scored a major victory in Maryland: the state legislature passed our bill expanding language access at the ballot box.  

Maryland is the most diverse state on the East Coast, and one in five Marylanders speak a language other than English at home. The bill we championed ensures election materials are translated to languages other than English.

The bill opens the door to government to all, no matter what language we speak, and it’s now headed to the Governor’s desk for signature.

🧑‍⚖️ Supreme Mess in North Carolina’s Courts

In November, Justice Allison Riggs defeated Judge Jefferson Griffin by 734 votes for a seat on North Carolina’s Supreme Court. Five months and multiple legal battles later, we’re still waiting for Riggs to be declared the rightful winner.

Major update: The race is now down to 1,409 votes. Tuesday evening, the state’s election board ruled voters in just one county would need to cure their votes. The math is not in Griffin’s favor.

And we’ve got news for Griffin: you can’t change an election outcome just because you didn’t win. As Common Cause's Bob Phillips told WCNC, “enough is enough.”

But in this race, anything is possible and this could still go to the U.S. Supreme Court. And remember, there is a winner. The people of North Carolina elected Allison Riggs. Overturning her victory is overturning the will of the people.

🛑 Stop the SAVE Act

Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAVE Act, a dangerous law that would severely limit our right to vote. It should really be called the Stop Americans from Voting in Elections because that’s exactly what it does.

It’s a dictator’s dream: it requires everyone to go in person to prove their citizenship when registering to vote.

And make no mistake: the bill will hurt Republicans just as much, if not more, than Democrats. Why? More liberal voters have passports proving citizenship than conservatives. Studies show rural voters would be forced to drive on average, more than 4 hours and cover 260 miles just to register.

This bill is bad for every single American citizen—whether you’ve been a citizen for 60 years or 6 months.  

We cannot count on Congress to protect us. That’s why Common Cause and our 1.5 million members will work around the clock to make sure every U.S. Senator knows this bill is dead on arrival.  

To learn more about the bill, read the 5 things you need to know or watch our latest video, “Bureaucrat.”

📱 Our Favorite Tweet

👀 ICYMI

We're working so hard to protect our democracy, we could write you a novel instead of a newsletter. Instead, here are the top headlines you don't want to miss:

• Indiana 🏀: Common Cause Indiana hosted a congressional town hall in South Bend to hold elected officials accountable and show constituents won’t stay silent about the devastating federal policies upending their livelihoods.
  

• California 🐻: California Common Cause says the 106K fine slapped on a former Silicon Valley state lawmaker for breaking ethics rules sends a strong message that unethical behavior won’t be tolerated in California.

• Wisconsin 🧀: Common Cause Wisconsin is cracking down on misinformation about the state Supreme Court race earlier this month.

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