Common Blog

Today, California Secretary of State Debra Bowen announced her plans to make the raw data behind California’s lobbyists and campaign finance database available, online, on one spreadsheet available to the public and updated daily. Secretary Bowen’s announcement is a reversal from a position she has long held since Common Cause began asking for this disclosure in 2011.

While Common Cause strongly supports an independent and thorough review of the IRS’s actions, the hearings should also account for the agency’s failure to enforce the law against political front groups masquerading as social welfare organizations.

Having pretty much abandoned enforcement of our campaign finance laws, the three Republican members of the Federal Election Commission have plenty of time on their hands these days. So it’s no surprise that they joined forces this week on a Politico essay that seeks to justify the FEC’s dysfunction. The piece by Commissioners Donald F. [...]

It’s a sad commentary on the state of our public discourse that clever misnaming of issues can totally recast what should be substantive policy discussions. The most obvious example: adding the suffix “gate” onto anything that smacks of real or alleged political wrong-doing in the wake of Richard Nixon’s Watergate is usually sufficient to muddy [...]

HB1303 will give Colorado citizens greater opportunity to participate in our elections by simplifying the process while maintaining full options for registration and voting.