Thursday, May 15, 2025

👋 Hi John! 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 other Thursday. We bring you the news you need to know from the nonpartisan source you can trust.

This week’s Common Cause newsletter is just a 4 minute read at 554 words.

🏆 Victory for North Carolina Voters

On May 7, Jefferson Griffin, the losing candidate in the North Carolina Supreme Court race, finally gave up trying to steal a free and fair election—and tossing out tens of thousands of votes.

Common Cause rallied the people against Griffin’s outrageous attacks, attending dozens of events, making hundreds of calls, and sending thousands of letters as part of Common Cause North Carolina's coalitional The People v. Griffin campaign.

Hear more about this win from Common Cause North Carolina’s Campaign Manager, Gino:

⚖️🗳️ Voting Rights Expansion in Colorado

Common Cause made history this week by passing the Colorado Voting Rights Act (COVRA), which was officially signed into law by Governor Jared Polis.

The COVRA cements voting rights protections into state law, giving 1.37 million Coloradans access to multilingual ballots in their local elections, and making Colorado the first state in the nation to create explicit protections for LGBTQ+ voters and eligible voters confined in county jails.

🌟 DC’s 500 Most Influential: Virginia Kase Solomón & Aaron Scherb

Washingtonian magazine once again recognized Common Cause President & CEO Virginia Kase Solomón as one of the 500 Most Influential People in Washington, reaffirming her position as a leading voice on democracy and civil rights issues.

She is joined on the prestigious list by Aaron Scherb, Common Cause’s Senior Director of Legislative Affairs, who was also honored again for his impactful work advancing pro-democracy legislation on Capitol Hill.

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👀 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:

• Connecticut ⛵: The nutmeg state is the latest to rescind their Article V Convention of States resolution – in unanimous fashion! Thanks to the work of Common Cause, we can take another state OFF the board in preventing a harmful Constitution Convention.

• Arizona 🌵: While the SAVE Act is *hopefully* stalled on the national level, state level copycats are still moving through state legislatures. Common Cause Arizona Executive Director Jenny Guzman spoke to Arizona PBS to explain why the SAVE ACT is a threat to everyone’s voting rights.

• Wisconsin 🧀: Wisconsin has become ground zero for important State Supreme Court races. But all that attention means money is increasingly taking center stage – not candidates or policy. Common Cause Wisconsin Executive Director Jay Heck has denounced the effect of money in these races, hoping it is not the new normal for the state.  

• Maryland 🦀: Two great voting bills were recently signed into law in Maryland! Common Cause Maryland led the charge to strengthen post-election audits and to allow for access to the ballot for non-English speakers in their state.
  

📊 By the Numbers

45+ states have elections in 2025 — with 100,000+ open seats on the ballot.

School boards, city councils, judges & more. These races shape our everyday lives.

There are no off years in a real democracy.

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🌸 Spring into Season

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