Common Cause Education Fund

Voters should choose their representatives and not the other way around.

Through research, education, grassroots mobilization, and litigation, Common Cause Education Fund is working – and leading successful reforms – in states across the U.S. to create fair maps that support a reflective democracy.

Polling and focus groups consistently show that very few people understand redistricting and how it functions in their state. That’s why public education is essential to our efforts.

Through robust communications efforts, community forums, and enlisting high-profile state leaders of both parties to hold or join events, we lay the groundwork for success.

And it’s working. When we take the lead on redistricting litigation, we maintain our nonpartisanship while taking a firm stance in favor of a redistricting process that maximizes fairness.

Our right to vote is a privilege and a responsibility. We need to take that responsibility seriously. Common Cause Education Fund is a recognized leader in the voting and elections field, working at both national and state levels to:
1) Ensure that voting processes are free, fair, and accessible
2) Expand access through modernization efforts
3) Protect against barriers to voting
4) Provide leadership in election protection efforts
5) Develop solutions to address the cyber security threats in our elections.

And we’re using research, education, coalition building, and mobilizing public support to get it done.

There’s nothing more important to a functioning democracy than an informed, engaged, public. But right now, clear and comprehensible information is getting harder and harder to find. That’s a problem.

We need an independent and Constitutionally-protected free press that reports the facts so voters have the information they need — it’s no secret that the first target of any authoritarian regime is journalists.

Common Cause Education Fund is actively working to protect the open internet, resist unfair and dangerous media consolidation, and give all Americans access to high-speed internet to stay informed and connected.

In America, we can have a system of government that is of, by, and for the people — a democracy where everyone has an equal voice and our elected officials are held accountable to our needs.

But since the Supreme Court’s disastrous decision in Citizens United v. FEC our elections have become inundated with money from the ultra-rich and their shadowy outside organizations. They have thrown our system out of balance. They make the rules, they set the agenda, and they do it by drowning out the voices of everyday Americans with their wallets.

Common Cause Education Fund works diligently to give power back to citizens by:
1) Educating the public about how money influences the political process with research and reports;
2) Educating the public about how campaign finance laws can allow all candidates to complete and empower small dollar donors;
3) Aggressively identifying and reporting violations of campaign finance laws to the FEC.

Nothing is more important than protecting every American’s constitutional rights and civil liberties. That’s why Common Cause is leading a large coalition of organizations aimed at stopping a dangerous call for an Article V constitutional convention.

This is a big deal. Big. Since there are no rules for how a convention would work, or how to limit it to one issue, any constitutional right or civil liberty could be up for grabs, including recent and past Supreme Court rulings around marriage and abortion, First Amendment rights, immigration and citizenship laws, and separation of church and state.

Make no mistake about it: wealthy special interests are trying to game the system by pushing for an Article V convention that could undermine the will of We The People.

There are big donors and wealthy special interests, like the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), behind the push for an Article V constitutional convention. From limiting the power of the federal judiciary to restraining the federal budget, wealthy special interests are trying to push an extreme, partisan agenda with a run-around Congress and our constitutional process by calling for an Article V convention.