Common Cause

Updated on Nov 19, 2023

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Location Washington, D.C. Method Advocacy Website www.commoncause.org Founded 1970 Income 6.23 million USD (2012)		Area served United States Key people Karen Hobert Flynn Founder John W. Gardner Assets 2.506 million USD (2012)

Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States Similar American Legislative Exchang, Brennan Center for Justice, Center for Media and Democracy, Public Citizen, Demos Profiles Twitter Facebook

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Common Cause is a nonpartisan public interest group based in Washington, D.C. with chapters in 35 states. It was founded in 1970 by John W. Gardner, a Republican, who was the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the administration of President Lyndon Johnson.

The organization’s tagline is “holding power accountable” and its stated mission is to “work to create open, honest, and accountable government that serves the public interest; promote equal rights, opportunity, and representation for all; and empower all people to make their voices heard in the political process.”

Common Cause bills itself as the “original citizens lobby” and has also been described as a "nonpartisan political advocacy and watchdog group." Their work includes grassroots organizing, coalition building, research, policy development, public education, lobbying and litigation.

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Issue Areas

The organization’s primary issues are campaign finance reform/money in politics, voting and elections, ethics, a fair economy, and media and democracy.

Campaign Finance Reform/Money in Politics

Common Cause is in favor of reining in political spending, toughening exposure laws, exposing corporate power in government and giving shareholders control of corporate political spending.

In 1972, Common Cause sued President Richard Nixon's re-election campaign, the Committee for the Re-Election of the President, under the Federal Corrupt Practices Act in an attempt to force Nixon's campaign to report early campaign contributions. The lawsuit forced the disclosure of the names of several Nixon donors. In 1974, Common Cause supported passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), encompassing public financing of presidential campaigns and oversight of campaign ethics through the Federal Election Commission.

Publicly Financed Elections

Common Cause has advocated for public financing of elections in order to reject or lessen the impact of special interest contributions and to rely more on small gifts from individuals. Their most successful efforts have been in New York City in 1999, Connecticut in 2005, Montgomery County, Maryland in 2014 and California.

Redistricting

The organization has sought to end the practice of gerrymandering in several states. In 2016 they filed a lawsuit in North Carolina challenging the constitutionality of district maps. The organization's North Carolina chapter has led a campaign to create a nonpartisan redistricting process which has bipartisan support in the state. Common Cause is also challenging redistricting in Democratic controlled states, such as Maryland.

Voting Machines

Common Cause advocates for a voter-verified paper audit trail for election machines in all states. The organization has documented complaints about electronic voting machines.

National Popular Vote

Common Cause is in favor of establishing a national popular vote for presidential elections to replace the current electoral college system.

Ethics

The organization seeks to hold elected officials as well as judges to high ethical standards and reduce conflicts of interest.

Common Cause lobbied Congress to pass the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, requiring government officials to disclose their finances and restricting the "revolving door" between government and business. In 1989, they lobbied for passage of a new Ethics in Government Act, which ended special-interest honoraria for members of Congress and closed a loophole that allowed members to convert campaign funds to personal use.

The organization's efforts led to ethics probes and the resignations of House Speaker Jim Wright (D) in 1988 and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R) in 1995.

In January 2011, Common Cause filed a petition with the Justice Department, seeking an investigation about whether United States Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas should have recused themselves from the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case. Common Cause then investigated the financial filings of Thomas, saying that Thomas did not include the income of his wife, conservative activist Virginia Thomas, in his disclosure filings as required under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978. Thomas acknowledged error in the failure to disclose and filed amended disclosure forms that listed his wife's employment.

During the 2016 presidential elections, Common Cause suggested that the Clinton Foundation would create ethics and conflict of interest challenges for Hillary Clinton should she become president. They criticized Hillary Clinton's plan to give Chelsea Clinton control of the Foundation and called for an independent audit and full disclosure of the Foundation's donors. The public interest group also criticized Donald Trump on his refusal to release his tax returns during the 2016 presidential elections. The organization has been outspoken about the potential conflicts of interest from Mr. Trump's businesses[9][10] and called for Mr. Trump to put his assets into a blind trust instead of handing over control of his businesses to his children.

A Fair Economy

Common Cause seeks to address the public policies, political spending, organizations, and political reforms that have contributed to a widening economic gap between the richest 1% of Americans and everyone else.

Media and Democracy

Common Cause works on multiple fronts for media reforms that include a free, open and accessible Internet for all, slowing media consolidation and transparency.

Constitutional Convention

Common Cause opposes modern day efforts to call a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution.

Leadership

Karen Hobert Flynn became the organization's president in June 2016.

The following individuals have served as president of Common Cause:

John W. Gardner (1971-1975)—founder of the organization

David Cohen (1975-1981)

Fred Wertheimer (1981-1995)

Ann McBride (1995-1999)—longtime Common Cause employee who served as vice president and lobbyist for the group before serving as president

Scott Harshbarger (1999-2002)—served as Massachusetts Attorney General before becoming Common Cause president

Chellie Pingree (2003-2007)—after stepping down as president of Common Cause, was elected as U.S. Representative from Maine

Robert W. (Bob) Edgar (2007-2013)—served as Democratic U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania before becoming president of Common Cause; died in office in April 2013

Miles Rapoport (2014-2016)—was president of Demos before becoming president of Common Cause

Karen Hobert Flynn (2016–present)

The following are three of the most prominent individuals who have served as chairs of Common Cause's board:

John W. Gardner (1970-1978)—founder and chairman of the group; served two three-year terms as chairman before stepping down.

Archibald Cox (1980-1992)—former Watergate special prosecutor.

Robert Reich (2013–present*)—former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton Administration. (*Due to Common Cause's policy of nonpartisanship, Reich took a leave of absence from the group from February 2016 until after the November 2016 election in order to become involved in Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign).