Common Cause is the original. Our founding in 1970 sparked a democracy reform movement that continues to grow.
We make a difference. Common Cause:
- Drove the movement that won voting rights for 18-year-olds
- Led campaigns that secured and now work to defend and strengthen laws limiting the influence of money in politics.
- Successfully lobbied for state and local laws permitting public financing of political campaigns to offset the impact of large, special interest contributions.
- Helped exposed ethical breaches that drove two House Speakers and a majority leader from office; our lobbying ultimately led the House of Representatives to create an independent ethics oversight agency.
- Wrote the landmark California law putting citizens in charge of drawing congressional and state legislative districts, ending partisan gerrymandering.
- Spearheaded a reform coalition that exposed the secret workings of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a corporate cabal that has quietly engineered the passage of hundreds of state laws putting private profit ahead of the public interest; thanks to that campaign, more than 50 major companies have abandoned ALEC.
When the little guy wins, it's likely that Common Cause had something to do with the victory. It's good to know that the people can make a difference.
- St. Petersburg Times
Common Cause ... has been an uncommonly successful lobby ... in terms of the depth and breadth of its efforts - in the Congress and state legislatures - there probably has never been a reform movement so active and with such a record of accomplishment.
- Christian Science Monitor