Common Cause is a lobbying and advocacy group focused on advancing left-of-center policy priorities at the national, state, and local levels. Common Cause has state offices in 28 states and a sister education and advocacy group called the Common Cause Education Fund. ¹ Common Cause is particularly focused on voting issues, including lowering the voting age to 16, switching presidential elections from the Electoral College system to a national popular vote, admitting the District of Columbia as a state, and operating a ground team of volunteers to watch polls on election day and organize support for or against local and state legislation. ^{2 3}

Background

Common Cause was founded in 1970 by the late John Gardner. Gardner served as Secretary of the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (later split into the Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education) in the Johnson administration. ⁴ Gardner was instrumental in the implementation of Johnson’s “Great Society” programs and brought Common Cause out of the Urban Coalition Action Council (UCAC), which he previously led. Gardner was the only Republican to serve in Johnson’s presidential cabinet. ^{5 6} Gardner had previously worked as president of the Carnegie Corporation from 1955-1965. ⁶

Gardner, similar to activists like Ralph Nader, sought to create what he called a “true citizens’ lobby” that would work to advance the well-being of the nation over special interests. Common Cause rose to prominence lobbying members of Congress to cut off funding for the Vietnam War. ⁷

Common Cause has maintained the legacy of association with Democratic politicians it inherited from Gardner. From 2003 to 2007, Common Cause was led by Chellie Pingree, who had been defeated for election to the United States Senate from Maine as a Democrat. Prior to her Senate campaign, Pingree was a Democratic member of the Maine state Senate, serving four years as Majority Leader. Pingree left Common Cause to run for the U.S. House of Representatives, winning election in 2008.⁸

As of 2024, Common Cause claims to have a network of over 1.5 million members, and operates over 28 state offices in Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin. ¹

Common Cause is committed to the critical-race theory-influenced concept of equity. According to Common Cause, “Racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, ableism, ageism, misogynoir, religious bigotry, and oppression of anyone not sharing the identities of our nation’s “founding fathers” permeate our centuries-old political, legal and social institutions and intersect in ways that compound inequities for those with multiple marginalized identities.” ⁹

Activities

Common Cause claims to be nonpartisan, but the group has a history of targeting right-leaning as opposed to left-leaning figures. For example, Common Cause has used its ethics platform to condemn U.S. Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork in 1985, then-U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-GA) in 1995, and then-U.S. House Majority Leader Tom Delay (R-TX) in 2006. [/note] ⁴

In 2017, Common Cause opposed the nomination of then-U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) as U.S. Attorney General in the Trump administration. In a section on its website titled: “Stop Jeff Sessions,” Common Cause released a series of talking points for supporters to read to U.S. Senators to encourage opposition to Sessions’s confirmation. ¹⁰

Common Cause has been involved in calls to change the U.S. Supreme Court’s ethics regulation and is heavily critical of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. ¹¹ In 2022, Common Cause supported the nomination of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. ¹²

Common Cause claims credit for being the first group to file federal complaints against President Donald Trump for alleged campaign finance violations in 2018, for payments to Stormy Daniels. Virginia Kase Solomon, the president and CEO of Common Cause, promised in a statement that Common Cause would continue to try to hold President Trump to account during his second term. ¹³

Common Cause supports petitions to lower the voting age to 16, incorporate the District of Columbia as a state, adopt ranked-choice voting, and abolish the Electoral College, claiming the Electoral College has “distorted our democracy.” ^{14 15 16 17}

In 2024, the group spoke out against social media company Meta’s decision to end its fact checking program, claiming the move is “blatantly pandering to Trump” and opening the door to “dangerous election lies.” ¹⁸

Common Cause has a network of “election protection volunteers” through its Protect the Vote project. ¹⁹ These volunteers monitor polling locations for any type of election interference and have a hotline to report to if one sees any suspicious activity. In 2020, the network had over thirty-six thousand volunteers signed up to monitor the 2020 Presidential Election. Protect the Vote claims to be “voters’ first line of defense against restrictive election laws, coronavirus-related voting disruptions, or anything else that could silence their voices.” ²⁰

Funding

Common Cause has received funding from labor unions. Reports filed with the Department of Labor show that the Communications Workers of America spent over $55,000 on Common Cause, including $40,396 for “political activities.”²¹ In the 2016 fiscal year, the California Nurses Association, United Food and Commercial Workers Local 555, and the SEIU Illinois State Council all reported expenditure to Common Cause or a Common Cause affiliate.²²

From 2018 to 2o23, Common Cause received over $1.4 million from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, and from 2021 to 2o23, Common Cause received $625,000 from the North Fund. Both organizations operate under the umbrella of Arabella Advisors. ^{23 24}

From 2020 to 2023, Common Cause received $800,000 from Democracy Fund Voice. ²⁵

The Open Society Action Fund, at the time of giving known as the Open Society Policy Center, has given over $100,000 to Common Cause. ²⁶

The education and advocacy sister-organization of Common Cause, the Common Cause Education Fund, shares some resources, including facilities and paid employees with Common Cause. ²⁷ The Common Cause Education Fund has received substantial funding from the Ford Foundation, the Foundation to Promote Open Societies, and from nonprofits in the orbit of Arabella Advisors including the New Venture Fund and the Hopewell Fund. ^{28 29 30 26}

People

As of 2024, the president and CEO of Common Cause is Virginia Kase Solomon. Solomon was previously the CEO of the League of Woman Voters and the COO of CASA. ³¹

As of 2024, the chair of the board of Common Cause is Martha Tierney, who has occupied the position since 2016. Tierney works for Tierney Lawrence Stiles LLC, a Colorado-based, self-described “progressive law firm” that specializes in campaign, election, and nonprofit organization law. She has “led or participated in election law litigation on behalf of the Democratic Party, elected officials, candidates, advocacy organizations, and local governments,” according to her biography on Tierney Lawrence Stiles LLC’s website. ^{32 33}

1. “Home.” Common Cause, January 20, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/.
2. “About Us.” Common Cause, September 19, 2024. https://www.commoncause.org/about-us/.
3. “Priorities.” Common Cause, September 26, 2024. https://www.commoncause.org/priorities/.
4. “Common Cause .” Discover the Networks. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=7610.
5. McFadden, Robert D. “John W. Gardner, 89, Founder of Common Cause and Adviser to Presidents, Dies.” The New Tork Times, February 18, 2002. https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/18/us/john-w-gardner-89-founder-of-common-cause-and-adviser-to-presidents-dies.html
6. “Common Cause.” Discover the Networks. Accessed February 05, 2017. http://www.discoverthenetworks.org/printgroupProfile.asp?grpid=7610.
7. Lucas, Barbara Joanna. “Uncommon Hypocrisy: Common Cause claims to seek good government but prefers big government.” Capital Research Center. May 2014. Accessed January 30, 2025. https://capitalresearch.org/article/commoncause/.
8. “About Chellie.” Congresswoman Chellie Pingree. March 02, 2017. Accessed March 28, 2017. https://pingree.house.gov/about-chellie.
9. “Equity Statement.” Common Cause, August 9, 2024. https://www.commoncause.org/about-us/equity-statement/.
10. “Call your senators: Stop Jeff Sessions.” Common Cause. Accessed February 05, 2017. https://secure2.convio.net/comcau/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1871.
11. “Supreme Court Ethics.” Common Cause, January 16, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/work/supreme-court-ethics/
12. “Our Impact.” Common Cause, September 26, 2024. https://www.commoncause.org/our-impact/.
13. “Trump to Become First Convicted Felon to Serve as President.” Common Cause. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/press/trump-to-become-first-convicted-felon-to-serve-as-president/.
14. “Youth Voting.” Common Cause, September 10, 2024. https://www.commoncause.org/issues/youth-voting/.
15. “Fair Representation for D.C.” Common Cause, August 8, 2024. https://www.commoncause.org/work/fair-representation-for-d-c/.
16. “Ranked Choice Voting.” Common Cause, November 5, 2019. https://www.commoncause.org/issues/ranked-choice-voting/.
17. “Michigan Needs the National Popular Vote.” Common Cause. Accessed January 20, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/work/michigan-needs-the-national-popular-vote/.
18. “The Truth Matters: Why Meta Must Reverse Its Reckless Decision to Abandon Fact-Checking.” Common Cause, January 16, 2025. https://www.commoncause.org/articles/the-truth-matters-why-meta-must-reverse-its-reckless-decision-to-abandon-fact-checking/.
19. “Nonpartisan Volunteers To Stop Voter Suppression.” Election Protection, August 28, 2020. https://protectthevote.net/about/.
20. Miller, Christopher. “This Is How Thousands Of Americans Are Preparing To Take On Trump If He Refuses To Leave Office.” BuzzFeed News. BuzzFeed News, October 23, 2020. https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/christopherm51/trump-not-leaving-office-progressive-groups-challenge.
21. Communications Workers of America, Annual Report of a Labor Organization (Form LM-2), 2014, Schedules 15 and 16
22. Author’s analysis of Annual Reports of a Labor Organization (Forms LM-2) from 2016, maintained by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Labor-Management Standards. Queries conducted March 28, 2017.
23. “Sixteen Thirty Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Schedule I.
24. “North Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2021, 2022, and 2023. Schedule I.
25. “Democracy Fund Voice,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023. Schedule I.
26.  “Open Society Foundations – Awarded Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships.” Open Society Foundations – Awarded Grants, Scholarships, and Fellowships – Open Society Foundations. Accessed January 20, 2025. https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/past?filter_keyword=Common%2BCause.
27. “Common Cause,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2023. Schedule R.
28. “New Venture Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2023. Schedule I.
29. “Hopewell Fund,” Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990) 2023. Schedule I.
30. “Grants Database.” Ford Foundation. Accessed January 20, 2025. https://www.fordfoundation.org/work/our-grants/awarded-grants/grants-database/?search=Common%2BCause.
31.  Virginia Kase solomón – CEO – league of women voters | linkedin. Accessed January 20, 2025. https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-kase-solom%C3%B3n-02531118/.
32. “Martha Tierney.” Tierney Lawrence Stiles LLC. Accessed January 20, 2025. https://www.tls.legal/martha-tierney.
33. “Tierney Lawrence Stiles LLC.” Tierney Lawrence Stiles LLC. Accessed January 20, 2025. https://www.tls.legal/.