A "historic stress test" on democracy

Geoff Foster is the executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts, a nonpartisan group fighting for pro-democracy reforms at the state and local level. Foster, who joined the organization in 2020, chatted with MASSterList ahead of Independence Day about democracy, voting and local political power.

Q: Give some insight into this moment and what Common Cause believes is the path forward.

A: The last few months have been a historic stress test on our democratic institutions at the national level, but obviously we're feeling that here in Massachusetts at the state and even local level. Common Cause launched our Platform for People Power, which was a legislative platform at the state level, but also a series of trainings for our members who want to get more involved in advocating for pro-democracy reforms. The top three major issues that our members care most about are strengthening voting access, strengthening transparency in our campaign finance laws, and then making sure we're building a democracy for the 21st century by updating our Open Meeting Law to ensure that both in-person and remote meeting participation options are part of our new normal. 

Q: You're backing a new bill this session called the Ballot Spending Transparency Act —talk to me a little about that. 

A: It seeks to remove a current eight-month gap in our reporting requirements for ballot question committees during an election year. Between January 1 and 60 days before the election, there's no real-time reporting of contributions or expenditures. And given that there's no limit that any individual can donate to a ballot question committee, we think it's really important that we're strengthening the process by which those committees have to be reporting so the public can have that information in more real time.

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Q: Common Cause continues to support same-day voter registration, a push that has existed for years. What's your strategy this time around? 

A: Every statewide election, thousands of voters are showing up to vote only to learn that there's an issue with their registration and they've missed the deadline to do anything about it. We are leaving too many voters behind. We started looking at, after every statewide election, provisional ballot data from the secretary of state's office that shows how many people are being given a provisional ballot that ultimately gets rejected because of voter registration reasons. Last November, there were over 3,300 Bay Staters who had to fill out a provisional ballot that was ultimately rejected. Our analysis [suggested] over 99% of them could be addressed with same day voter registration. 

It's uniquely in Boston and in the Gateway Cities that we're seeing the highest rates of provisional ballots that get rejected. And of course, there's higher rates of renters, there's more people that change their addresses — we need to make sure if that is a cultural or economic reality that our voting laws can deal with that.

Q: What has historically been in the way of that becoming a reality?

A: There have been questions about implementation, and there have been concerns around, could this add workload to local election officials? We think that it would actually reduce the workload. Issuing a provisional ballot and then doing the follow-up research to determine whether a provisional ballot should be accepted or rejected is a large workload, and we like to think it's much more common sense to be able to give poll workers and local election officials this new tool in their toolbox, so that on election day, if a voter comes up and there's any issue, we can just go and update your registration and come back and vote at the normal process. 

Q: What do you view as the biggest threat to democracy right now?

A: One of the biggest threats to our democracy right now is the fact that we are seeing a historic and generational rise of oligarchies influencing American democratic institutions. And with that comes a lot of the things that Common Cause has been working over the last 50 years to combat — a rise in money in politics, a rise in private interests outweighing the voices of everyday people. This is a moment for people who care about democracy, and organizations like Common Cause, where we really want to speak clearly and push back to say, "This is an opportunity in a moment to build meaningful people power." One of the best ways we think that can be done is through influencing the public policy process here at the state and local level.

Q: It's about to be Independence Day, and it's almost America's 250th birthday. Congress is at the same time working on a bill that would change the way many Americans can access public services. There was an executive order signed earlier this year that would alter voting access — changes to things people associate with being American. How are you thinking about the larger picture here?

A: There's no doubt that democracy at the national level is being threatened right now by special interests seeking to gain and cement their power, and it's at the expense of people and people power. This is certainly a moment for reflection. This Independence Day, I hope that everyone thinks and reflects about the values that helped start this country — and understand that this is a call to our generation now to do the necessary work to preserve it. And there's no doubt in my mind that there are political interests, all the way up to the White House, who are doing their best to subvert the power of people at the expense of private profits. 

How are you feeling about democracy this Fourth of July? I want to hear about it: [email protected].

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9:00 — Boston's July 4th procession leaves City Hall at 9 a.m. The route includes laying wreaths at Granary Burial Ground and reading the Declaration of Independence at the Old State House.....City Hall Plaza, 1 City Hall Square

9:00 — Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll gives remarks at Salem’s Annual Reading of the Declaration of Independence.....Salem Common, N Washington Square, Salem

7:00 — Gov. Maura Healey attends the Boston Pops annual "Fireworks Spectacular" event. Guest artists for the concert include LeAnn Rimes, Leslie Odom Jr. and Bell Biv DeVoe. The concert begins at 7 p.m., and the Mugar Family Fireworks will start around 9:40 p.m. ......DCR Hatch Shell

7:00.....Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll gives remarks at Salem Celebrates the 4th.....Custom House, Derby Wharf, Salem

Once again, the state seeks to redevelop a massive complex in Boston’s old West End — this time, into housing (Jon Chesto)

Maura Healey: Trump administration won’t release $108 million meant for Mass. schools (Herald)

Recount shows Lisa Field held lead in Taunton and Easton state rep race — by 15 votes (State House News Service)

Worcester man arrested, accused of throwing dynamite from his window (Channel 7)

Red Sox players visit White House, meet President Donald Trump on off day in DC (Twitter)

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