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By Marilyn Odendahl
The Indiana Citizen
September 20, 2024

Celebrating its 50^th anniversary, Common Cause Indiana gathered with friends and supporters on Thursday evening to reminisce about past battles, acknowledge their work is not finished and, of course, have a piece of cake.

“When John Gardner started this organization, he said, ‘Everybody’s organized but the people,’” Julia Vaughn, executive director of Common Cause Indiana, said of the founder of Common Cause. “I’ve always kept that as my rallying cry and I’m so proud of everybody who has supported us over the years and really kept us in these fights.”

In contrast to some of the high-profile brawls Common Cause Indiana has engaged in, its anniversary party was a low-key affair. People quietly conversed and enjoyed light refreshments of coffee, cold water, lemonade and cookies in a brightly lit basement room at Christ Church Cathedral on Monument Circle in Indianapolis. The guests were encouraged to take some swag from a table loaded with Common Cause T-shirts, buttons, water bottles and signs.

During the evening’s program, early supporters of the organization and board members were recognized. Greg Shufeldt, associate professor of political science at the University of Indianapolis, presented his research that examined voters’ attitudes towards electing a female president. He and his research partners found that despite the current Congress being the most gender diverse in history – 25% of the senators and 29% of the representatives are women – voters are still hesitant to nominate a woman for president.

Declaring, “We don’t want any crying tonight,” Vaughn became tearful a few times during her remarks as she thanked the individuals who had supported her and Common Cause Indiana. She concluded her short talk by returning to her advocacy roots and recruiting volunteers for Common Cause’s Election Protection Project.

Vaughn will mark 30 years with Common Cause Indiana in November. She told the group she was working full time as an organizer at the Citizens Action Coalition in the mid-1990s, but she accepted a part-time position with Common Cause Indiana because the “whopping salary” of $5,000 would help her put a down payment on a house.

Although Vaughn has been the only paid staff, she announced at the anniversary party that she will be getting some colleagues soon. Common Cause Indiana has received a grant from the Glick Foundation, Vaughn said, which will enable the organization to hire temporarily a staff member to help with the Election Protection Project during the November election. Then, once the election is over, the nonprofit is going to bring on an organizer permanently.

Vaughn is excited to get the extra help, saying “The list of ‘to do’s’ here in Indiana is very, very long.”

Common Cause Indiana has focused on ensuring Hoosiers have a voice in government. The nonprofit concentrates its efforts on expanding voting rights in the state, regularly testifying before state legislative committees and providing assistance to any voters who encounter problems casting their ballots on Election Day. Also, the organization is working to end gerrymandering, most recently in 2021 by encouraging Hoosiers to draw and submit their own legislative maps and talk to their legislators about their redistricting concerns.

An early battle was getting Indiana to implement the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, dubbed the “Motor Voter Act” because it allowed citizens to register to vote while they were applying for or renewing their driver’s licenses. Vaughn remembered legislators were resisting the NVRA, saying they wanted the state to control the registration process, but under federal court order, Indiana reluctantly gave in two years after Congress passed the law.

Vaughn noted the only state that waited longer than Indiana to implement the law was Mississippi.

A December 1995 report from the Indiana Election Commission highlighted the convenience the NVRA provided to Hoosiers. Nearly 25,000 Hoosiers registered to vote that year and the total number of registered voters in Indiana rose from 2.98 million in 1994 to 3.13 million in 1995, according to the commission’s report.

Other achievements of Common Cause Indiana include leading the effort to webcast the activities of the Indiana General Assembly. Hoosiers can now watch legislative committee hearings and floor debates from wherever they have an internet connection.

However, as Vaughn noted, “We’ve had much of our significant success, not in the legislature, but in the court.”

In particular, Common Cause Indiana was a plaintiff in successfully challenging a state law first enacted in 2017 that would have allowed the state to purge its voter registration rolls without first attempting to notify those voters whose names were in danger of being removed.

Also, Common Cause sued Marion County in 2017 because the county’s election board resisted opening satellite voting offices for early voting. Data shows the impact of Common Cause’s win boosting the county’s in-person absentee voting from 9% in 2014 to 24% in 2018, according to a report by Indianapolis attorney William Groth.

Vaughn said she was most proud of the satellite voting victory because it provided a tangible result. Stopping the state from illegally purging the voter rolls is important, she said, but voters cannot really see the positive outcome.  After the win in the satellite lawsuit, Vaughn said the plaintiffs held a party outside one of the voting locations in Washington Township and voters were coming over to thank them.

Looking to the future, Common Cause Indiana is still fighting for redistricting reform, but has shifted its focus from the legislature to local communities. Vaughn said the organization has convinced Monroe County and the cities of Goshen and Bloomington to create citizen redistricting commissions.

In addition, Common Cause Indiana is continuing to research the impact of House Enrolled Act 1334, passed in 2023, which requires Hoosiers to put their voter identification number on their application for an absentee ballot, Vaughn said. The problem, she said, is that voters have three potential ID numbers and putting the wrong one on their application could prevent them from voting.

Common Cause Indiana is also watching for the impact of HEA 1264, which was passed in 2024 but does not take full effect until July 2025. Vaughn said the law “does a number of bad things,” including targeting new citizens by potentially blocking them from voting unless they prove their citizenship status.

After Vaughn finished speaking, the sheet cake decorated with blue icing was cut and the people resumed their conversations before dispersing. Vaughn was the last to leave the celebration, carrying a bulging tote bag and a piece of cake wrapped in cellophane.

Dwight Adams, an editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He has been a content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and a planner for other papers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.

The Indiana Citizen is a nonpartisan, nonprofit platform dedicated to increasing the number of informed and engaged Hoosier citizens. We are operated by the Indiana Citizen Education Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity. For questions about the story, contact Marilyn Odendahl at marilyn.odendahl@indianacitizen.org.