WASHINGTON - December 20 - Common Cause applauds Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and other Senators for blocking the unwise nomination of Hans von Spakovsky to the Federal Election Commission.

Common Cause had urged the Senate to reject this inappropriate nominee for a seat on the Federal Election Commission, due to his record of extreme partisanship and known efforts around voter suppression. Common Cause president Bob Edgar said, “Hans von Spakovsky, both in his current role as an FEC commissioner and in his former job at the Department of Justice, has demonstrated contempt for the rule of law and acted in an extreme partisan manner during his time in government.”

The nomination of von Spakovsky came to a deserved end because of the efforts of a coalition of civil rights and campaign finance reform organizations who believed his activities in previous government positions disqualified him from a position so important to upholding the campaign finance laws important to our democracy.

Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI), Barack Obama (D-IL) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) were stalwart opponents of this unfortunate nominee, ensuring that the Senate did not act hastily to approve von Spakovsky.

Common Cause calls on President Bush and the Republican congressional leaders to work to nominate and approve an appointee to the FEC who will vow to respect and uphold our nation’s campaign finance laws. It is critical that the President and the Senate work together to ensure that the FEC has a full complement of commissioners as soon as the Senate reconvenes in January so the commission can carry out it's important responsibilities during the upcoming election year.

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