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37 weeks to Midterm Elections

If you only have 10 minutes, take our top three suggested actions:

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In this edition of the AoC Checklist:

Contact your senators

Check the box if you made contact–for one issue or all–so we can count your action.

Look up your senators here.

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP], asking [NAME] to support an efficient and accessible postal system by passing H.R. 3076 when it comes to the Senate floor. [Source: AoCC]

I value demo­­­­cracy

With respect and collaboration, we work to create a nation that welcomes all people, expands freedoms, and upholds the Constitution. Each citizen must be able to freely and fairly elect those who represent their values.

Action 1: Keep your state’s election administration nonpartisan.

Source: Voting Rights Lab

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

If you live in AK, AZ, GA, IA, IN, SD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NH, PA, SC, TN, VA, WA, or WI: Contact your state legislators (look up).

  1. Find the pending bill(s) in your state in this legislation tracker
  2. Urge your state legislators to vote NO on the bill(s).

Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] and concerned that [BILL NUMBER(s) FROM TRACKER] attempt to subvert free and fair elections in [STATE] by increasing partisan power over the election process. Can I count on [NAME] to keep our election administration safe from partisan influence and vote NO on this legislation? Thank you.

If you live in any other state: Become an election protection volunteer (you can do this from home).


Action 2: Find out if your county’s elections could be affected by paper shortages.

Source: Americans of Conscience

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Contact: Your county or local election officials (look up).

Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] concerned about supply chain issues affecting the availability of paper for voter registration forms, informational mailings, ballots, and envelopes. With primaries and midterms approaching, how prepared is your office to have all paper materials needed to run elections? 

If prepared, express thanks. 

If uncertain, encourage them to order and print materials early. Request they make a public announcement regarding their plans to resolve the voting-related paper supply issue.


Action 3: Encourage high school students to register and vote.

Source: The Civics Center

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Reach new voters by sharing The Civics Center’s voter registration tool with teens, schools, and school boards.

Fewer than 20% of high schoolers who will turn 18 by the 2022 Midterm elections are currently registered to vote. Research shows that providing young people with the specific information they need to register can increase their participation in elections.

I value equality

Support the dignity of your rainbow of neighbors from every religion, race, ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, economic status, age, and ability.

Action 4: Support equitable higher education through strategic debt forgiveness.

Source: MomsRising

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Contact: President Biden at (202) 456-1111 or via the White House contact form.

Script: I’m contacting you from [STATE] about our nation’s student debt crisis. Over 44 million Americans carry more than $1.7 trillion of student debt. The burden of debt falls heaviest on communities of color—particularly Black women due to the race-restricted accumulation of generational wealth in the U.S. I’m asking you to cancel $50,000 in student debt per borrower to help close this racial wealth gap and secure financial stability and economic mobility for millions.


Action 5: Advocate for prison reform from the top down.

Source: The Sentencing Project

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Contact: Attorney General Merrick Garland
Via this contact form or write The Honorable Merrick Garland, Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530.

Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] asking you to commit to hiring a new Bureau of Prisons Director from outside the prison system and furthering the Bureau’s mission of rehabilitation. The federal prison population is 600% higher than it was in 1980, with costs absorbed by taxpayers. New leadership must increase compassionate release, improve conditions of confinement, ensure compliance with the First Step Act, and create a culture of transparency and accountability. Thank you.

Action 6: End unconstitutional border policies.

Source: Human Rights First, Witness at the Border

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Contact: President Biden at (202) 456-1111 or via the White House contact form.

Script: I’m a constituent from [STATE] who opposes the inhumane treatment of Haitian refugees. The U.S. continues to violate its own asylum law by denying due process to those turning to us for protection. I am joining community leaders, human rights organizations, and members of Congress in calling for an end to deportations and to Title 42.

Action 7: Advocate for protecting a corruption whistleblower.

Source: RAICES

Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!

Jacob is a former police officer who fled his home country after government officials there threatened his life for speaking out against corruption. ICE is particularly hostile toward Black asylum seekers, separating Jacob from his family and detaining him without bail.

Sign: The RAICES petition urging ICE to release Jacob while his appeal moves forward in court.

Acts of Grati­­­­tude

Signatures to the forms below will be printed with a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience, and mailed to the recipient 2 weeks after the Checklist publication date. Your information is not stored after that date.

Thank AZ state senators Rosanna Gabaldón (D), Sally Ann Gonzales (D), Tyler Pace (R), and Raquel Teran (D) for voting to uphold access to gender-affirming treatment for transgender and nonbinary minors.

If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses at 1700 W Washington St., Phoenix, AZ 85007

RG: Capitol Complex Room 303B

SAG: Capitol Complex Room 314

TP: Capitol Complex Room 303

RT: Capitol Complex Room 315


Good News

As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!

Tribal

  • The Rosebud Sioux Tribe’s recent treaty rights victory will not be appealed by the Biden administration.
  • The Snoqualmie Tribe regains control of 12,000 acres of their ancestral forest land.

National

State

Local

Corporate/business

  • Author Cheryl Day honors the legacy of Black bakers during Black History Month by featuring their recipes on King Arthur’s website.
  • An Adidas bra ad counters stigmas and promotes body positivity in a diverse photo of 25 people’s chests.

Groups and organizations

News with heart

  • Maus, Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel about the holocaust, reaches Amazon’s top 20 book sales after being banned by a TN school board.
  • Comic book store owner Ryan Higgins ships free copies of Maus to anyone who asks within the McMinn County, TN school district.
  • Brandon Jackson, in prison for 25 years despite his non-unanimous conviction being unconstitutional, leaves prison on parole to live in the community.
  • Olympian Erin Jackson wins the gold medal in speed skating at the Beijing Games, becoming the first Black woman to win a gold medal in the event.
  • Jeopardy! champion Amy Schneider, who won $1,382,800 in a 40-game winning streak, shares her gratitude for her trans forebears and contemporaries in an essay reflecting on her experience.
  • 8th-grader Joslyn Diffenbaugh creates a book club for local teens to read and discuss books about race, gender, and sexuality in the face of increasing censorship.
  • An Afghan family seeking refuge in the U.S. finds assistance from Eric Chirolla and his scout troop as well as Lutheran Services.
  • Philadelphia Eagles player Anthony Harris escorts his 11-year-old fan Audrey Soape, who recently lost her father and grandfather, to her father-daughter dance.
  • Dana Boone, an Orlando third-grader, creates a Periodic Table of Black History for Black History Month.
  • More than half of the television shows nominated across three GLAAD Media Awards categories feature transgender or nonbinary characters.
  • University of Alabama renames a campus building after Autherine Lucy Foster, the first Black student to attend the university, and removes the name of a former KKK leader.
  • HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) are featured on an eight-episode CW show March, giving the world a glimpse into band culture.
  • European court orders countries to respond to a lawsuit from young climate activists, upholding the progress of a landmark climate case that could hold governments accountable for unhelpful or dangerous environmental policies.

To Support the Checklist

The AoC Checklist helps you speak up for a thriving democracy, thriving people, and a thriving planet. It is always ad-free and no-cost. Consider supporting our work during this important year.


Housekeeping

  • Gratitude: Our team pitched in to cover unexpected illness and loss this week. Big thanks the whole team, and to Julia, Wendy, Jennifer, Sam, and Bethany for going the extra mile. Thanks also to our amazing patrons and donors who make this Checklist possible.
  • Schedule: There’s a new Americans of Conscience Checklist every first and third Friday of each month.
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