87 weeks to the presidential election
The AoC Checklist features clear, well-researched actions for Americans who value democracy, equality, voting, and decency. We are a big tent for all people who want a kinder, flourishing nation.
If you only have 10 minutes, take our top three suggested actions:
- Action 1: Support self-governance for Washington, DC.
- Action 5: Oppose a proposal for restrictive new asylum policies by March 27.
- Action 4: Advocate with our neighbors facing hunger.
In this edition of the AoC Checklist:
- House actions: What we’re contacting our House reps about.
- Action 1: Oppose Senate overreach and support self-governance for Washington, DC.
- Action 2: Protect your vote and your voice.
- Action 3: Encourage action to prevent gun violence.
- Action 4: Advocate with our neighbors facing hunger.
- Action 5: Oppose a proposal for restrictive new asylum policies by March 27.
- Say Thanks: Acts of Gratitude
- Check out Good News from around the nation
- How you can support and share the AoC Checklist
Contact your House representative
Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your representative’s staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you.
Look up your House representative here.
Join the 61 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Your script: Hi, I’m from [ZIP] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Rep. [NAME] to:
- Reintroduce the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act (H.R. 350) to address the growing threat that white supremacists and other domestic extremists pose. [Source: ADL]
- Vote yes on the Washington, DC Admission Act (H.R. 51), to add DC as the 51st state. [Sources: Neighbors United for DC Statehood, ACLU of DC]
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: Support self-governance for Washington, DC.
Sources: Neighbors United for DC Statehood, ACLU of DC
Join the 122 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your two senators (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m from [ZIP] and believe the 700,000 residents of Washington, DC deserve the same rights to self-governance and Congressional representation that all other Americans enjoy. Recently-passed laws in DC are now in danger of being struck down by anti-democratic agendas in Congress. I am asking you to vote YES on S. 51, the Washington, DC Admission Act, to add DC as the 51st state. Thank you.
Action 2: Protect your vote and your voice.
Source: When We All Vote
Join the 108 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Confirm that your voter registration is still active and correct, including your current address and the spelling of your name. Voter purges often mistakenly remove eligible voters during the necessary process of updating voter rolls.
Bonus: Text three friends to ask them to do the same.
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. We also support policies that show welcome to aspiring Americans and decency to people seeking refuge.
Action 3: Encourage action to prevent gun violence.
Source: Everytown
Join the 93 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your two senators and one House rep (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] to urge you to close loopholes that allow unlicensed vendors to sell firearms without background checks. Requiring checks on all gun sales has broad support among voters, and blocking sales to people prohibited by law from owning guns helps keep our communities safe. Please take action now to prevent further tragedy from preventable gun violence. Thank you.
Action 4: Advocate with our neighbors facing hunger.
Source: AoCC
Join the 106 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your two senators and one House rep (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] because I’m concerned about the millions of people in the U.S. who will suffer food shortages now that pandemic aid boosting food stamp benefits has ended. I urge you to support the 2023 Farm Bill’s critical anti-hunger programs, including improving SNAP, which has historically helped mitigate hunger and economic hardship for vulnerable people and families. Thank you.
Alternate: Sign the Feeding America petition. (Note: You will be automatically signed up for the Feeding America email distribution list.)
Action 5: Oppose a proposal for restrictive new asylum policies.
Source: AoCC
Join the 68 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
The Biden Administration has introduced a new transit ban that will require people from outside of Mexico seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border to first apply–and be denied–for asylum in another country. The proposed rule is open to public comment for the next 30 days.
Submit a public comment: In your own words via the Federal Register before the comment period closes on March 27 using these talking points. This policy would:
- Deny a fundamental human right the U.S. is constitutionally obligated to uphold, and previously championed at the international level.
- Reinstate prior asylum bans that were deemed illegal.
- Create unnecessary barriers to protection that will put the lives of people seeking asylum at risk.
- Rush the timeline risking that public comments will not be seriously considered before the rule is implemented.
- Be implemented after the end of the current presidential term, which opens the door for its indefinite extension.
- Breaks from President Biden’s campaign promises and threatens to bring back some of the previous president’s most harmful asylum policies.
- Impact you, your loved ones, and/or your community (if true, please describe).
Acts of Gratitude
We believe in gratitude as a tool for change. Consider sending a postcard, tweet, or message to these lawmakers who are working toward a kinder and more thriving nation.
Join the 18 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Thank any of the senators and representatives who signed this letter for advocating to improve the safety of hazardous chemical transportation and protect the public from chemical disasters.
Addresses: Look up here.
Join the 33 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Thank any of the governors who have joined the Reproductive Freedom Alliance (check here), thank them for working to strengthen access to abortion and other reproductive care.
Addresses: Look up here.
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
Progress on issues previously featured in the Checklist
- The Biden administration establishes an inter-agency task force to coordinate government efforts to address antisemitism and other forms of religious bigotry.
- In AZ, federal court denies a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging two voter suppression laws that target voting registration.
- The EPA reinstates environmental rules requiring coal and oil-fired power plants to reduce toxic pollutants.
Indigenous Nations
- The remains of at least 313 Indigenous ancestors from all over the world will be returned to their respective homelands after being held for decades in American museums.
- Ancestral remains and possessions of members of the Oneida Nation are returned to their homelands.
National
- The Dept. of Agriculture rolls out $850 million in funding to help farmers and forest owners implement conservation programs.
- Judge Gina Méndez-Miró is confirmed by the Senate to the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico, becoming the first openly LGBT judge to serve there.
- Eleven individuals face legal consequences for obstructing a reproductive health services facility, violating the FACE Act.
- John Montenegro Cruz will receive a new sentencing hearing after the Supreme Court rules in his favor regarding an illegal death sentence.
- Federal court approves a settlement in a class action lawsuit challenging a 2018 DHS worksite raid at a meat processing plant in TN.
- 21 governors form the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, a coalition to strengthen access to abortion and other reproductive care.
State
- CO: Wheelchair users can hike in Staunton State Park using the park’s all-terrain wheelchairs.
- DE’s Supreme Court makes changes to the bar exam with the aim of increasing racial diversity among the state’s lawyers.
- FL: Federal court partially blocks a state law limiting discussions of racism, sexism, and privilege in schools and workplace trainings.
- IL abolishes life without parole sentences for people convicted of offenses when they were under 21.
- KS court blocks a law that prohibited doctors from providing medication abortion via telemedicine, thus expanding abortion access to underserved areas in the state.
- PA: Joanna McClinton is elected Speaker of the House, becoming the first woman to hold the leadership position.
- TX: Court finds that the state constitution requires proof of injury as grounds to file a suit under the state’s anti-abortion law.
- VA: Jennifer McClellan is elected to the House of Representatives, becoming the first Black woman from VA to serve in Congress.
- WY: A proposed bill banning gender affirming care fails to pass out of committee
Local
- Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey signs an executive order protecting transgender people’s access to gender-affirming care in the city.
- Philadelphia’s City Council passes a package of bills to strengthen reproductive rights and anti-discrimination law.
- The Florence County, SC Election Commission launches a bipartisan initiative to educate voters on the nuts and bolts of how elections work.
- San Benito County, CA voters can observe election processes first hand through the Elections Dept. Ballot Drop Box Ride Along Program.
- The Toledo, OH City Council approves legislation to eliminate medical debt for eligible city residents.
- Two books discussing gender and race will remain on school library shelves in Spruce Mountain, ME.
Corporate/business
- Union Pacific is ordered by the EPA to assess and clean up contamination in Houston’s Greater Fifth Ward neighborhood.
- Nancy Barnes is named editor of The Boston Globe, becoming the first woman to ever serve as the paper’s editor.
Groups and organizations
- Lambda Legal creates a guide to support trans youth and their families in MI.
- The U.S. Committee for Refugee and Immigrants launches their Behavioral Health Support Services Program to support people from Afghanistan with resettling in the U.S.
- Immigration advocacy groups file a lawsuit to require ICE to make immigration bond procedures publicly available on the agency’s website.
- Plan C publishes their Abortion Zine: Self-Managed Abortion Field Guide.
- The Skin of Color Dermatology Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital recognizes the unique skin health needs of people of color.
- Anayvette Martinez and Marylyn Hollinquest found The Radical Monarchs, a group for girls of color to find community, celebrate their identities, and contribute to their communities.
- The National Women’s Law Center & The Womxn Project share a virtual testimony-writing workshop offering guidance on how to submit testimony about a bill to your legislature.
- Over 20,000 New York Times contributors and readers sign an open letter denouncing the paper’s biased and misleading coverage of transgender issues.
- The 10th annual Writers For Hope auction takes place on April 3, with all proceeds benefiting Lambda Legal and the Every Voice Coalition.
News with heart
- Arsh Pal, age 12, raises over $15,000 for children’s charities through sales of his paintings.
- Girl Scout Siena Levin sells out of cookies twice over with an assist from local drag performers and the West Hollywood LGBTQ+ community.
- Colin Denny (Navajo) signs “America the Beautiful” during the Super Bowl pregame show using both American Sign Language and Plains Indian Sign Language.
- Dara Mathis offers a hug to any of her son’s preschool classmates who need one.
- On what would have been his 46th birthday, Matthew Shepard is honored with a new portrait at the Washington National Cathedral.
- Brown University baseball player Olivia Pichardo becomes the first woman to ever be on a Division 1 roster.
- France will require all large parking lots to install solar panels.
- Almond blossoms in CA bloom despite recent atypical weather.
Need inspiration?
- Read this week’s inspiring message from Jen: Something to believe in
- Black History Month: The fight for water justice
- Work worth doing
Support the Checklist
We are grateful to the subscribers who chip in to cover the technology and time required to produce this thoughtful publication. If you’d like to join the generous crew that supports our efforts, consider becoming a patron at $3 a month or a volunteer.
Suggestion for Acts of Gratitude: Many thanks to Nebraska State Senator Machaela Cavanaugh for her efforts to block anti-trans legislation by filibustering during legislative sessions until the Republicans withdraw their anti-trans bill. Seen on the February 28, 2023 Rachel Maddow Show, which includes an interview with Machaela Cavanaugh.
https://www.mediamatters.org/msnbc/msnbc-host-rachel-maddow-praises-nebraska-state-senator-michaela-cavanaughs-efforts-block
Thank you!