24 weeks to Midterm Elections
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 3: Oppose state legislation that targets LGBTQ+ youth.
- Action 5: Oppose physical and mental abuse of Black asylum seekers.
- Ask your senators to fund the new Office of Environmental Justice to hold polluters accountable and advance equitable investments.
In this edition of the AoC Checklist:
- Senate actions: What we’re contacting our senators about.
- House actions: What we’re contacting our House reps about.
- Action 1: Request an absentee ballot if you are a U.S. citizen living abroad.
- Action 2: Advocate for accessible hand-marked paper ballots.
- Action 3: Oppose legislation that targets LGBTQ+ youth.
- Action 4: Advocate with farmworkers for an end to H2A violations.
- Action 5: Oppose physical and mental abuse of Black asylum seekers.
- Action 6: Support aspiring Americans on their journey to the Capitol.
- Action 7: Call for TPS designation for all eligible countries.
- Action 8: Advocate against a white supremacist and anti-immigrant program.
- Say Thanks: Acts of Gratitude
- Check out Good News from around the nation
- How you can support and share the AoC Checklist
Contact your senators
Check the box if you made contact–whether for one issue or all–so we can count your action. Contacting your senators’ staffers with multiple concerns is more efficient for both of you. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
Join the 0 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 Sen. [NAME] to:
- Earmark funding for the new Office of Environmental Justice to hold polluters accountable and advance equitable investments. [Source: AoCC]
- Support the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax in the 2023 budget proposal to close major tax loopholes and require wealthy Americans to pay their fair share. [Source: AoCC]
- Support the SHINE for Autumn Act (S. 3972) to prevent stillbirth in the U.S. [Source: MomsRising]
- Support the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act (S. 312) that offers compassionate release to elders who pose no threat to public safety. [Source: The Sentencing Project]
- Support the First Step Implementation Act (S. 1014), which retroactively applies drug sentencing reforms first approved in 2018. [Source: The Sentencing Project]
- Support the Federal Emergency Management Advancement of Equity Act (S. 4159) to end racial and socioeconomic disparities in disaster recovery. [Source: AoCC]
- Support the Protecting Our Democracy Act (S. 2921) to prevent presidential abuses of power and reinforce checks and balances. [Source: Brennan Center]
- Cosponsor the National Security Powers Act (S.2391), a bipartisan bill to restore congressional oversight of military action. [Source: Brennan Center]
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. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
Look up your House representative here.
Join the 0 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:
- Support the Real Courts, Rule of Law Act (H.R. 6577) to increase efficiency and decrease political influence in the immigration process. [Source: AoCC]
- Support the Federal Emergency Management Advancement of Equity Act (H.R. 7668) to end racial and socioeconomic disparities in disaster recovery. [Source: AoCC]
- Support the Billionaire Minimum Income Tax in the 2023 budget proposal to close major tax loopholes and require wealthy Americans to pay their fair share. [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: Request an absentee ballot if you are a U.S. citizen living abroad.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
The 2.9 million eligible American voters living in other countries often do not exercise their right to vote.
If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad: Arrange for your primary and general election mail ballots here.
If not: Share this absentee ballot link with anyone you know currently living abroad.
Action 2: Advocate for accessible hand-marked paper ballots.
Source: Brennan Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Check if your voting district uses hand-marked paper ballots with accommodations for disabled voters here.
If no, call/write: Your state election officials (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m calling from [ZIP] to insist that you implement hand-marked paper ballots, along with accommodations for disabled voters, for this year’s elections. Paper ballots are one of the most important election security measures, but Ballot Marking Devices must also be available for voters who need them. I would like [NAME] to administer all elections on hand-marked paper ballots with accessible BMDs. Thank you.
If yes, donate: to Verified Voting.
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 3: Oppose legislation that targets LGBTQ+ youth.
Source: Human Rights Campaign
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your two state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] because I believe in every person’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness in this country. State legislatures across the nation have taken extreme, discriminatory action to limit the rights of LGBTQ+ youth, leading to increased suicide consideration and attempts. I ask [NAME] to reject any anti-LGBTQ+ legislation introduced in [STATE]. Thank you.
Action 4: Advocate with farmworkers for an end to H2A violations.
Source: United Farm Workers
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: President Biden via the White House contact form.
Script: Hi, I’m contacting you from [STATE] in solidarity with farmworkers and their right to humane working conditions. Workers must be able to assert their rights without fear of retaliation. It is unacceptable that, after participating in the trafficking and exploitation of more than 100 Mexican and Central American people, a conspirator was allowed to continue supervising farmworkers while awaiting trial. I join them in urging you to fix H2A and implement policies that improve worker protections and employer accountability.
Action 5: Oppose physical and mental abuse of Black asylum seekers.
Source: Shut Down Folkston ICE Facility
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Dan Greenwalt, GEO Group Facility Administrator, 3026 Hwy 252 E, Folkston, GA 31537 or at (912) 496-6905 Press 9 and ask the operator to connect you to Dan Greenwalt’s office.
Script: I’m asking Mr Greenwalt to release three Black men at the Folkston ICE Facility: Allen, Garsumo, and a third anonymous man who are being targeted for retaliation. It is unacceptable that their requests to be treated with basic human dignity were targeted for retaliation. All three have reported detailed, horrific accounts of torturous conditions, physical assault, and medical neglect in ICE custody. I join their allies in the call to stop the abuse immediately and release all three gentlemen from solitary confinement.
Action 6: Support aspiring Americans on their journey to the Capitol.
Source: Free Them All VA
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
In a move intended to rattle the president, Governors Abbott (TX) and Ducey (AZ) are transporting volunteer asylum seekers from the southern border to Washington, D.C. The D.C. community is welcoming them. Join humanitarian organizations supporting our new neighbors with basic needs and travel to their final destinations.
Act in solidarity: Donate goods, money, transportation, temporary housing, time, and/or talents through Solidarity with Texas Migrants.
Action 7: Call for TPS designation for all eligible countries.
Source: National Immigration Law Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: President Biden via the White House contact form
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] to express my support for extending Temporary Protected Status to all eligible countries. Over 130,000 aspiring Americans are essential workers who have risked their lives during the pandemic to ensure our nation remains fed and operational. Our neighbors deserve to live without the fear of deportation to dangerous home countries. I’m asking you to designate or redesignate TPS to all eligible countries.
Action 8: Advocate against a white supremacist and anti-immigrant program.
Source: ILRC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Call: The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division at (202) 532-3849 and (202) 307-2222 (call both numbers in case one stops answering).
Script: Hello, I’m calling from [STATE] to express deep concern over the violent, extreme actions enabled by Operation Lone Star. OLS’s white supremacist rhetoric encourages civil rights abuses, as proven when officials chased and shot at a 15-year-old child. The Civil Rights Division must immediately open an investigation into OLS and put an end to this discriminatory program.
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 will not be stored after that date.
Thank Priya Garg and Lindsey Wilson of the U.S. Digital Response for helping election officials run elections efficiently and provide essential information to voters.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 11040 Bollinger Canyon Rd. # E401, San Ramon, CA 94582
Thank Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Bryan Newland for releasing the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report and shedding light on the injustices committed against Indigenous youth at boarding schools.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses:
DH: 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240
BN: MS-4606-MIB, 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240
Good News
As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!
Tribal
- Navajo Police Department receives AMBER Alert toolkits to expedite responses for missing children.
National
- Due to baby formula shortage, President Biden invokes the Defense Production Act to boost production.
- More families are now eligible to access healthcare plans under the ACA.
- With new cases and hospitalizations increasing, the federal government offers a third round of free covid tests. Get yours here.
- Katherine Jean-Pierre becomes the first Black woman and the first openly LGBTQ+ person to serve as White House press secretary.
- Changes in forgiveness programs will help millions of federal student loan borrowers and cancel student debt for 40,000+ people.
- Appellate court rules that the Biden administration can consider the monetary cost of climate damage while developing policy.
- Tens of millions of households are now eligible for free or subsidized internet service under the Affordable Connectivity Program.
State
- CA requires all state-licensed healthcare service plans to cover abortion services without a co-payment, deductible, or any other type of cost-sharing.
- CO: Juneteenth becomes an official state holiday.
- FL: Court orders University of Florida to stop enforcing a policy barring professors from giving expert testimony in lawsuits against the state.
- UT AG Sean Reyes provides a legal framework for librarians and educators to support students’ 1st Amendment rights in the face of book bans and censorship.
Local
- Eligible voters detained in Chicago’s Will County Detention Facility can exercise their voting rights at an on-site polling place.
- Students and teachers within the Philadelphia School District register over 65% of eligible students to vote (and win the Governor’s Civic Engagement Award as a result!).
- The New York Public Library supports the right to read freely by making a selection of commonly banned books available to everyone, with or without a library card, through their free e-reader app.
- Through the Brooklyn Public Library’s Books UnBanned initiative, anyone across the country aged 13-21 can access hundreds of thousands of ebooks, audiobooks, and multiple databases.
- Pennridge, PA students and parents work to keep books about diverse identities and experiences available to young people and their families.
- Brunswick, GA removes a Confederate monument.
Corporate/business
- The Buffalo Bills Foundation and the NFL Foundation donate $400,000 to support local response efforts following the attack against Buffalo’s Black community.
- Bills, Sabres, and Bandits players serve lunch to Jefferson Ave. community members.
- Microsoft and Apple make repair parts and manuals more accessible following stronger FTC enforcement of the “right to repair.”
- TikTok directs the platform’s users toward verified information about the Holocaust from UNESCO and the World Jewish Congress when they search for related content.
- Harvard pledges $100 million to research and atone for its role in slavery.
- Snapchat co-founder Evan Spiegel and Kora founder Miranda Kerr pay off the college debt of Otis College of Art and Design’s Class of 2022.
Groups and organizations
- Physicians for Reproductive Health publish a resource guide for policymakers to talk about abortion in a medically accurate and non-stigmatizing way.
- Employees of Jon Donaire Desserts ratify a new collective bargaining agreement that provides wage increases, improves working conditions, and maintains health insurance benefits.
- Professional disabled musicians form RAMPD, an organization working to amplify disability culture and advocate for accessibility in the music business.
- The National Black Justice Coalition creates a gender justice toolkit to facilitate understanding of how language can prevent gender-based violence.
- Spread The Vote’s Vote By Mail In Jail materials are now available on every person’s tablet within the Indianapolis Marion County Jail.
- Columbia Journalism Review provides a guide for journalists quoting people who have immigrated to the U.S. to maintain those individuals’ anonymity and safety.
- Kenyon College students’ unionization efforts can move forward with a union certification election in spite of the school’s efforts to interfere.
- Kids Impact Community organizes volunteer service opportunities for young children and their families.
News with heart
- HIV vaccine research accelerates 5-10 years thanks to COVID vaccine research.
- May is recognized as Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
- Transgender people share their abortion experiences in the video series Trans Bodies, Trans Choices.
- University of Maryland will temporarily house people from Afghanistan seeking refuge in the U.S.
- Elizabeth Bonker delivers her Rollins College of Liberal Arts Class of 2022 valedictory commencement speech using a text-to-speech program.
- Six Boston-area hospitals begin a multi-year study of long-lasting COVID-19 (“long COVID”) symptoms.
- Security guards at the Baltimore Museum of Art curate their own exhibition.
We need your support
We rely on the kindness and generosity of our subscribers to cover the tools and time it takes to produce a well-researched list of actions twice a month. If you believe in the value of a clear, non-partisan list of actions that expands justice and democracy, please consider supporting our work. Click to learn more.
Housekeeping
- Jen’s message: Read this week’s Inspiring Message.
- Gratitude: Big thanks to our editor Jennifer Brunton, to our team of writers and researchers, and to our happy gnome farm of Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram volunteers. Thanks also to our amazing patrons and donors who make creating the Checklist sustainable.
- Sign up: Get the Americans of Conscience Checklist here.
- Share: Follow us and share the Checklist on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
- Schedule: There’s a new Americans of Conscience Checklist every first and third Friday of each month.