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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:

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In this edition of 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.

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] calling/writing about several issues. I’d like Sen. [NAME] to:

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:

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

National

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

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


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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.
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