72 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 5: Advocate for pregnant people’s access to accurate health information.
- House Action: Oppose H.R. 1399, the so-called Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would deprive children of critical gender-affirming care.
- Action 3: Protect election infrastructure from insider threats.
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: Ensure the accuracy of your state’s voter rolls.
- Action 2: Empower student voter participation.
- Action 3: Protect election infrastructure from insider threats.
- Action 4: Hold federal agencies accountable for safeguarding voting rights.
- Action 5: Advocate for pregnant people’s access to accurate health information.
- 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.
Join the 65 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:
- Support S. 1753, a bill to amend the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, to end the ban on SNAP benefits for people with drug convictions who have served their sentence. [Source: The Sentencing Project]
- Support S. 255, the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, to empower people seeking asylum to support their families and communities as soon as possible. [Source: Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project]
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 96 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 H. R. 3479, the RESTORE Act, to end the ban on SNAP benefits for people with drug convictions who have served their sentence. [Source: The Sentencing Project]
- Oppose H.R. 1399, the so-called Protect Children’s Innocence Act, which would deprive children of critical gender-affirming care. [Source: ACLU]
- Support H.R. 1325, the Asylum Seeker Work Authorization Act, to empower people seeking asylum to support their families and communities as soon as possible. [Source: Florence Immigrant & Refugee Rights Project]
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: Ensure the accuracy of your state’s voter rolls.
Source: AoCC
Join the 50 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
If you live in AL, AR, CA, FL, HI, IA, ID, IN, KS, LA, MO, MS, MT, NC, ND, NE, NH, NY, OH, OK, SD, TN, VA, WV or WY, your state does not participate in ERIC. Contact your state legislators (look up) and your state’s Secretary of State or other chief election official (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] asking you to join the Electronic Registration Information Center. ERIC is a nonprofit, bipartisan consortium that is the most accurate source of lists of voters who have moved or died, enabling state election officials to maintain accurate voter rolls. [STATE]’s participation in ERIC is crucial to the integrity of future elections, not only in our state, but across the nation. Thank you.
If you live in AK, AZ, CO, CT, DE, GA, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NJ, NM, NV, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, UT, VT, WA, WI or DC, your state participates in ERIC. Contact your Secretary of State or other chief election official (look up) to thank them for participating in ERIC and encourage them to continue participation.
Action 2: Empower student voter participation.
Source: Students Learn Students Vote Coalition
Join the 8 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your local colleges or universities.
Script: Hi, I’m asking you to partner with the nonpartisan nonprofit Students Learn Students Vote Coalition to promote National Voter Education Week, which will be held Oct. 2-6, 2023. NVEW provides free educational resources to all partner organizations, and it takes less than 10 minutes to sign up. Thank you for supporting student voters.
Action 3: Protect election infrastructure from insider threats.
Source: Brennan Center
Join the 59 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] urging you to follow these these recommendations by the Brennan Center to prevent threats to the integrity of future elections:
- Limit access to critical election infrastructure to officials and others needed to ensure that those systems function.
- Bar anyone who violates election laws from administering elections.
- Decommission outdated, unsecure voting equipment.
- Use voting machines for initial ballot counts, followed by bipartisan hand-count audits.
Thank you.
Action 4: Hold federal agencies accountable for safeguarding voting rights.
Source: Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Brennan Center
Join the 84 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: President Biden and Vice President Harris via the White House contact form or by phone at 202-456-1111.
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [STATE] who applauds the Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting issued in March 2021. Yet more than two years later, multiple federal agencies are still falling short of implementing it. I urge the Biden-Harris administration to hold these agencies accountable by following the recommendations of over 100 civil rights organizations to fully implement the Voting Access EO. Thank you for safeguarding and strengthening the right to vote.
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 5: Advocate for pregnant people’s access to accurate health information.
Source: Rogan’s List
Join the 192 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: The Center for Disease Control using the CDC contact form.
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [STATE] to ask that you stop validating so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” within the National Prevention Information Network database. These centers present those seeking pregnancy counseling with false or misleading information in order to discourage abortions. Please take immediate action to remove CPCs from the NPIN database to better support informed public health and reproductive rights.
Acts of Gratitude
We believe in gratitude as a tool for change. We will print a letter of thanks from Americans of Conscience with your signature and mail it to the recipient. Your information will be removed from this website no later than four weeks after the Checklist’s publication date.
Thank NY Attorney General Letitia James (D) for upholding the safety of abortion patients and healthcare personnel by filing a lawsuit against an anti-abortion group that poses safety risks.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Office of the NY State AG, The Capitol, Albany NY 12224
Thank Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) for introducing the Afghan Allies Protection Act, which would increase available visas through the Afghan Special Visa Program and provide longer-term stability for the ASVP.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses:
JS: 506 Hart SOB, Washington, D.C. 20510
RW: 425 Russell SOB, Washington, DC 20510
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
National
- President Joe Biden officially proclaims June to be LGBTQI+ Pride Month.
- The Biden administration announces measures they will take to uphold the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals, including:
- A community safety partnership between the DOJ and HHS to help local LGBTQI+ communities prevent and respond to threats.
- Initiatives to protect the health and safety of LGBTQI+ kids and their families.
- Strengthening mental health resources and launching a new federal initiative to address LGBTQI+ youth homelessness.
- Federal funding to support programs that help parents affirm their LGBTQI+ kids.
- New regulations to protect LGBTQI+ youth in foster care.
- Addressing book bans targeting LGBTQI+-themed content in schools and libraries.
- SCOTUS upholds a lower court ruling preserving Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
- The previous president’s mishandling of classified documents and other offenses will be investigated in court.
- The Biden-Harris administration develops a Renters Bill of Rights to protect renters from abusive housing practices.
- President Biden vetoes a bill blocking the administration’s plan to provide up to $20,000 in student debt relief for borrowers.
- Vice President Harris delivers West Point’s 2023 commencement speech, becoming the first woman ever to do so.
- As of January ’23, military members can take up to 12 weeks of parental leave, and the VA will pay for all veterans’ emergency mental health care.
- The FDA approves the first over-the-counter naloxone nasal spray, used to prevent opioid overdoses.
- Medicare Part D will cover treatments for Alzheimer’s disease that receive FDA approval.
- In cooperation with global partners, the FBI shuts down a prolific ransomware group.
- The State Dept. swaps the Times New Roman font for the more accessible Calibri in all of their formal communications.
- Grocery inflation as well as overall inflation begin to decrease.
State
- CO launches an alert system to help find missing Indigenous people.
- FL: A federal court temporarily halts enforcement of the state’s ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender children.
- MN: Hourly school workers can apply for unemployment insurance during summer break.
- MO: A bill that would have increased the threshold for passing ballot initiatives fails to pass the legislature.
- NE caps monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 starting in January 2024.
- NV passes a law protecting out-of-state abortion patients and those providing related reproductive care from prosecution in NV.
- NY Attorney General Letitia James files a federal lawsuit against an anti-abortion group whose members have been arrested for trespassing and blocking access to clinics.
- NY implements the Warehouse Worker Protection Act, ensuring meal breaks, bathroom breaks, and productivity quota transparency for warehouse employees.
- NY: Seth Marin is appointed as a judge to the NY State Court of Claims, becoming the first openly transgender judge in the state, and the first trans man in the history of the U.S. to serve as a judge.
- TN: A federal court strikes down a state ban on drag, finding that the ban violated drag artists’ rights under the 1st Amendment.
Corporate/business
- Telehealth abortion provider Hey Jane launches in VA, increasing access to abortion care there and in surrounding states with restrictive access.
- Norfolk Southern becomes the first major North American freight railroad to provide paid sick time to all of their workers.
- MN-based health system Alina Health will stop withholding care from patients with outstanding medical debt.
- Two Colorado Springs hospitals waive out-of-pocket costs for patients who were taken there following the Club Q shooting.
- The Sims 4 adds new trans-inclusive and disability-inclusive customization options for player avatars.
Groups and organizations
- The nonprofit Missouri Family Health Council launches a pilot program to provide free emergency contraception by mail.
- Two major conventions cancel events in Orlando, FL due to state laws that violate the rights of LGBTQ+ people.
- Blue Bird Corp. school bus manufacturers vote to be represented by the United Steelworkers union.
- The National Labor Relations Board dismisses a petition to disband a Starbucks Workers United labor union.
News with heart
- The ozone layer is healing.
- 9-year-old Kayden Hern shares his work as New York state poet laureate.
- Sarah Hughes rocks a beautiful, custom-made prosthetic arm at her wedding.
- U.S. residents of diverse national origin contribute about 36% of innovation in America, according to analysis from the National Bureau of Economic Research.
- Researchers at the University of Houston develop a vaccine that could be used to prevent deaths from fentanyl.
- Financial counseling at pediatricians’ offices improves children’s and family’s health outcomes.
- Expanded access to food benefits results in decreased rates of child neglect and abuse.
- U.S. murder rates fall for five straight months.
- Young music artists explore creativity and STEM concepts at Willie Mae Rock Camp.
- Boston’s Comfort Kitchen serves a multicultural menu and celebrates immigrant stories, including those of owners Kwasi Kwaa and Biplaw Rai.
- June is Immigrant Heritage Month, an opportunity to celebrate and honor people seeking refuge and all others who have immigrated to the U.S.
- June 20th marks World Refugee Day, honoring the strength and courage of people who have been forced to leave their home countries due to conflict or persecution.
- Edgars Rinkevics is elected president of Latvia, becoming the first openly gay head of state in Europe.
Need inspiration?
- Read this week’s inspiring message from guest writer Samantha Watier: (un)remarkable bodily autonomy
- U.S. politics from a 17 year old’s perspective
- Four Perks of Doing Something
Support the Checklist
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I love reading your newsletter! So positive & hopeful which is in short these days. THANK YOU!!!