67 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 3: Advocate for clemency for Johnny Johnson.
- Action 1: Advocate for the disclosure of AI use in campaign ads.
- Action 4a: Demand the closure of an inhumane detention center.
In this edition of the AoC Checklist:
- House actions: What we’re contacting our House reps about.
- Action 1: Advocate for the disclosure of AI use in campaign ads.
- Action 2: Stop the corruption of our nation’s elections.
- Action 3: Advocate for clemency for Johnny Johnson.
- Action 4a: Demand the closure of an inhumane detention center.
- Action 4b: Demand the closure of inhumane detention centers.
- 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 62 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:
- Oppose H.R. 4563, the ACE Act, which would restrict voting rights and reduce transparency of dark-money campaign donors. [Source: Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights]
- Pass H.R. 11, the Freedom to Vote Act, to strengthen voting rights, end partisan gerrymandering, and reduce the influence of dark money on campaigns. [Source: Brennan Center]
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: Advocate for the disclosure of AI use in campaign ads.
Source: AoCC
Join the 115 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] contacting you regarding a rapid increase in ads generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI). They have the potential to mislead voters as the 2024 elections approach. I would like [STATE] to follow the lead of the state of Washington, which recently passed a law with strong bipartisan support strengthening disclosure requirements for AI use in campaign ads. Can I count on you to support similar legislation to protect [STATE]’s voters from AI-generated misinformation? Thank you.
Action 2: Stop the corruption of our nation’s elections.
Source: Brennan Center
Join the 62 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Who to contact: (look up link for federal MoCs).
Script: I’m from [ZIP] asking Sen. [name] to support S. 2344, the Freedom to Vote Act. This bill would strengthen voting rights, end partisan gerrymandering, and reduce the influence of dark money on campaigns. Thank you.
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: Advocate for clemency for Johnny Johnson.
Source: Missourians to Abolish the Death Penalty
Join the 162 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Gov. Mike Parson at 573-751-3222 or via the Missouri governor contact form (Subject: Clemency/Pardon).
Script: Hello, I’m from [STATE] urging Governor Parson to grant clemency to Johnny Johnson, who is scheduled to be executed on August 1st. Mr. Johnson is not competent for execution and does not understand why the state intends to kill him. Please use your executive powers to show mercy and grant Johnny Johnson clemency. Thank you.
Bonus action #1: Sign the MADP petition to protest the violation of Johnny’s Eighth Amendment rights and plead for clemency.
Bonus action #2: Use the toolkit from MADP to amplify the issue.
Action 4a: Demand the closure of an inhumane detention center.
Source: Detention Watch Network (DWN)
Join the 160 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Governor Phil Murphy via the State of New Jersey contact form (Topic: Corrections; Subject: Elizabeth Detention Center).
Script: Hello, I’m a resident of [STATE] urging you to shut down Elizabeth Detention Center due to its decades-long history of abuse and neglect. Gov. Murphy signed a law (A5207) prohibiting local and state contracts with ICE, and the existing contract for Elizabeth Detention Center expires in August. I urge Gov. Murphy to protect human rights in New Jersey by not renewing the contract and shutting down Elizabeth Detention Center for good. Thanks.
Action 4b: Demand the closure of inhumane detention centers.
Source: Detention Watch Network (DWN)
Join the 128 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 a resident of [STATE] urging you to shut down New Jersey’s Elizabeth Detention Center due to its ongoing history of abuse and neglect. For decades, this facility has been mired in a culture of secrecy and dehumanization, with a pattern of inhumane conditions and appalling deaths. I join immigration advocates in urging you to shut down the Elizabeth Detention Center immediately, along with all detention centers, and end private detention contracts for good.
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 Rep. Ted Lieu (D–CA) and Sens. Patty Murray (D–WA) and Cory Booker (D–NJ) for introducing the Therapeutic Fraud Prevention Act, which would make so-called “conversion therapy” illegal and end cruel efforts to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use these addresses:
TL: 2454 Rayburn HOB, Washington, DC 20515
PM: 154 Russell SOB, Washington, DC 20510
CB: 717 Hart SOB, Washington, DC 20510
Thank Education Secretary Miguel Cardona for supporting students’ access to reading materials by addressing book bans targeting LGBTQ+-themed content in schools and libraries.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: U.S. Dept. of Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW, Washington, DC 20202
Thank PA state Rep. Arvind Venkat (D) for introducing legislation that would provide medical debt relief to Pennsylvanians.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 101B East Wing, P.O. Box 202030, Harrisburg, PA 17120
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
- President Biden issues an executive order to make contraception more accessible and affordable.
- The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act provides workplace accommodations to pregnant people.
- The Biden-Harris administration allocates $40B to increase high-speed internet access for communities across the U.S.
Indigenous Nations
- Navajo Technical University offers a Ph.D. in Diné Culture and Language Sustainability, becoming the first tribal university to offer a doctoral program.
National
- The Biden-Harris administration launches a $5B program to accelerate the development of new COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
- The FDA approves the first ever over-the-counter birth control pill available in the U.S.
- The Dept. of Health and Human Services offers measures to help maintain coverage for Medicaid and CHIP recipients as states resume renewal processes for those programs.
- The FDA approves treatments for Friedreich’s Ataxia, ALS, Generalized Myasthenia Gravis, and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
- The CDC updates their guidance for safe indoor air ventilation.
- Civil rights attorney Nancy Abudu is confirmed by the Senate to serve on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, becoming the first Black woman to serve there.
- Former public defender Judge Margaret Guzman is confirmed by the Senate to serve on the U.S. District Court in MA, making history as the first Hispanic federal judge for that state.
State
- AK, MD, PA, and UT make state jobs more accessible by dropping college degree requirements for applicants.
- AR: Federal judge permanently blocks the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors.
- CA: A record number of women currently serve in the state legislature.
- CO passes a bill to prevent police from lying to minors during interrogations.
- FL: Court strikes down a statute that banned state Medicaid payments for gender-affirming healthcare.
- IL provides air filters in classrooms to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other airborne respiratory illnesses.
- IN: A federal court halts enforcement of a ban on gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors, finding that the law likely violates guarantees of equal protection.
- MD affirms abortion rights and protects access to gender-affirming care.
- MN bans so-called “conversion therapy,” protects access to abortion, and protects access to gender-affirming healthcare.
- NC’s DMV removes 27 LGBTQ+-related terms from their Do Not Issue list for vanity license plates.
- NH passes the Marital Freedom Act, codifying protections for interracial marriage into law.
- NM’s Health Dept. conducts wellness checks on every person with disabilities receiving services through a state waiver program after instances of abuse came to light.
- NY provides legal protection to healthcare providers who prescribe abortion medication to patients who live in states with restricted access.
- NY protects access to gender-affirming healthcare for transgender minors and bars courts from enforcing the gender care-restricting laws of other states.
- NY extends Medicaid and CHIP coverage for a full year following pregnancy.
- NY’s attorney general’s office proposes rules to protect consumers and small businesses from price gouging.
- RI’s Dept. of Ed. invests $322K across 10 school districts to support multilingual learners.
- SC: Court temporarily halts the state’s restrictive abortion law.
- SD expands Medicaid coverage to over 52,000 state residents.
- TX’s attorney general is impeached by the state House on grounds of corruption.
- UT court delays implementing a statewide ban on abortion clinics.
- WA passes legislation to ensure residents’ and visitors’ bodily autonomy and privacy in the realms of reproductive freedom and gender identity.
Local
- San Mateo County, CA ends cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
- San Diego opens a shelter for unhoused LGBTQ+ youth run by the local LGBT Community Center.
- Mayor Eric Adams signs an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care in New York City and protecting those seeking or providing such care who travel from a state that restricts access.
- Yemi Mobolade serves as mayor of Colorado Springs, CO, becoming the city’s first elected Black mayor.
- Yusef Salaam, one of the exonerated Central Park Five, is elected to serve on the New York City Council.
- The Providence, RI City Council passes a resolution to stop the collection of parking meter fees near the State House when the General Assembly is in session.
Groups and organizations
- Throughout July, Turner Classic Movies airs films exploring the experiences of people with disabilities.
- A drag event to benefit the Kaleidoscope Youth Center raises $60,000 over their fundraising goal following unexpected national attention.
- Civil rights organizations file a complaint against Harvard on grounds that the school’s legacy admissions system violates the Civil Rights Act.
- After being arrested while lawfully protesting in favor of abortion rights, Avalon Hardy files a lawsuit against the ID State Police for violating her civil and 1st Amendment Rights.
- Doctors in training at Mass General Brigham hospital vote to unionize.
- The Zinn Education Project sends free books censored by state legislatures to educators.
- The Media Education Lab at the University of RI launches the Courageous RI initiative to counter disinformation, improve media literacy, and prevent rising extremism.
- National Women’s Soccer League team the Orlando Pride updates their uniforms to accommodate athletes’ comfort during their periods.
- The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers drafts minimum air filtration requirements to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and other viruses.
News with heart
- Nery Ortega Lima, Lilian Yanes, and their three children reunite in the U.S. after being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018.
- Ryan Redington (Inupiat) wins the Iditarod 50 years after his grandfather Joe Redington Sr. co-founded the race.
- Transgender actress and activist Shakina co-writes and directs an episode of Quantum Leap featuring the story of a young trans basketball player.
- Alex Newell (Shucked) and J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot) share the history-making honor of being the first nonbinary people to win Tony awards in performance categories.
- The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence ultimately do celebrate with the LA Dodgers and the local LGBTQ+ community at the team’s annual Pride Night celebration.
- After being laid off during the COVID-19 lockdown, construction worker Liam Mchale-Smith becomes a millionaire through designing, constructing, and selling radiator covers.
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