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.
This Week’s Actions
Action 1: Encourage rural, Black Americans to vote in November.
Source: AoCC and SOWEGA Rising
Thank you to the 104 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Black Americans are strategically and deliberately excluded from the voting process through voter suppression tactics like gerrymandering, reducing drop-off boxes, long wait times, and more. Yet, a thriving democracy requires every person to vote. We at AoCC have teamed up with long-time partner, SOWEGA Rising, to launch a postcarding campaign to rural, Black, southwest Georgians.
Our first-ever Peach State Postcard Project, asks AoCC community members to write encouraging notes to our neighbors in Georgia in time for early voting.
Want more information? Apply here!
Action 2: Promote National Poll Worker Recruitment Day (Aug. 1, 2024).
Source: Power the Polls, Fair Elections Center
Thank you to the 35 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
One million poll workers are needed to ensure voters cast their 2024 ballots in a safe and timely manner, yet in 2022, 54.1% of election districts had difficulty finding enough workers. National Poll Worker Recruitment Day is August 1, 2024. All poll workers receive free training, and may receive payment.
Take action: Share Power the Polls on social media, and amplify your local election office’s calls to recruit poll workers.
Action 3: Register 8 million young first-time voters.
Source: The Civics Center
Thank you to the 11 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: High school educators and students returning to school in August/September.
Script: More than 8 million young people who weren’t old enough to vote in 2022 will reach voting age by Election Day in November 2024. You can help these young potential voters build the habit of participating in democracy by promoting High School Voter Registration Week (September 23-27, 2024). Use The Civics Center’s free resources to plan a voter registration drive and encourage young citizens to make their voices heard at the ballot box.
Action 4: Prevent presidential abuse of emergency powers.
Source: Brennan Center
Thank you to the 79 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a constituent from [ZIP] contacting you in support of reforming the Insurrection Act, which currently allows the president unchecked use of the military as a domestic police force. No matter who is in the White House, this antiquated law needs to be modernized, narrowed, and clarified to provide the Commander in Chief emergency flexibility and to codify crucial checks against abuse of power. I’m asking [NAME] to cosponsor and pass S. 4699.
Action 5: Oppose funding cuts to crucial humanitarian programs.
Source: AoCC
Thank you to the 60 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Christopher Coons via his contact form or by mail at
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Lindsey Graham via his contact form or by mail at
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Script: Hi, I’m reaching out from [STATE] to oppose funding cuts included in the House’s 2025 Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. To respond to violent conflict, climate shocks, and discrimination internationally and at home, investments in life-sustaining aid are critical. I join over 60 organizations urging [NAME] to reject H.R. 8771 when it comes to subcommittee, and instead invest in human rights, humanitarian aid, international climate finance, and poverty-focused development assistance.
Action 6: Ensure access to life-saving health care.
Source: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities
Thank you to the 44 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Contact: Your two senators (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] because I’m concerned about the 1.65 million uninsured adults living in states that have failed to expand Medicaid eligibility. With the expiration of pandemic-era provisions, one in four Americans who lost coverage remains uninsured. We must support our neighbors with incomes too high for Medicaid but too low to qualify for aid in purchasing health insurance. I want [NAME] to support the Bridge to Medicaid Act (S. 4684) to ensure all Americans have access to life-saving care.
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 Gov. Josh Green (D–HI) for signing 16 pivotal bills that expand the state’s efforts to preserve its natural resources and foster sustainable tourism practices.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: The Honorable Josh Green, Governor, State of Hawai’i, Executive Chambers, State Capitol, 415 South Beretania St., Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813
Thank you to the 100 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Thank the Women’s Law Project for filing an amicus brief urging SCOTUS to overturn the Dobbs decision that reversed Roe v. Wade’s abortion protections.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: Women’s Law Project Philadelphia, ℅ Tara Murtha, 125 S. 9th St., Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA 19107
Thank you to the 111 Americans of Conscience who completed this action!
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
- The Lakota Sioux tribe celebrates the birth of a rare white buffalo, a symbol of hope, at Yellowstone.
- If officially nominated, Kamala Harris would become the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to run for the nation’s highest office.
- The Biden-Harris administration commits to advancing and protecting sexual and reproductive health and rights nationally and globally.
- The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission finalizes a rule clarifying that the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act covers accommodations related to pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, miscarriage, stillbirth, and abortion.
- The U.S. Agency for International Development allocates $200M to address malnutrition around the world.
- The Biden-Harris administration announces student loan erasure or reduction for 35,000 public servants.
- Voter registrations increase by 700% within 48 hours of President Biden’s announcement on July 21, with 83% of new registrants belonging to the 18-34 age group.
- The Biden-Harris administration announces nearly $220M to support habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects, and promises an additional $66M in future support.
- The Department of Education proposes regulations that will expand college access and affordability for disadvantaged students.
- The DHS extends Temporary Protected Status for Yemen.
- CA’s only Black-led land trust purchases 650 acres bordering the Tahoe National Forest to create equitable outdoor recreation opportunities.
- HI’s governor signs a bill to keep voter rolls up to date.
- IL ensures state ID and drivers license eligibility for people who have resided in the state for at least one year, regardless of immigration status.
- MA’s surtax on the state’s highest earners brings in $1.8B in revenue and is expected to double initial estimates.
- NH’s governor signs a bill mandating accessible voting machines for voters with disabilities during local elections.
- NV’s mail-in ballot program remains unchanged after a federal court rejects a lawsuit claiming that counting ballots received shortly after Election Day is unconstitutional.
- PA mail-in ballots now include a printed four-digit year, eliminating the risk of ballots being rejected due to voters not writing the complete year.
- RI passes a bill to help sexual assault survivors access the state fund that assists with costs related to their experiences.
- 71% of South Carolinians believe the government should not interfere in young transgender people’s gender-affirmative care, according to a Mason Dixon Polling & Strategy poll.
- Utah’s Supreme Court rules that the state legislature violated the state constitution by repealing a voter-approved amendment banning partisan gerrymandering, allowing a lawsuit challenging the state’s congressional districts to move forward.
- WI’s Supreme Court reauthorizes the use of mail ballot drop boxes.
- Unarmed social workers will respond to 911 calls involving non-violent incidents and mental health crises in Cambridge, MA.
- Petaluma, CA: more than 30 chain restaurants and locally owned coffeehouses and eateries band together to reduce single-use plastics.
- The AccessNow app is officially integrated with Google Maps accessibility data, increasing mobility and independence by highlighting accessible entrances to public buildings.
- The Women’s Law Project files an amicus brief urging SCOTUS to overturn the Dobbs decision that reversed Roe v. Wade’s abortion protections.
- Immigration rights groups submit a complaint to the DHS demanding an investigation into the disability rights violations of the CBP One app.
- A group of over 90 people who were incarcerated as juveniles file a lawsuit against the state of Illinois over pervasive abuse by detention center staff.
- Trauma 2 Triumph provides monetary support, resources, and community to physically wounded survivors of violent crime.
- The American Bar Association will recruit pro bono immigration attorneys to reduce a historic backlog of immigration court cases.
- Family medicine and primary care doctors offer abortion care in their practices to make it more accessible to patients, and to challenge stigma.
- Preschool teacher Carissa Fisher donates part of her liver to her five-year-old former student Ezra.
- Natalie Tortolani, 90, earns her long-awaited associate degree.
- 11-year-old Luke invites his classmates to watch as his adoption is finalized.
- Class president Mason Macuch writes personalized notes to all 180 of his fellow graduates.
- When the real-live donkey that inspired “Perry” in Shrek was ailing, volunteers came to his rescue.
- Spencer the golden retriever, an enthusiastic supporter of Boston Marathon runners, is commemorated with a statue in his likeness.
- One of the world’s rarest cats, the Iberian lynx, is no longer endangered.
- Mattel represents the disability community with new Blind Barbie Fashionista and Black Barbie Fashionista with Down Syndrome.
- A woman who lost her vehicle to arson receives a free car from a kind-hearted stranger.
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Thank you for the Good News and Actions for Americans of Conscience. You give me hope.