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: End CBP’s cruel treatment of children.
Source: The Young Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Note: Some of our subscribers are reporting difficulty reaching the contact below. This is a known and longstanding issue with CPB regarding citizen input.
Contact: Customs and Border Patrol by phone at (877) 227-5511 or via mail: Troy A. Miller
Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Commissioner
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue N.W., MS: 1345
Washington, D.C. 20229
Alternate: Leave a comment on the White House comment line: 202-456-1111
Script: Hi, I’m contacting you from [STATE] in opposition to family separation practices at the southern U.S. border. A recent federal report found that U.S. border agents continue to separate children from their parents, an inhumane practice that our own government has confirmed causes severe psychological trauma. I’m joining others in demanding CBP immediately end this practice and quickly process and release families together.
Action 2: Protect vital funding for Black farmers.
Source: Federation of Southern Cooperatives
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Contact: Your two senators (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] because I’m concerned about the decline in Black farmland ownership due to decades of discrimination. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is often the only available lender for farmers of color, yet the proposed S. Amdt.1098 would amend H.R. 4366 to block lending to programs that include race as an eligibility criterion, preventing FSA funds from reaching those who need them most. Please oppose S. Amdt. 1098 in order to strengthen equitable access to all American farmers.
Action 3: Ban guns from polling places.
Source: Brennan Center
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If you live in AL, AR, CO, CT, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, ME, MA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, UT, VT, WA, WV, WI, WY contact: Your state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] calling to ask you to pass legislation to prohibit firearms, whether concealed or open carry, at or near polling places. Can I count on you to protect [STATE]’s voters and poll workers from gun violence? Thank you.
If you live in AZ, CA, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, LA, MD, NJ, NY, TX, or VA, contact: Your state legislators (look up) and thank them for prohibiting both concealed and open carry at polling places in your state.
Action 4: Protect polling places from the threat of gun violence.
Source: Brennan Center
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Contact: Your state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] and I’m concerned about voter and election worker safety. While voter intimidation is illegal everywhere in the U.S., no state has explicitly acknowledged that the presence of firearms in or around polling places constitutes illegal intimidation. I am asking you to add the presence of firearms to the definition of illegal voter intimidation in our state. Thank you.
Action 5: Reduce the dark election money in state elections.
Source: Brennan Center
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If you live in AL, AK, AR, CA, CO, DE, GA, ID, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, WV, WI, or WY, contact: Your state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] calling to urge you to create a public financing program for [STATE]’s elections. Small-donor financing strengthens the connections between voters and candidates and reduces the influence of foreign and dark money in elections. Can I count on you to support public financing for [STATE]’s elections?
If you live elsewhere, your state already has a public financing program. Donate to the Brennan Center to support advocacy for free and fair elections nationwide.
Action 6: Be ready to vote on November 7, 2023.
Source: Rock the Vote
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Amid all the buzz about the 2024 elections, don’t forget the elections happening on November 7, 2023—only six weeks away. You may be eligible to vote for your state’s governor (KY, LA, MS), state legislators (LA, MS, NJ, VA), statewide ballot measures (CO, LA, ME, NY, OH, OK, TX, WI), or local offices such as mayors, city councils, and school boards (at least 26 states).
Take action:
Register to vote for the first time (make sure you meet your state’s deadline).
Update your address or re-register if you’ve recently moved.
Confirm that your voter registration is still valid.
Action 7: Demand fair and effective sentencing.
Source: The Sentencing Project
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Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] because of the need to reform sentencing in the U.S. federal prison system. The First Step Act of 2018 has demonstrated success in rehabilitation, lowering recidivism, and reducing excessive sentencing while prioritizing community safety.
[For senators] Please build on this success by passing three bipartisan bills: First Step Implementation Act (S. 1251), the Safer Detention Act (S. 1248), and the EQUAL Act (S. 524).
[For House reps] Please pass the EQUAL Act (H.R. 1062) to build on this success.
Action 8: Support permanent citizenship for DACA recipients.
Source: Mi Familia Vota
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Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] because I strongly support a clear pathway to citizenship for Dreamers. DACA recipients live and contribute to the fabric of our societies in countless beneficial ways. I’m calling on [NAME] to support both the Dream Act (S. 365) and American Dream and Promise Act (H.R. 16), to ensure these young residents finally have permanent solutions to reside in the U.S.
Action 9: Protect services that support survivors of violent crime.
Source: National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center
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Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] because I’m concerned about the welfare of survivors of child and elder abuse, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Proposed federal budget cuts to Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grants threaten services to survivors nationwide, especially those serving rural, low-income, and marginalized communities. Please preserve VOCA funding and support people who need access to these critical services.
Action 10: Stop funding political advertisements with secret and non-U.S. sources.
Source: Brennan Center
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your two senators and one House representative (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP] asking [NAME] to pass the bipartisan Honest Ads Act (S. 486/H.R. 2599). This bill would require disclosing who pays for online political ads—as is already required for TV and radio ads—as well as prevent foreign nationals from funding these ads. Can I count on you to vote to reduce the influence of dark money in political campaigns?
Action 11: Bolster public trust in elections.
Source: UCLA School of Law Safeguarding Democracy Project
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Contact: Your state’s secretary of state or other chief election official (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP], concerned about voter confusion and public mistrust of election proceedings. Because one of the candidates currently has four criminal indictments, I am asking you to address the legal challenges this presents well before presidential primary elections begin in early 2024. Additionally, I’m asking for you to issue a decision about whether, under the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment, the former president is qualified to hold office. Thank you.
Action 12: Support commonsense background checks on all gun sales.
Source: Moms Demand Action, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives
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89% of Americans support background checks for all gun purchases, yet legal loopholes enable traffickers and people with histories of violence to buy guns without background checks. A proposed amendment to federal regulations will expand background checks on private sales and gun show purchases. Support this bipartisan rule change by leaving a comment one of three ways:
Leave a unique comment: On Regulations.gov, or Moms Demand Action form (uncheck “sign me up for text messages”), or text CHECKS to 644-33.
Action 13: Eliminate insider threats in election offices.
Source: UCLA School of Law Safeguarding Democracy Project
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Contact: Your county or local election administrator (look up)
Script: Hi, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] to ask you to implement mandatory background checks on contractors, vendors, and staff who have access to voting systems. Since 2020, the U.S. has seen a rise in electoral sabotage from individuals with such access. Can I count on you to take this step to protect our elections from insider threats?
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. Gavin Newsom (D–CA) for ensuring that students in the Temecula school district have access to uncensored textbooks.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 1021 O Street, Suite 9000, Sacramento, CA 95814
Thank President Joe Biden for protecting federal civil service personnel from politically motivated interference in their work and employment.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
- Our longtime ally, Kat Calvin, the founder and Executive Director of Spread the Vote, publishes American Identity in Crisis, a book about the plight of the 26 million Americans without ID.
- Julie Rikelman, the reproductive rights attorney who represented the abortion clinic at the heart of the Dobbs case before the Supreme Court, is confirmed by the Senate to serve as a judge on a federal appellate court.
- SCOTUS declines to hear an appeal challenging the Biden administration’s ban on gender identity-based housing discrimination.
- A federal appeals court upholds sanctions against an attorney involved in illegal efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
- President Biden revokes a rule that left federal employees vulnerable to politically motivated interference in their work and employment.
- The Biden-Harris administration launches a grant competition to fund residential solar programs to lower energy costs and advance environmental justice.
- The USDA makes a $188M investment to conserve forestlands.
- The Interior Dept. allocates nearly $16M towards collaboration with the Native Hawaiian community to prevent the imminent extinction of Hawaiian Forest Birds.
- Everyone over the age of six months is eligible for an updated COVID-19 vaccine this autumn.
- The late Congressman John Lewis features on a new postage stamp.
- CT: Attorney General William Tong appoints two attorneys to serve as special counsels for reproductive rights to represent the state in related cases and develop policy.
- FL: A federal court blocks a provision of a law that would only allow U.S. citizens to collect voter registration forms.
- KY decriminalizes the distribution of HIV self-test kits.
- MI: A court rules that it is illegal for someone to take possession of a voting machine without the permission of the Secretary of State, laying the groundwork for potential charges in a related case.
- PA court expands voting access by rejecting a lawsuit that would have eliminated no-excuse mail-in voting.
- The Williamson County, TN school board upholds students’ access to diverse reading materials by voting to keep five challenged books on the shelves.
- Olivia Hill is elected to Nashville’s Metro Council, becoming the first openly transgender person elected to public office in TN history.
- 3M must pay a $10.3B settlement to cities and towns whose drinking water was contaminated by the company’s actions.
- After months of negotiations, IBEW Railroad union members are finally entitled to paid sick days under their labor agreement.
- ¡Feliz Mes de la Herencia Hispana!
- Jobs in the energy sector grew by 3.8% in 2022, largely due to new clean energy.
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I tried 5 times totake action #1 and could not get through all the prompts to register my concern
Thanks for letting us know, Cecilia. CPB and DHS regulary play a shell game when it comes to citizen input (changing numbers, letting voice mail fill up, etc.). We’ve added an alternate option to contact the White House feedback line.