100 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: Protect access to all forms of contraception.
- Action 3: Increase the fairness and accuracy of the Census.
- Action 2: Ensure that insurrectionists are disqualified from holding public office.
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: Support GOTV efforts in Georgia’s run-off election.
- Action 2: Ensure that insurrectionists are disqualified from holding public office.
- Action 3: Increase the fairness and accuracy of the Census.
- Action 4: Combat racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice.
- Action 5: Protect access to all forms of contraception.
- Action 6: Support survivors of those killed in Club Q.
- Action 7: Build skills to advocate for necessary human rights.
- 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. They don’t mind, but be sure to contact both progressives and conservatives. They need to hear from you.
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:
- Reinstate the 2021 Child Tax Credit expansions in year-end budget negotiations to dramatically lower child poverty and relieve food insecurity for families with children. [Source: MomsRising]
- Co-sponsor S. 4557/S. 4612, The Right to Contraception Act, to protect access to all forms of contraception, a 14th Amendment right to privacy that is currently in jeopardy. [Source: AoCC]
- Oppose the Senate version of H.R. 1603, the Farm Workforce Modernization Act of 2021, an anti-labor bill that would exploit workers for the benefit of corporations. [Source: Food Chain Workers Alliance]
- Support S. 4188, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, to establish a binding code of conduct for Supreme Court justices, the only judges in the U.S. who currently lack one. [Source: Brennan Center]
- Pass H.R. 8326, the Ensuring a Fair and Accurate Census Act, which passed the House in September, to improve the racial equity of the Census and ensure that new Census questions are properly vetted. [Source: AoCC]
- Support the truly bipartisan S. 4573, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, to correct the process of counting. [Source: Brennan Center]
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:
- Support H.R. 6402, the bipartisan bill to grant a Federal charter to the National American Indian Veterans, which advocates for the interests of more than 140,000 Native American veterans. [Source: AoCC]
- Support H.R. 959, the The Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act of 2021, to improve health outcomes for Black mothers by expanding coverage and funding for postpartum care. [Sources: SisterSong, AoCC]
- Reinstate the 2021 Child Tax Credit expansions in year-end budget negotiations to dramatically lower child poverty and relieve food insecurity for families with children. [Source: MomsRising]
- Support H.R. 8770, the Expanding the VOTE (Voluntary Opportunities for Translations in Elections) Act, to increase the availability of translated election materials in language-minority communities. [Source: LWV]
- Support the bipartisan H.R. 1307, the Vote by Mail Tracking Act, to make it easier for voters to track their mail ballots. [Source: AoCC]
- Support H.R. 7647, the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act, to establish a binding code of conduct for Supreme Court justices, the only judges in the U.S. who currently lack one. [Source: Brennan Center]
- Support H.J. Res. 80, proposing a constitutional amendment to strengthen states’ ability to both enact public financing for political campaigns and limit private campaign contributions. [Source: AoCC]
- Support the truly bipartisan H.R. 8824, the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, to correct the process of counting. [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: Support GOTV efforts in Georgia’s run-off election.
Source: SOWEGA Rising and AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
SOWEGA Rising in Albany, GA has a team of 30 canvassers making get-out-the-vote calls to their region’s rural voters until December 6th. Sherrell Byrd, Executive Director of SOWEGA Rising, told me that over 2,000 people have voted early in the runoff already–historic numbers for their area!
If you live in Georgia and have experience with phone banking software: 10 volunteers needed asap to phone- or text bank to encourage rural Georgians to vote in upcoming runoff election. You can choose the number of hours to volunteer between now and December 6th from 9am and 9pm Eastern. Self-guided training and scripts provided. Contact Jen Hofmann directly for details at hofmann.jennifer@gmail.com (Georgia residents only).
Donatet: Support SOWEGA Rising’s GOTV efforts for Georgia’s runoff elections and promote electoral justice in southwest Georgia here: https://sowegarising.org/donate/
Action 2: Ensure that insurrectionists are disqualified from holding public office.
Source: Mi Familia Vota
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your state’s Secretary of State or other top election official (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m from [ZIP] and I’m calling to ask you to prevent insurrectionists from appearing on future ballots in [STATE]. Section three of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution bars anyone who has “engaged in insurrection” from holding public office. A federal judge has barred one county commissioner from holding office for participating in the January 6th insurrection. I’m asking you to read Free Speech for People’s declaration to disqualify insurrectionists and take steps to prevent them from appearing on [STATE] ballots. Thank you.
Action 3: Increase the fairness and accuracy of the Census.
Source: AoCC
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 from [STATE] and I believe U.S. Census policies should be reformed to make the count more fair and accurate. The most important change would be to establish the Census Bureau as an independent executive agency, which you could do by asking the 117th Congress for temporary Presidential reorganization authority before its term ends. 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.
Action 4: Combat racial and ethnic disparities in juvenile justice.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Write: Your state’s Secretary of State (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m writing from [ZIP] because I’m concerned about inequities in [STATE’S] juvenile court system and the failure to divert youth of color from court involvement. I’m asking [NAME] to expand guidance for, and use of, pre-arrest and pre-court diversion for all young people to address misconduct without formally involving the court system and to do so with an explicit focus on racial and ethnic equity. Thank you.
Action 5: Protect access to all forms of contraception.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Call: Your two state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi. I’m writing from [ZIP] because I’m committed to protecting the fundamental right to access contraception, as codified in the 14th Amendment and affirmed by over 50 years of case law. Because this right is under threat, can you tell me what [NAME] is doing to protect access to all forms of contraception in [STATE]?
Action 6: Support survivors of those killed in Club Q.
Source: Colorado Healing Fund
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Donate to assist survivors and families tragically impacted by the Club Q Colorado Springs shooting who are in need of long term support and assistance.
Action 7: Build skills to advocate for necessary human rights.
Source: Never Again Action
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Never Again Action is hosting a free, one-hour virtual training on December 15th to empower everyday people in the U.S. to build strong organizing, recruiting, and advocacy skills to enable long-overdue changes to our federal and local immigration systems.
Register now: For the December Never Again Action 101 Training.
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. Your information will be removed from this website no later than four weeks after the Checklist’s publication date.
Thank the Immigrant Legal Resource Center for protests demanding the federal government stop providing resources to the TX governor’s inhumane anti-immigration operation.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 1663 Mission Street, Suite 602, San Francisco, CA, 94103
Thank Rep. Liz Cheney (R–WY) for summarily rejecting lies about the integrity of the 2020 election and seeking the truth about the Jan. 2021 insurrection at the Capitol.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 2120 Capitol Avenue, Suite 8005, Cheyenne, WY 82001
Thank Rep. Dwight Evans (D-PA), Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), along with 36 of their House colleagues, for urging AG Garland to open an investigation into threats of violence against children’s hospitals for providing gender-affirming care to transgender and non-binary patients.
Bonus gratitude: Thank your representative if they also signed the letter to AG Garland.
Good News
If you find good news for democracy, equality, and the planet, share it with us here!
Tribal
- The Iowa Tribe of Nebraska and Kansas receives seven acres of their original land.
National
- Representative Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) will be the first Black person in U.S. history to lead the House or Senate.
- A U.S. District Court ruled that the former president’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election are not covered by presidential immunity.
- The Senate takes a step towards ensuring equal marriage rights under the law for all through passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.
- The National Museum of African American History and Culture debuts the Freedmen’s Bureau Search Portal, a resource to explore Reconstruction, ancestry, and post-emancipation African American life.
- At 3.7%, U.S. unemployment today is at a 50-year low.
State
- GA’s Supreme Court rules that the state must allow Saturday early voting before the Dec. 6 runoff.
- IL voters approve a state constitutional amendment that grants employees the fundamental right to organize and bargain collectively.
- MI voters approve an amendment to the state constitution affirming the fundamental right to vote and numerous provisions that expand voter access.
- MI: Kyra Harris Bolden is appointed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to the state Supreme Court, becoming the first Black woman to serve there.
- NV voters approve a state-level Equal Rights Amendment, making NV the first state to explicitly prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
- PA: Representative-elect Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz will be the first woman to serve her district and the first Latina in the PA legislature.
- MI and NC Supreme Courts advance sentencing protections for young defendants.
Local
- Los Angeles voters opt to enact a tax on homes sold at more than $5 million and to allocate the revenue toward homelessness prevention, tenant assistance, housing development, and other programs.
- Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser signs legislation protecting the right to bodily autonomy in the realms of abortion, contraception, sexual activity, intimate relationships, and gender affirmation.
Corporate/business
- A Federal court orders Amazon to stop firing their own workers in retaliation for organizing a labor union.
Groups and organizations
- Never Again Action will offer a free virtual training empowering everyday people to organize, recruit, and advocate for a more humane immigration system.
- The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center invites artists to submit work to be featured as the central image of the 2023 Women Are Sacred Conference.
- Immigration rights groups Al Otro Lado, the Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, and The Florence Project each receive a multi-million dollar donation from MacKenzie Scott.
News with heart
- Despite dozens of restrictive voting laws in 20 states, the 2022 general election featured the second-highest rate of voter turnout in U.S. history.
- LGTBQ+ candidates appeared on the ballot in all 50 states during the November 2022 election.
To Support the Checklist
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Housekeeping
- Jen’s message: Read this week’s message, A mindset reset after Midterms.
- Gratitude: So many amazing people make producing this Checklist possible. Volunteer researchers, writers, editors, and team captains gather everything you read here. Social media and admin support then spread the Checklist far and wide to reach even more. This shared effort is a powerful reminder that together is better. We’re so glad you’re part of this positive movement.
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- Schedule: There’s a new Americans of Conscience Checklist every first and third Friday of each month.
I would like to ask you if asking President Biden for clemency for Leonard Peltier could be an action?
Arkansas: Elected an 18 year old African-American man, Jaylen Smith, to become the mayor of Earle, AR. He will be one of the youngest people in office in America today. Mr. Smith has national news with his win!
How wonderful! Thank you for sharing this, Suzy!