46 weeks to Midterm Elections
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:
- Urge your Senators to strengthen democracy with the Freedom to Vote Act (S. 2747), John Lewis Voting Rights Amendment Act (S. 4), and Protecting Our Democracy Act (H.R. 5314).
- Action 1: Support fair maps and oppose partisan gerrymandering in your state.
- Action 2: Stop extremists from running your state’s elections.
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 fair maps and oppose partisan gerrymandering in your state.
- Action 2: Stop extremists from running your state’s elections.
- Action 3: Support grandparents’ access to caregiver assistance.
- Action 4: Encourage using new federal funds to house our homeless neighbors.
- Action 5: End harms caused by the federal criminal-legal system.
- Action 6: Support critical medical care after destructive tornadoes.
- Action 7: Advocate for phasing out taxpayer-funded private prisons.
- Action 8: Support Wendy Dowe, who survived nonconsensual sterilization in an ICE detention center.
- 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:
- Pass the Freedom to Vote Act (S. 2747) and the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (S. 4) before the scheduled holiday recess, to safeguard the rights of voters in the 2022 midterm elections. [Source: 200 civil rights organizations]
- Pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act (H.R. 5314) to enforce the emoluments clauses of the Constitution and limit executive power. [Source: Brennan Center]
- Introduce and support legislation to revise the Electoral Count Act of 1887, as recommended by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and experts, to clarify the role of Congress in a disputed presidential election. [Source: AoCC]
- Pass the Build Back Better Act (H.R. 5376) to [share one or more of the reasons below]:
- help millions of workers and immigrating people while creating jobs and fighting climate change. [Source: Domestic Workers, United Farm Workers, Mi Familia Vota]
- invest in affordable housing for all and health infrastructure funding for American Indian and Alaska Native communities. [Sources: End Homelessness, Working Families Party, indianz.com]
- reinstate a pathway to permanent citizenship. [Source: National Immigration Law Center, SAALT]
- prioritize the long-term benefits of investing in our nation. [Source: Center on Budget]
- Enfranchise more than 700,000 U.S. citizens (more than the populations of either Vermont or Wyoming) by passing S. 51 to grant statehood to Washington, DC. [Source: ACLU – Sign their petition!]
- Provide a pathway to lasting safety for newly-arrived Afghans by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act. [Source: Human Rights First]
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:
- Introduce and support legislation to revise the Electoral Count Act of 1887, as recommended by a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers and experts, to clarify the role of Congress in a disputed presidential election. [Source: AoCC]
- Cosponsor the Parks, Jobs, and Equity Act (H.R. 1678) to close the nature gap and expand outdoor equity in urban areas. [Source: Sierra Club]
- Provide a pathway to lasting safety for newly-arrived Afghans by passing the Afghan Adjustment Act. [Source: Human Rights First]
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 fair maps and oppose partisan gerrymandering in your state.
Source: League of Women Voters
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
If you live in AL, AK, AR, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KS, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MN, MS, MO, NE, NV, NH, NM, NY, NC, ND, OH, OK, OR, PA, RI, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VT, WV, WI, or WY: Contact your state legislators (look up).
Script: Hi, I’m a resident of [ZIP], asking you to ensure that [STATE]’s congressional district maps are drawn fairly. Using independent redistricting commissions makes the map-drawing process more transparent and equitable, reducing the chance of partisan gerrymandering. Can I count on you to support [STATE]’s switch to an independent commission? Thank you.
If you live in AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MI, MT, NJ, VA, or WA: Your state already uses an independent commission to draw its maps. Donate to the League of Women Voters to support their work to dismantle gerrymandering in other states.
Action 2: Stop extremists from running your state’s elections.
Source: Brennan Center
Join the 0 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] calling because I’m concerned about the threat of people with anti-democracy ideologies running 2022 midterm elections. While the FBI tracks these threats, I’m asking you to follow the Brennan Center’s four recommendations for election security:
- Restrict access to election systems to only people who need them to perform their responsibilities.
- Establish transparency protocols and monitor for inappropriate activity.
- Establish clear processes for removal of officials and workers who actively undermine election integrity.
- Establish security standards for election equipment vendors.
Thank you.
Bonus action: Contact your Secretary of State and county election officials (look up) with the same request.
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 3: Support grandparents’ access to caregiver assistance.
Source: Generations United
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your two senators and one House rep (look up).
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you from [ZIP] in solidarity with grandparents raising grandchildren. American grandfamilies are currently raising 2.6 million children, yet have limited access to available resources compared to parents and foster families. I’m asking [NAME] to support legislation that implements the recommendations of the Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, including a kinship caregiver tax credit and more equitable access to Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and foster care maintenance payments.
Action 4: Encourage using new federal funds to house our homeless neighbors.
Source: End Homelessness
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: Your mayor or local government officials (use search for contact info).
Script: Hello, I’m reaching out to alert you to the new House America program through HUD, funded by the American Rescue Plan. To address the homelessness crisis, local, tribal, and state governments now have access to emergency housing vouchers, HOME grants, and funds to provide housing. Our neighbors experiencing homelessness need housing and stability. Will [NAME] please pledge to reduce homelessness in our community and take advantage of these resources?
Action 5: End harms caused by the federal criminal-legal system.
Source: The Leadership Conference
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Contact: The Honorable Merrick Garland, Attorney General at U.S. Department of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20530 or via this contact form.
Script: Despite this administration’s commitment to racial justice, harmful policies still disproportionately impact Black and Brown Americans. I am writing to ask you to prioritize policies and agency changes to the federal criminal-legal system, including:
- implementing and enforcing the Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013;
- ending the federal death penalty;
- expediting and expanding early release programs;
- eliminating mandatory minimums; and
- implementing the First Step Act.
Thank you.
Action 6: Support critical medical care after destructive tornadoes.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
When homes, services, and businesses were completely destroyed, some may make the difficult decision to terminate a pregnancy. In the wake of the immense loss caused by recent tornadoes, we can offer support and solidarity as people seek this critical medical care.
Donate: To organizations providing abortion services in hard-hit states.
Action 7: Advocate for phasing out taxpayer-funded private prisons.
Source: AoCC
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Contact: The Biden administration at (202) 456-1111 or via the online contact form.
Script: Hello, I’m contacting you in solidarity with Detention Watch and Project South to support phasing out the federal use of private prisons for incarceration and detention. Since the executive order was issued, implementation has been inconsistent and often contradictory. I’m asking that you:
- release people from immigration detention, cancel ICE detention contracts, decline to renew contracts, and halt expansion efforts;
- fully phase out the DOJ’s privately-operated prisons;
- extend the executive order to ICE contracts;
- cease intervention in litigation against state laws banning the use of private prisons;
- reduce funding for ICE detention by 50 percent in Fiscal Year 2023; and
- fully repeal MPP and end Title 42.
Action 8: Support Wendy Dowe, who survived nonconsensual sterilization in an ICE detention center.
Source: Project South
Join the 0 Americans of Conscience who have completed this action by checking the tally box!
Wendy Dowe is a survivor of medical abuse and a nonconsensual hysterectomy at Irwin Detention Center. By bravely coming forward with her story and filing an OIG complaint, she exposed taxpayer-funded abuses taking place, leading to a Congressional probe and the closure of the facility. Wendy and other survivors have yet to receive justice from the abuses ICE officials inflicted on them. Let her know she’s not alone.
Donate: To Wendy’s GoFundMe to help cover the expenses related to her ongoing recovery.
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 2 weeks after the Checklist publication date. Your information will not be stored after that date.
Thank President Biden for nominating new members to the USPS board to hasten the removal of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whose deliberate slow-down of mail delivery hindered free and fair elections. We look forward to USPS leadership that supports ethics, voting, and democracy.
If you’d like to send your own personal expression of gratitude, use: White House contact form
Thank you to the LGBT Asylum Task Force for offering housing and monthly stipends to LGBTQ+ aspiring Americans who have fled their home countries due to persecution.
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: 6 Clover Street, Worcester, MA 01603
Thank AG Merrick Garland for taking steps to address threats, harassment, and intimidation of educators and school board members. We agree with your statement that “Those who dedicate their time and energy to ensuring that our children receive a proper education…deserve to do their work without fear for their safety.”
If you’d like to mail your own personal expression of gratitude, use this address: U.S. Dept. of Justice, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001
Good News
As Americans of Conscience, we celebrate!
Progress on issues featured in past Checklists
- The Sentencing Project reports reductions in mass incarceration, expansion of voting rights, and advancements in racial justice achieved by advocates and lawmakers in 2021.
- House passes the Protecting Our Democracy Act to enforce the emoluments clause and protect against executive branch abuse of power. (October 1 Checklist)
- President Biden nominates new members to the USPS board to hasten the removal of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whose slow down of mail delivery hindered free and fair elections.
National
- House passes the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act to help reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, and mental health conditions among health care professionals.
- DOJ sues TX over the state’s redistricting maps that will disenfranchise voters of color.
- AG Merrick Garland instructs the FBI to address threats, harassment, and intimidation of educators and school board members.
- The Biden administration plans a national network of electric vehicle charging stations and plans to electrify the federal government’s fleet of 600,000 vehicles.
- The Biden administration again recognizes the National Association of Immigration Judges as the labor union for immigration judges, returning some independence to immigration courts.
State
- KY’s largest solar project will be built on 1,200 acres of a former coal mine and will employ former coal workers.
- MA: Rachel Rollins, whose career is marked by action towards criminal justice reform, is confirmed by the Senate as U.S. attorney for Massachusetts, becoming the first Black woman to hold the position.
- MD legislature overrides vetoes of two bills prohibiting local police participation in ICE enforcement.
- TX: State-level court finds that TX’s restrictive abortion law violates the state constitution.
- WI: Gov. Tony Evers vetoes several bills that would have limited access to abortions.
Local
- Mason, OH city council repeals a law criminalizing abortion.
- Lisa Middleton is sworn in as mayor of Palm Springs, becoming CA’s first openly transgender mayor and only the third openly transgender mayor in U.S. history.
- Deqa Dhalac is elected mayor of South Portland, ME, becoming the first Somali-American elected mayor of any U.S. city.
- A police officer, believed to be the first Kansas City law enforcement officer since 1941 to stand trial for the fatal shooting of a Black man, is found guilty for the death of Cameron Lamb.
Corporate/business
- The National Consumer Telecom & Utilities Exchange will stop providing sensitive data from millions of U.S. residents’ cable, phone, and power bills to ICE.
Groups and organizations
- Columbia University’s student workers’ union strike contines to call for living wages and stronger employee protections.
- Starbucks employees in Buffalo, NY vote to unionize, becoming the first of the chain’s stores in the U.S. to do so.
- PEN America hosts a teaching session providing resources to students to protect their First Amendment rights and access to diverse literature.
- Fernando, seeking asylum from Venezuela, is released from immigration detention with the help of humanitarian aid group Border Angels.
- A client of Al Otro Lado who is a survivor of human trafficking has her T-visa approved and can remain in the U.S.
News with heart
- Following an eviction, Ebony Johnson’s family is surprised with a fully furnished home courtesy of her friend and customer Suzanne Burke.
- Rapper Logic’s song “1-800-273-8255,” named for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, increases calls to the hotline and saves an estimated 245 lives.
- The NYC marathon includes a division for non-binary runners, including division winner Zackary Harris, for the first time in the race’s 50-year history.
- Chile passes an equality law enabling same-sex partners to marry and adopt children.
- Human rights defender Patrick Zaki is released from prison in Egypt after 22 months.
- Coral reef health and biodiversity improve in Indonesia.
Support the Checklist in 2022
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Aloha,
I have been part of AOC checklist for possibly since its beginnings. I would like to call the attention of all who are here to the seriousness of what is happening in Oʻahu Hawaii, at Red Hill; Kapu Kaki. The U.S. Navy has a number of 250,000 gallon tanks filled with jet fuel, built over the Halawa Aquifer, which provides clean drinking water to 400,000 Hawaiian residents and visitors. There has been a breech and the fuel has entered into the drinking water. There has been a call to drain the tanks for years, but this last catastrophe has renewed the calls. All of these requests have landed on obstinant ears at the U.S. Military, claiming that all is well. The latest city council meeting on Wednesday, unanimously passed two bills that would come up against the Militaries cart blanche to continue with business as usual. It would be very helpful to have the help of this community to write letters to president Biden to call for emergency action and shut down these tanks. Please let me know if we can work together to get this done.
Mahalo Nui,
Thank you very much for all that you Do!
Hi Shar, Thank you for your comment. We agree that clean water is a basic right of all people. The news about these developments is deeply concerning. If you have the names of local groups mobilizing around this issue, we would be honored to amplify their calls to action in the Checklist. Please reach out to me through the AoCC Contact page. – Jen Hofmann