Write postcards, check up on our MoCs, consider religious freedom, and more!
APR 18
Contact all members of Congress:
- By phone: (202) 224-3121
- By email: democracy.io
- By US mail: Representatives / Senators
- By fax: Representatives / Senators
- By Resistbot: Resist.bot
Contact White House or other federal agencies:
- WRITING POSTCARDS TO VOTERS FOR SPECIAL CONGRESSIONAL ELECTION IN NEW YORKRight now, Postcards to Voters volunteers are writing for Tim Kennedy for the special election in New York that will take place on April 30th to fill a Congressional seat in the 26th district. Tim is focused on protecting women’s reproductive choice, defending LGBTQ+ rights, expanding health care accessibility, banning assault weapons, and making transportation safer if elected. Special elections rely heavily on getting out the vote and we can give him a boost. Becoming a Postcards To Voters volunteer involves sending a sample postcard to prove we’re not bots and then we can begin requesting addresses (each volunteer supplies the postcards and stamps). If we are already a registered volunteer, we can email or Slack (texting is down right now) for addresses and instructions. Let’s get writing with Postcards to Voters!
- MONITORING OUR MEMBERS OF CONGRESS—GEEK OUT!!Congress speaks through legislation. We can see what our US Senators and US Representative are prioritizing by looking at the bills they file in Congress. Here’s how to do that: 1) If we’re not sure who our Senators and Rep are, we can find out here, 2) Then, we can go to this form, select “more options”, 3) Where it says “Sponsors/Cosponsors,” we can select our Senator or Rep’s name and hit “Search.” Don’t forget to toggle between Sponsor and Cosponsor. 4) Voila! There will be a list of the bills our Member of Congress has introduced or supported. Let’s give this a try, and if we see that any of our legislators are not sponsoring or cosponsoring legislation we think is important, let’s tell them so.
- RELIGIOUS FREEDOM SHOULD BE A SHIELD, NOT A SWORD
It’s been more than 30 years since the signing of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, a well-intentioned bipartisan bill meant to protect individual religious freedom that has been misused as a cudgel to for conservatives to impose their religious values on others – denying access to birth control and allowing discrimination against LGBTQ people. A coalition including Americans United for Separation of Church and State has been pushing for the package of the Do No Harm Act (S. 1206 / H.R. 2725) to restore the RFRA to its original intent by ensuring it is no longer applied to civil rights laws and critical health care and funding rules. They held a national day of action on Monday, with supporters in DC for the Summit on Religious Freedom visiting Capitol Hill to urge Congress to act. We can show our support for their effort by using this tool from AU to encourage our members of Congress to co-sponsor this legislation. - WHY DEMOCRATIC VOTERS OFTEN SKIP DOWN-BALLOT RACESSister District, which engages volunteers to help build Democratic majorities in state legislatures, has been studying the phenomenon of down-ballot roll-off: the tendency of voters (especially Democratic voters) to skip voting in state and local elections. With Data for Progress, Sister District is holding a virtual briefing on Monday, April 22,3 – 4pm EDT to share what they’ve learned about down-ballot roll-off. Let’s consider signing up and attending.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
- MI – NATIONAL POPULAR VOTEOn Monday, Maine joined the 16 other states which have passed legislation to allow for a national popular vote which would give the presidential popular vote-getter all a state’s electoral college votes. The National Popular Vote compact would only take effect when participating states account for at least 270 electoral votes, which is the minimum needed to win the presidency. Even with Maine’s participation, the compact is still 61 electors short of that margin. Michigan has a pending bill (S. 126) which is still in committee. National Popular Vote is asking us to contact our state senator and representative and simply ask if they support the National Popular Vote. Then, we are to send an email to Christopher Pearson (christopherap@gmail.com) and copy Rebeka Warren (rebekahlwarren@gmail.com) and (info@statewideindivisiblemi.com) and report the results of our calls. This small canvassing effort will let National Popular Vote know where they need to shore up support for this bill. Let’s make those calls and send those emails and help get our 15 electoral votes included in the compact.
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