What to do this week of November 8, 2020
4 years down. 48 months. 208 weeks. 1456 days. We did it!
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.
I value voting as a foundation of a healthy democracy.
The actions below ensure that all citizens’ votes are counted and secure.
Action 1: Ensure your provisional ballot is counted. [Source: NAACP]
There are many reasons you may have cast a provisional ballot in this year’s election. With so much on the table, and with provisional ballot laws varying by state, act today to ensure your vote is counted.
Contact: Your state or local election office (look up) and ask any of the following four questions as appropriate to your ballot:
- Can you explain why I was required to vote a provisional ballot?
- What documentation do I still need to provide to make my vote count?
- Where should I bring or send that documentation? Do you accept it by email? If necessary, can a friend or family member bring the document to you on my behalf?
- What is the deadline I need to be sure to provide my documentation before?
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Action 2: Help ensure every vote counts. [Source: Fair Fight]
Because some communities are at risk of ballot disqualification, you can assist with ballot curing. This allows voters to prevent disqualification of their ballot by fixing issues after voting. Anyone, regardless of location, can sign up to help cure ballots, but the clock is ticking. Will you volunteer for virtual and/or in-person outreach programs to ensure every vote is counted?
Sign up:
Volunteer with NextGen America for in-person, telephone, and/or text outreach.
Volunteer with Vote Save America for telephone outreach.
Use this document to find additional volunteer opportunities.
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Action 3: Help Georgia residents vote in January’s runoff. [h/t Spread the Vote]
Georgia requires ID to vote, but some cannot afford to get it. Spread the Vote is assisting people in obtaining IDs in time to vote in the upcoming run-off.
Donate: https://www.kindest.com/donate/spread-the-vote (Feel free to mention you’re from AoCC!)
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
November Gratitude #30DaysofThanks
This month, we recognize incredible organizations who uplift the people of this nation with core AoCC values: Respect, Heart, Gratitude, Inclusion, Empathy, Truth, and Solidarity. #30DaysofThanks. Send them a few dollars if you can spare it and/or give them a gratitude shout out on their social media accounts.
Day 1: League of Women Voters
Nominated by Anne Malone, AoCC Voting Team Captain
Post on social media: Thank you for your commitment to informing and empowers voters through Vote411. (twitter, facebook, instagram)
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Donate: https://salsa.wiredforchange.com/o/5950/c/10065/p/salsa/donation/common/public/
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Day 2: Black Voters Matter
Nominated by Bethany Roberts-Macias, AoCC Volunteer Cheerleader
Post on social media: Thank you for your commitment to Truth and Inclusion in the voting process. (twitter, facebook, instagram)
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Donate: https://blackvotersmatterfund.org/donate/
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Day 3: Spread the Vote
Nominated by Katherine Gleason, Twitter Team
Post on social media: Thank you to Spread the Vote for their Solidarity with all citizens who want to vote and have the dignity of a valid ID. (twitter, facebook, instagram)
twitter, facebook, or instagram
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Donate: https://donate.kindest.com/spread-the-vote
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Day 4: State Voting Officials
Nominated by Julie Damerell, AoCC Facebook Team
We are grateful to the officials in many states who value Inclusion enough to make voting safer during a pandemic. Thank you, AL, AR, CA, CT, DE, DC, GA, IL, IA, KY, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, WV, WI.
Write: Your state’s voting official (look up) to thank them.
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Post on social media: Comment on our twitter, facebook, or instagram post and tag your state election official.
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Day 5: Tokyo Sand and Political Charge
Nominated by Katherine Gleason, AoCC Twitter Team
Post on social media: Join us in honoring by Tokyo Sand for her incredible commitment to Inclusion in sharing thoughtful, reliable information at Political Charge to motivate voters.
Comment with thanks on our twitter, facebook, or instagram post.
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Donate: [Link TBA 11/8/20]
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Day 6: 4 Directions Vote
Nominated by Katherine Gleason, AoCC Twitter Team
Post on social media: Thank 4 Directions Vote for their work to “advance equality at the ballot box all across Indian Country.”
Comment with thanks on our twitter, facebook, or instagram posts.
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Donate: http://www.fourdirectionsvote.com/donation/
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Day 7: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
Nominated by Jen Hofmann, AoCC founder
Post on social media: Join us in expressing gratitude to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe for modeling to the world what Solidarity looks like.
Comment with thanks on our twitter, facebook, or instagram posts.
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Donate to help build an enduring source of income for the Standing Rock tribe through sustainable energy: https://anpetuwi.com
- If you completed this action, check the box to add yourself to our tally!
- I took this action!
Good news
Decent people everywhere are speaking up and working together. Just look. #GoodNews
- Kamala Harris becomes the U.S.’s first woman, first Black person, and first Indian-American to be elected Vice President.
- Joe Biden, a candidate that supports small-d democracy, the US Constitution, and the value of all our nation’s diverse people is the presumed winner of the 2020 election.
- Federal court removes unlawful USCIS guidelines that undermine the process of seeking asylum.
- Federal court orders additional “all clear” inspections of USPS processing centers to ensure timely and thorough handling of mail ballots.
- Daniella Levine Cava is elected mayor of Miami-Dade county, becoming the first woman to hold the position.
- NE votes to end predatory lending, which disproportionately harms marginalized communities.
- CO voters reject the fourth anti-abortion ballot measure in 12 years.
- Black Lives Matter activist Cori Bush becomes the first woman of color elected to represent MO in Congress.
- Preliminary voter turnout numbers indicate that about 67% of eligible voters (160 million Americans) cast a vote, the highest voter turnout in more than a century.
- Sarah McBride is elected to the DE state senate, becoming one of the first openly transgender state legislators in the nation.
- Taylor Small is elected to the VT state legislature, becoming one of the first openly transgender state legislators in the nation.
- Stephanie Byers is elected to the Kansas state legislature, becoming one of the first openly transgender state legislators in the nation.
- Ritchie Torres (NY) is elected to the House of Representatives, becoming the first openly gay Afro-Latino member of Congress.
- Mondaire Jones (NY) is elected to the House, becoming one of the first openly gay Black men elected to the U.S. Congress along with Congressman-Elect Torres.
- CO votes to create a Paid Family and Medical Leave program.
- FL votes to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour.
- CA votes to return voting rights to paroled returning citizens.
- AZ, MT, NJ, and SD legalize recreational cannabis, which will positively affect communities of color who face disproportionate incarceration rates for drug-related offences.
- Shevrin Jones (FL’s first openly gay state senator) and Michelle Rayner (FL’s first Black LGBTQ state representative) win their elections.
- Mississippi votes to replace its state flag with a new Confederate-free design.
- Deb Haaland (Laguna Pueblo), Yvette Herrell (Cherokee Nation), and Teresa Leger Fernandez comprise NM’s first House delegation made up entirely of women of color.
- Jabari Brisport is elected to NY’s state senate, becoming NY’s first openly gay state legislator of color.
- WI voters elect Francesca Hong (the first Asian-American legislator) and Samba Baldeh (the first Muslim legislator) to its state governing body.
- Charmaine McGuffey is elected sheriff of Hamilton County, OH, defeating the incumbent sheriff who had fired her as an officer after he learned she is gay.
- For the first time in history, the majority of NM state legislators are women, joining NV as the only other state with a majority woman legislature.
- RI votes to remove “and Providence Plantations” from the state’s official name due to the phrase’s connotations of slavery.
- AL voters approve a measure to remove racist phrases from their state constitution.
- Utah and Nebraska voters approve measures stripping slavery-related language from their respective state constitutions.
- Portland, OR voters approve a universal preschool measure that will provide tuition-free preschool for all children aged 3-4.
- Portland, ME voters ban the use of facial recognition technology by police.
- Los Angeles invests millions in alternatives to incarceration.
- NV protects same sex-marriage in its constitution, the first state in the nation to do so.
- CO voters pass a resolution to award electoral votes to the winner of popular vote.
- Author Minh Le offers virtual story time to bored kids waiting in long polling lines with their voting families.
- See more good news at Women in the World, Small Victories, Good Black News, and What Went Right.
To Support the Checklist
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Housekeeping
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Onward!
