rydra_wong: Grasshopper mouse stands on its hind legs to howl. (turn venom into painkillers)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
In case anyone's interested:

https://fremedon.tumblr.com/post/763191310815576064/i-did-my-first-phone-bank-of-the-season-tonight

Extract:

I know we all hate the phone around here. But as a raging introvert with an audio processing disorder, I actually find phone banking hugely easier than almost any other phone interaction (and many in-person ones).

So I thought I’d write up a brief explainer of how it works.
sathari: (Waiting for ourselves)
[personal profile] sathari
VoteRiders--- yes, the name is a shout-out to the Freedom Riders of the Civil Rights Movement--- is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to helping people get the documentation they need in order to register to vote and to register to vote. They’re focusing on states with the strictest voter ID laws (their target states are Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin) but they are available to help in all 50 states as needed. (FYI to the mods, we don't seem to have a tag for Arizona yet but I've tagged all the other states on which they're focusing.)

This sounds deceptively simple, but it can be complicated, not least because it’s easy, especially in the states with the strictest voter ID laws, to get caught in a “do-loop”--- you need, for example, a birth certificate to get a valid state ID, but you can’t get the birth certificate without proof of your identity. Basically, VoteRiders volunteers help people break through the do-loop to get whatever proofs of identity they need. Also, thanks to their donors, they are able to pay for some of the fees associated with getting ID and other documentation.

One of the “knock-on” benefits of VoteRiders' work is that even though their primary mission is to help people get registered to vote, this kind of documentation is also necessary for a lot of other aspects of people’s lives, like obtaining employment and housing; the organization often works with shelters and transition services for the formerly incarcerated. I am not sure how closely they work with domestic-violence organizations in general, but the first thing that popped into my mind was all the advice given to people living in unstable or dangerous households (whether due to intimate partner or other family abuse or anything else) to keep copies of all your personal paperwork, such as ID, where the people who are making you unsafe can’t get at them. (On that note, the website VoteRiders volunteers often use to help people obtain birth certificates is VitalChek, which you can use directly if you’re in need--- VoteRiders does a lot of this for people who don’t necessarily have reliable access to the internet or similar issues, but if you’re here reading this, that’s probably less of an issue for you or people you know who might need access to documentation.) (Something else I have learned through VoteRiders is that if your mind works that way at all, it's a very good idea to memorize any of your "stable" ID numbers, like your Social Security number and state driver's license/ID number, because sometimes just having the number even if you don't have the physical card anymore, can help, and at least some states can look up your "old" ID number even if you've moved out of state and come back, and this can speed up the process of obtaining relevant documents.)

VoteRiders does its volunteer training online--- they want you to attend at least two virtual “shadowing” sessions with a volunteer who lets you watch while they help people get documents over the phone. More information about volunteer opportunities is here.

(And that's how I spent my Saturday night. Last post here for tonight, I promise.)

tanaqui: Illumiinated letter T (Default)
[personal profile] tanaqui
Vote Forward's letter writing campaign for the Georgia senate run-offs is now up and running. They're doing things a little differently for this campaign, so even if you've written letters before, they're asking you to read the instructions carefully!

https://votefwd.org/posts/Georgia-Runoff-campaigns
rydra_wong: Grasshopper mouse stands on its hind legs to howl. (turn venom into painkillers)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
Via [twitter.com profile] RomancingRunoff (who've now raised $85K, holy shit):

"Looking to get involved as an in-state or out-of-state volunteer? You'll want to join us for our training!"

https://twitter.com/NewGAProject/status/1327276911521886209
https://www.mobilize.us/thenewgeorgiaproject/event/363165/
sathari: (Waiting for ourselves)
[personal profile] sathari
Like the title says, we have two upcoming opportunities to flip the Senate (okay, it'll be 50/50, but with Vice President Harris as the tiebreaking vote) in the same state! 

Here are the links to the Democratic candidates' campaign sites:

https://electjon.com/ for Jon Ossoff, who ran in Georgia's 6th Congressional district in a special election back 2017, and who is running against Republican David Perdue

and

https://warnockforgeorgia.com/ for the Rev. Raphael Warnock, who got a very early endorsement from none other than former gubernatorial candidate and current voting protection activist (and also our fellow fannish person and a published romance writer) Stacey Abrams and is running against Republican Kelly Loeffler, who was appointed following the resignation of incumbent Johnny Isakson and who is not only married to the president of the New York Stock Exchange (this is the sort of thing that might matter to some subset of swingable Southern voters, as in OMG damnyankee) but appears to have engaged in a spot of insider trading around the whole COVID thing.

Speaking of Stacey Abrams, here the website for her main voting protection organization: https://fairfight.com/; I note that there are links to volunteer both in Georgia and nationally as well as to donate.

rydra_wong: Grasshopper mouse stands on its hind legs to howl. (turn venom into painkillers)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
In some states, people whose absentee ballots have been rejected because of flaws have the chance to correct them -- 5pm today for Florida, by Friday in Georgia, by the 12th in NC and Nevada.

https://www.mobilize.us/nc2020victory/event/314753/ -- phone bank ballot-curing for NC

Anyone got more links for ballot-curing volunteering? Most of the links I've seen are already maxed out (e.g. most of the ones at https://twitter.com/jonlovett/status/1324015159321546752 )

How to check your ballot's been counted (links for PA, MI, WI, NV, NC, and GA) -- https://liamslarents.tumblr.com/post/633873039321333760/if-you-voted-by-mail-in-ballot-in-pa-mi-wi-nv

Georgia -- https://jlmarch.tumblr.com/post/633913579027988481/doublehex-reblog-reblog-reblog-image
Check your ballot: https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do
Cure your ballot: https://democrats.org/ga-ballot/

https://fairfight.com/checkmyballot/

Context from ProPublica on the 4th: Whether the GOP Can Stop Voters From Legally Fixing Rejected Mail-In Ballots Could Decide the Election
rydra_wong: Grasshopper mouse stands on its hind legs to howl. (turn venom into painkillers)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
Links and info from [personal profile] kathmandu here, which I am quoting with permission:

For anyone who has time and phone-spoons, it's possible to contact voters in swing states to help them cure absentee ballots. (This means the ballot was not filled out correctly--needs a witness signature or a date or something else minor--and the voter still has a chance to fix it so it will be counted.)

Ballot-curing volunteer training times to help North Carolina
Ballot curing help for Florida
Wisconsin voter protection; includes phone-banking and hotline help

In case anyone wishes to throw money at the problem, but is dubious about it
being applied usefully at this late stage, the guy behind Pinboard has a decision matrix for how to donate usefully now.

(Tech-head details: his formula aims to help smaller campaigns for state legislature or rural House districts, in states where enough turnout could also flip a Senate seat Democratic. He says the larger campaigns mostly have more money than they can usefully spend at this point, but the small-scale races can still use funding. They can motivate voters on smaller-scale issues, and do more effective get-out-the-vote in small districts. And once a person is in the ballot-box, they're likely to vote on the Senate and Presidential races too.)


(I have a morale-boosting post for people to tell me what they're doing to get out the vote and get cheered on, so lots more links are accumulating in the comments there.)
rydra_wong: Grasshopper mouse stands on its hind legs to howl. (turn venom into painkillers)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
https://2020.indivisible.org/

Wake up on November 4 knowing you did everything in your power to make Trump a one-term president.

You can sign up to write letters to voters, to phonebank, and/or to "triple your vote" by pledging to get three people you know to turn out to vote.
rydra_wong: Grasshopper mouse stands on its hind legs to howl. (turn venom into painkillers)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
[personal profile] morgandawn: 6 Weekends To Beat Back The Wings of Despair

Links and suggestions. Text-bank, send postcards, send letters, phone-bank if you can do phones; whatever you can do, there's work to be done.
tanaqui: Illumiinated letter T (Default)
[personal profile] tanaqui
Never Again Action is a Jewish political action organization that uses civil disobedience and nonviolent methods to protest Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

They are looking for volunteers to work remotely to support mass coordinated actions in strategic cities throughout the country in December, kicking off a wave of even bigger actions nationwide in 2020.

The form linked below suggests they're looking for people with skills in Tactical planning, Recruitment, Arts/Visuals, Logistics, Communications, Digital (Social Media, Video, Email, etc.), Fundraising, Accessibility, Legal Support and NVA Training, or who can train others in these skills.

Volunteer here (Google Form)
tanaqui: Illumiinated letter T (Default)
[personal profile] tanaqui
Since the last check-in, Mueller has submitted his report to the Attorney General. Trump and his allies have declared total vindication based on Barr’s summary. I think we’re all pretty sure it isn’t that clear cut and that there’s plenty for various committees in Congress to pick over (and Mueller’s grand jury is still sitting). Plus I keep reminding myself Watergate took a long time to reach its conclusion.

In better news, a federal judge in Alaska has overturned Trump’s attempt to open parts of the Arctic and Atlantic to oil and gas leasing.

In the comm, we’ve had some great suggestions for action since the last check-in posts.

New posts this week

Research Volunteer Opportunity
Friends of the Earth Green New Deal Toolkit
Josh Marshall of TPM has a suggestion (about the Mueller report)

So, what have you all been up to in the last week or are planning to get involved in next week?

Poll #21707 The Week
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 8


This Week, I...

View Answers

called my one senator
1 (25.0%)

called my other senator
1 (25.0%)

called my representative
3 (75.0%)

called my governor
0 (0.0%)

called my state reps
0 (0.0%)

sent a postcard/email/letter/fax
2 (50.0%)

attended a town hall
0 (0.0%)

donated money to a cause
3 (75.0%)

attended an in-person activist group
1 (25.0%)

participated in phone/online training
0 (0.0%)

View Answers

went to a protest
1 (14.3%)

signed up for alerts
0 (0.0%)

worked for a campaign
0 (0.0%)

did textbanking/phonebanking
1 (14.3%)

took care of myself
3 (42.9%)

not a US citizen but worked in solidarity in my own community
3 (42.9%)

did something else
2 (28.6%)

committed to action in the coming week
1 (14.3%)


snickfic: Buffy looking over her shoulder (Default)
[personal profile] snickfic
[twitter.com profile] taniel has been one of my main sources of info for local races across the country for a couple of years ago. A while back he started a newsletter focused largely on district attorney races, state attorney general races, and criminal justice reform, The Appeal, and I highly recommend it.

More recently, though, he's started a large-scale effort called the Justice Volunteers Team, and they're looking for volunteers. Here's the info from the sign-up form:
The Justice Collaborative (TJC) is launching a volunteer task force to hold district attorneys accountable. Working with legal & media experts at TJC, we'll be researching and amplifying important local issues related to criminal justice reform.

Research Team: This team works to collect publicly available data on important actors, policies, and trends within our criminal justice system.

Media Amplification Team: This team works to amplify critical reporting on the justice system and justice reform work around the nation.

So if you'd like to volunteer in a way that DOESN'T require making phone calls or knocking on doors or campaigning, but really gets into the meat of public policy, this might be a good outlet! NB I haven't volunteered with the org myself and can't vouch for how organized it is, etc, but like I said, I've seen Daniel around for quite a while, and he's been doing good work.
jjhunter: neuron growing a dendritic branch to meet the reaching axon of another neuron in watercolor greys (neuron reaching out)
[personal profile] jjhunter
CAIR-MA Encourages Allies to Write Letters of Support for Muslim Girl Who Received Threatening Letters
(BOSTON, MA, 11/14/18) The Massachusetts chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MA), the largest Muslim civil rights organization in the United States, today encouraged individuals to write letters supporting a 10-year-old Muslim girl in Framingham who had received written death threats in order to counteract the original message of hate. The letters can be mailed to CAIR-MA’s office (address below).

The fifth grade student, whom CAIR-MA is keeping anonymous due to safety concerns [...]

Update 11/29/18: CAIR-MA Receives 500+ Letters of Support for Muslim Girl Targeted by Threatening, Islamophobic Messages
rydra_wong: Grasshopper mouse stands on its hind legs to howl. (turn venom into painkillers)
[personal profile] rydra_wong


[Tweet from Hillary Clinton:

"Studies show the single most effective way to encourage people to vote is to talk to them in person or on the phone in the days just before the election.

This year, don't just vote. Volunteer.

Find your closest swing district with @SwingLeft:

http://bit.ly/joinHillary " ]

Link goes to: The Last Weekend from SwingLeft

If you've got the spoons, this might be a critically important way to use them. If not, maybe you can still pass the word to people who do.

(And SwingLeft has volunteering opportunities that don't require phone/face-to-face interaction if that's a no-go for you, so check it out.)
sathari: (Waiting for ourselves)
[personal profile] sathari
The ACLU is running an initiative to send postcards to registered voters who didn't vote in the last midterm elections, telling them why you're voting and encouraging them to do the same. They send you the blanks, you write in a message about why you're voting, then send the postcards back to the ACLU office with the return label they provide, and they'll send them out to registered voters who didn't come out in 2014. (This is an almost perfect form of "activism while introverted," even if I personally hate handwriting things.)

More details here: Postcards to Get Out the Vote!

Additionally, you can pledge to be an ACLU voter at www.aclu.org/voter, which provides you information on your Congresscritters' records on the ACLU's platform, upcoming elections, and action opportunities.

tassosss: Shen Wei Zhao Yunlan Era (Default)
[personal profile] tassosss
It's 2018 folks, and a lot of big issues are still pending - DACA, Children's Health Care, and yes, keeping the government open, once again.

Also, another reminder that we now have a Friending Meme and a (locked) post where you can connect with others with live in the same area. We hope you find both of these posts useful!

Posts in the comm since the last check-in covered:

Actions
Support Florida Voting Rights
Support the Net Neutrality Bill in Congress
Support Children's Health Insurance Program. Day of Action was on the 10th but you can still contact your Congress people
Webinar on Sanctuary Policies

Information
We the Resistance Newsletter with info on #MeTooK12 harassment prevention in schools, as well as other sexual equality and people with vaginas health issues
Report on Climate Change censorship
Summary of the Organizing for Action Volunteer Call including DACA, Civic Engagementin and upcoming volunteer opportunities
Run to Win Online Candidate Training - anyone on the comm planning to run for office, or know someone who is?


Housekeeping (the usual stuff)
Reminder that we have a suggestion post if there’s a topic that you’d like to see discussed but would like to ask the mods to look into. This can be anything from general information, or a how-to-do-a-thing, or something you may want to discuss as a community. Folks are welcome to post directly to the comm as always, but if you’re not comfortable/don’t have spoons, we can help too.

As we don't always get the time to pull things out of the suggestions post into their own separate posts, it may be worth checking every week (or tracking the post) to see if there's any new information you're interested in.

Also if you need help with tags, PM [personal profile] redbird, who is our tag guru. Both [personal profile] tanaqui  and I are very grateful for the help.

So, what have you all been up to in the last week or are planning to get involved in next week?

Personally, I've been trying to make Wednesday my call Congress day.

Poll #19317 This week
Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 6


I

View Answers

called my one senator
1 (25.0%)

called my other senator
1 (25.0%)

called my representative
1 (25.0%)

called my governor
0 (0.0%)

called my state reps
0 (0.0%)

sent a postcard/email/letter/fax
3 (75.0%)

attended a town hall
0 (0.0%)

donated money to a cause
1 (25.0%)

attended an in-person activist group
1 (25.0%)

participated in phone/online training
0 (0.0%)

.

View Answers

went to a protest
0 (0.0%)

signed up for alerts
2 (50.0%)

took care of myself
2 (50.0%)

not a US citizen but worked in solidarity in my own community
0 (0.0%)

did something else
2 (50.0%)

committed to action in the coming week
1 (25.0%)



tanaqui: Illumiinated letter T (Default)
[personal profile] tanaqui
Thinking about getting (more) involved in local activism in 2017 but not sure how to go about it?

#JointheMovement aims to:
connect more people to existing activist powerhouses before the inauguration to further build the strength of our movement and fight isolation, alienation, and complacency.
As the people who created #JointheMovement point out:
there are many groups and organizations that are ready to provide the training, community, and accountability that we’ll need to stay strong for the work ahead.
You can take the #JointheMovement quiz to find out which groups might be the best fit for you, or check out the full list of organisations.
tanaqui: Illumiinated letter T (Default)
[personal profile] tanaqui
The Dream Corps is:
a social justice accelerator [that] back[s] initiatives that close prison doors and open doors of opportunity for all.
Founded by Van Jones, -- activist, author, CNN contributor and a former special advisor to President Obama -- in 2014, the Dream Corps has so far operated three advocacy initiatives:
  • #cut50 works to popularize bipartisan alternatives and practical solutions to help America safely and smartly reduce its jail and prison populations by 50 percent over the next 10 years.
  • #YesWeCode works to help 100,000 young women and men of diverse backgrounds find success in the tech sector.
  • Green For All works to build an inclusive green economy by moving $1 trillion dollars from polluters pockets into low-income communities.

    The Dream Corps is now launching the #LoveArmy:
    In the coming year, we will be coordinating regular actions and bringing people together in large and small gatherings. We will support #MessyTruth conversations. We will host teach-ins and revivals. We'll come together to fight for an inclusive country where everyone counts and everyone matters.
    While they've not released much in the way of specifics, you can sign up for more information and to volunteer.
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