January 10, 2024
Political postcards 101, fight inequality in local representation, uphold anti-trans bill veto, and more!
*** SUBMITTING YOUR ACTIONS TO ROGAN’S LIST ***
We’ve set up a “tip line” so Rogan’s List subscribers can send in their ideas or submissions for action items at roganslisttips@gmail.com. Please don’t hesitate to email and pass on your suggestions. We look forward to hearing from you!
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:
CITIZENS LIVING ABROAD! MAKE SURE YOU ARE READY TO VOTE THIS YEAR!
A reader tells us that the 6.5 million voting-age US citizens living or studying abroad can vote—but they must be sure to request their overseas ballots every calendar year. Welp, it’s January, so let’s do it! Let’s visit Vote From Abroad and fill out the forms we need to receive our overseas ballots. Vote From Abroad also offers 1:1 live voter help via Zoom if we need it.
GETTING INTO/STAYING IN ACTION WITH POSTCARDS TO VOTERS
If we aren’t already involved with Postcards To Voters, now would be a good time to get started so we’re ready to go as 2024 elections ramp up. PTV was founded in 2017 to help Jon Ossoff in the special election for a Congressional seat and since then has used an army of volunteer writers around the country to write postcards for hundreds of campaigns. Becoming a 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). Currently, PTV is writing for the special election in NY-03 (George Santos’ seat) for Tom Suozzi and for Vote By Mail efforts in Escambia County in Florida. Let’s sign up here!
GA & ALL OF US: END INEQUALITY IN LOCAL REPRESENTATION
A new report from the Brennan Center for Justice reveals that “people of color are dramatically underrepresented among Georgia’s county government officials. They constitute nearly 50 percent of the state’s population, yet as of February 2023, only 27 percent of county commission seats and 29 percent of county school board seats statewide were held by people of color.” Moreover, “ten counties where people of color make up more than 40 percent of the population are governed by county commissions in which every member is white. Latino and Asian underrepresentation is particularly egregious.” Men outnumber women on county commissions by 5 to 1, with women of color holding just 8 percent of county commission seats. Let’s all tell our Members of Congress to co-sponsor and pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act (H.R.14), which would revive the ability, eviscerated by the Supreme Court, of the Department of Justice to stop states with a history of discrimination from enacting policies that undermine fair electoral representation. And if we’re in Georgia, let’s send our state legislators this link to the Brennan Center’s report, https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/local-lockout-georgia, and tell them that we want them to pass legislation that will ensure fair representation in Georgia.
HOW TO ENGAGE OUR MOC’s
On Thursday, January 11, 4 p.m. PT, 7 p.m. ET, the Center for Common Ground and Workers Circle are hosting a virtual training session on “what it means to be a citizen advocate and how to engage your members of Congress around legislation that you care about.” Let’s sign up for and attend “How to Be an Effective Citizen Advocate from Your Hometown.”
FILING U.S. TAXES FROM ABROAD
"Feeling lost or overwhelmed about filing your IRS tax return this year? Join us for a consumer-focused Zoom webinar on January 10 titled How to Survive Tax Day as an American Abroad!" Click here for more information and to purchase (cheap) tickets to this helpful session organized for Democrats Abroad, designed for US citizens living abroad.
STATE-SPECIFIC ACTIONS
OH – UPHOLD THE ANTI-TRANS BILL VETO
Ohio, we need to act fast! Our state legislators are planning to override Gov. DeWine’s veto of HB68 - a dangerous bill that will harm trans children and take medical decisions away from parents. We need everyone to contact their state reps and tell them to vote NO on the override: Step 1: Contact your state rep now. You can call or email. You can find your representatives here. Step 2: Make sure everyone you know in OH contacts their state rep too. Step 3: Share this video on social media and tag your state reps. Tell them we will remember how they vote. (h/t Red Wine and Blue)