March 15, 2024
Free ID cards for voting, Shrinkflation bill introduced, finding anti-gun violence candidates, and more!
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:
VOTER ID FOR FREE
Since the 2020 election, eight states have enacted new voter ID laws, impacting 29 million adults. (Notably, this includes a very purple North Carolina, where a law blocked by the state supreme court for its intent to target African-American voters was allowed to go into effect after the GOP flipped two seats on the court.) These laws have thrown into sharp relief just how many Americans are living without the basic identification documents they need to get jobs, housing, medical care, bank access and now the ballot box. 26 million of our fellow citizens are getting by without them – disproportionately Black and Hispanic and under the age of 30. Pushed by the Project ID Action Fund, a coalition of Democrats led by Rep. Sean Casten has reintroduced the IDs for an Inclusive Democracy Act (HR 4852), which would eliminate the cost barrier to obtaining government IDs – creating a no-cost federal photo ID accessible to any American over the age of 14. Let’s use this tool from Project ID Action Fund to contact our members of Congress and tell them we want them to support this legislation. We can also consider a donation to their partner organization Spread The Vote, which is helping folks get ID directly.SHRINKFLATION BILL INTRODUCED
Shrinkflation is the term used to describe the practice of companies selling their products in similar packaging, but with less weight, volume, or quantity meaning the consumer pays the same price for less product and it is hurting shoppers. This is happening despite corporate record profits. The Shrinkflation Prevention Act of 2024 (S.3819) would give state attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission the ability to crack down on companies that they say are skimping on products to pad their profits. Let’s tell our senators that we support this and want these companies to share some of their record-breaking profits with their consumers like they used to do.
LEARN: BE AN EFFICIENT ACTIVIST
Swing Blue Alliance is hosting a 30-minute virtual update featuring volunteers who are working in swing states to elect Democrats up and down the ballot. This virtual event takes place Saturday, March 23, 10-10:30 a.m. EDT. Let’s sign up and attend to learn more and see how we might join in to help.
GOTV FOR HOMELESSNESS PREVENTION IN CHICAGO
In November, the Chicago City Council approved a citywide referendum on increasing a tax on the sale of high-end real estate properties to fund homelessness prevention. The Bring Chicago Home initiative, which would bring in $100 million annually as a dedicated levy to shelter Chicagoans currently living on the streets and would be a tax cut for 96% of property owners in the city, is up for a vote during the Illinois primary this Tuesday, March 19th. We can sign up to phonebank and get out the vote for this effort to better serve the unhoused this weekend here.
NEW TOOL FOR FINDING ANTI-GUN VIOLENCE CANDIDATES
Everytown for Gun Safety has just announced a new tool that helps us find the candidates we can vote for in 2024 who support sensible gun safety laws. It’s called Gun Sense Voter. Let’s poke around the website and plan to vote for candidates up for election in 2024 who will support anti-gun violence and gun-safety legislation.