We’re in truly unprecedented and dangerous times, and ISF members are focusing on ways to protect their loved ones and community members. Yet it seems that our elected officials are still trying to proceed like it’s business as usual. We need to demand that they take the COVID-19 emergency seriously.
First, we need our federal Members of Congress to enact ways to convene and cast votes remotely. Last time Speaker Pelosi was asked about remote voting, she dismissed it outright - but we know she has the power to implement it. Convening Congress in person during this time is dangerous, but abdicating entirely leaves Trump with no oversight and eliminates the possibility of further aid to Americans who are suffering from the emergency.
House and Senate rules currently prohibit Members of Congress from casting votes remotely by video conference or some other secure means. But those rules can be changed at any time by a majority vote in each chamber. The rules already allow Members of Congress to perform work outside DC, and Cold War national defense laws provide for convening Congress at alternate locations. Therefore, it's not a big or radical step to permit secure remote voting during a national emergency via technologies that were not in existence a decade ago but are now in wide use.
Contact your MoC’s and demand that they enact remote voting. (Because congressional staff are mostly working remotely away from their offices, contacting them by email or ResistBot may be more effective than phoning.)
Second, we are joining our immigrants-rights activist partners to demand the release of ICE detainees due to the emergency.
COVID-19 is a deadly threat to prison populations, including ICE detainees. Detention centers are cramped, filthy and lack medical resources to deal with an outbreak. If immigrants stay detained much longer, we risk massive fatalities. To allow this amounts to genocide.
Governor Newsom has the discretion to order the detainees to be released back to their communities where they can safely shelter in place.
Urge Governor Newsom to order the release of ICE detainees.
The 4th Stimulus Bill
You may have heard that there are plans in Congress to pass a fourth stimulus bill to help Americans cope with the fallout of COVID-19 lockdowns and to fund further aid. We are compiling a list for our MOC’s of what we want to see in the bill, but in the meantime, Indivisible National has begun a national campaign for some of these demands. Check out the People’s Bailout initiative, and take action by recording a video about why you believe a People’s Bailout is needed.
Vote in our Steering Committee election!
It’s time to elect a new Steering Committee here at ISF! Vote for your preferred candidates here.
Have you filled out your Census yet?
Census day is April 1st, 2020. You don't need to go outside to do it - complete your census online today! Census counts affect redistricting and the number of Representatives a state has in Congress. The more Representatives a state has, the more, well, representation it has. California is home to almost 10% of America's population. The more representation California has, the better, so don't delay! https://2020census.gov/en.html
And—don’t forget—we still have electoral work to do!
Make calls to Arizona from home: Arizona has one of our most flippable Senate seats - and now is the perfect time to phone bank! Sign up to phone bank for Mark Kelly from home https://www.mobilize.us/missionforaz/event/255868/
Textbank from home. To turn America around after the devastation that Trump has wrought, we’ll need to win the Senate. Join IndivisiTexting at the Payback Project to help us flip the Senate. Textbanking is proven to improve turnout and is one of the easiest, fastest ways to reach voters—and you can do it all from the comfort of your home; all you need is an internet connection.
Write letters from home as part of the VoteForward campaign. This is the same service we use at Pints & Postcards to reach voters. Vote Forward volunteers send heartfelt handwritten letters to progressive-leaning unregistered and low-propensity voters encouraging them to participate in our democracy. The letters have been shown to boost turnout significantly. As long as you have a printer, envelopes, and stamps, you can print out letters to voters, write your heartfelt messages, and send them out! To find out more, visit https://votefwd.org/.
Donate to our postcard writing efforts—we are spending that money only on paper, postage, and envelopes!
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ISF General Meeting: Sunday, April 5 1-3pm via Zoom Videochat. Register here to join our online meeting! We are working on more ways to stay in contact with you online!
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Keep Fighting,
The Indivisible SF Team
If you'd like to support our all-volunteer team:
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Get each week’s call scripts and events directly to your phone with Amplify, an app created by one of the members of Indivisible SF. To use the Amplify app:
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Download from the Android or iOS app store
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Open the app and tap 'create new account' to sign up
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Join the Indivisible SF team using the invite code 101-202-303
- Cheer someone on and/or take an action
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