John – Welcome back to another edition of BNC Insider, your weekly recap of everything that’s happening in the world of Brand New Congress.

In this issue:

Countdown to Election Day
Zombie laws
Rashida’s climate justice bill
BNC Candidates rallying the vote together
Odessa is making history
Ways to take action

Get ready to dive in.

A graphic depicting buttons that say “Vote” with the caption “Upcoming Elections”

Countdown to Election Day

Only 8 DAYS LEFT until Election Day!

Here’s a handy checklist for you as you make your plan to vote:

Have you confirmed your voter registration?
Do you need help finding a drop box for your ballot?
Do you need help finding out where to vote early, in person?
Do you need help finding your polling station for Election Day?
If you have a past felony conviction, and you are not sure if you are eligible to vote, you can find out here.

Your vote is your voice and your power. Don’t let anyone take that power away from you. Make a plan to vote today.

We encourage everyone to visit Vote.org to check their voter registration status, look up deadlines for requesting a ballot, find your polling place, and much more.

A graphic depicting the U.S. Capitol Building with the caption “Happening on the Hill”

Zombie Laws are back from the grave and coming for our rights

This Halloween, the only zombies we need to be worried about are zombie laws – old abortion bans that were neutralized by Roe v Wade but never taken off the books.

Now that SCOTUS has struck down Roe, these laws are back from the grave to haunt us all. Some of these old laws date back to before the Civil War, and all of them make receiving or giving abortion care a crime.

One in 3 American women live in states where abortion has been banned entirely or in almost all cases. And if Republicans regain control of the House and Senate, they will fight for a national abortion ban.

Here is a look at states where abortion is banned or at risk of being banned.

A graphic featuring a headline from The Washington Post, which reads: “Abortion is now banned in these states. See where laws have changed.” Included is a graphic showing a map of the United States which indicates that 14 states have already banned abortion, another 7 states have bans that have been recently blocked by courts, 9 states have potential bans in the works, and only 21 states have laws explicitly protecting the right to an abortion.

Every BNC candidate will stand up for reproductive rights. Pitch in now to help us get our candidates across the finish line on November 8th.

Rashida introduces a bold new climate justice bill

Rep. Rashida Tlaib just introduced the revolutionary Cumulative Impacts Act, an environmental justice bill aimed at protecting communities systemically harmed by environmental racism.

Corporate polluters have a long and shameful history of building polluting facilities and dumping hazardous waste in historically Black, brown, Indigenous and low-income communities – leading to poor health and shorter lifespans.

A graphic featuring a series of images and text describing the cumulative impacts of pollution. Depicted are: corporate polluters, polluted air, polluted water, and increased health risks.

Rashida’s new bill would require the Environmental Protection Agency to analyze cumulative impacts before making decisions to approve permits, and to deny any permit where the applicant is unable to demonstrate a reasonable certainty no harm will come to the community or vulnerable groups.

Any talk of bold climate action must include accountability for big polluters, and justice for the communities most impacted by environmental racism. Rashida is leading the way on climate justice, and fighting for the legislation needed to protect frontline communities.

And help BNC re-elect Rashida by splitting a contribution between her campaign and Brand New Congress now.

Support Rashida + BNC >>

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BNC Candidates rallying the vote together

We always love to see our candidates showing up to support one another. BNC Rep. Katie Porter is in a tough re-election for her California swing district, and last week AOC showed up to help rally the vote!

A screenshot of a tweet by Tommy Vietor, which reads: “At UC Irvine watching AOC turn out the vote for Katie Porter and California Democrats.” Included is a photo taken from the back side of a large open stage overlooking a large crowd outdoors on a partly cloudy, but sunny day. AOC is seen walking towards the microphone.

This is a common practice among BNC candidates. Earlier this year AOC rallied for BNC’s Greg Casar and former BNC candidate Jessica Cisneros.

Now Jessica Cisneros is paying it forward by rallying with BNC’s Michelle Vallejo – along with Tio Bernie Sanders – this weekend in McAllen, TX.

Screenshot of a tweet from Michelle Vallejo sent October 30, 2022, which reads: “Thank you, McAllen!” in all caps. Included is a photo of a large crowd gathered in a theater, with Michelle Vallejo, Bernie Sanders, and Jessica Cisneros pictured with their arms raised together and the crowd cheering.

We’re getting down to the wire with only 8 days to go, and many of our races will be close. Will you pitch in to help our BNC candidates get across the finish line?

Odessa is making history

Odessa has been catching the media’s attention ever since it was revealed that her 100% people-funded campaign actually OUTRAISED the incumbent, GOP Representative Mark Green, last quarter.

Odessa was recently featured in Essence as one of many Black women poised to make history in this year’s election.

A graphic featuring a composition of two screenshots from Essence Magazine. The first, on the left, shows a photo of Odessa Kelly, wearing a dark blue shirt and smiling warmly, with the headline “Black Women Poised to Make History in the 2022 Midterm Elections - Essence highlights some of the Women who could make Black history in key midterm races across the country.” The second screenshot, on the right, features a snippet of their piece about Odessa, which reads: “Odessa Kelly is a longtime public servant, activist, and mother of two running to represent Tennessee’s recently redrawn seventh congressional district. If elected in November, Kelly would make history on multiple fronts. She would be the first Black woman to represent Tennessee in Congress and the first openly gay Black woman to be elected to Congress, ever.”

Essence highlighted women who could make Black history in key midterm races across the country. You can read the entire article here.

Brand New Congress is proud to stand with Odessa’s visionary, bold progressive campaign to represent Tennessee’s 7th district, and we can’t wait to see her make history on November 8th!

Will you join BNC and split a contribution with Odessa’s campaign to flip this seat?

Support Odessa + BNC >>

A graphic featuring a faded photo of Cori Bush wearing a “Bans Off Our Bodies” t-shirt at a protest with the caption “TAKE ACTION”

Each week we highlight volunteer opportunities for different BNC candidates. This week we are featuring Michelle Vallejo and John Fetterman.

Team Vallejo is hosting a Halloween phonebank TONIGHT from 5:30 to 8:00pm CT, which you can join in person or virtually via Zoom. Costumes are encouraged.

Phonebank for Michelle!

A graphic featuring a photo of Michelle Vallejo with Halloween graphics including a spiderweb, bats, and triangle shaped party banners. The caption reads: “Halloween Phonebank Party. There’s nothing spookier than not voting. Join us for a special Halloween phonebank! For questions, email darci niega at tx democrats dot org.

If you can’t make it tonight, you can join Team Vallejo for a phonebank any day between now and Election Day. Sign up here on Mobilize.

Team Fetterman is hosting a Social Media Canvass tomorrow and Thursday. Volunteers can join from anywhere. Visit Mobilize for more details.

Canvas for Fetterman!

A photo of John Fetterman in a blue hoodie standing in front of a large banner hung on the side of a red brick house, which reads: “Fettermania is running wild in Pennsylvania!”

Thanks for reading our BNC Insider! 💜 Watch for this update every Monday to stay on top of what’s happening in the world of BNC.

Until next week,

The entire team at Brand New Congress

P.S. If you appreciate this content, please consider signing up for a monthly recurring contribution to sustain our work.

Since 2016 BNC has led the way in advancing popular policies like Medicare for All and the Green New Deal and electing bold progressive fighters. We recruited and elected AOC in 2018 and Cori Bush in 2020. With seven BNC Reps currently in office, we are growing progressive power in Congress.

This November we’re working to flip multiple red seats, fill open seats with bold progressives, and elect our first BNC Senator by defeating Rand Paul.

Pitch in today and join us as we take over Congress and return power to the people.

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