TAKE ACTION

1 August 2026

In case you need arguments to convince others to vote in the upcoming primary, or any other election: Debra Rienstra is a writer whose work I admire. Below is what she wrote about why voting matters (her full article is well worth the read).

• “Vote to honor people who have fought hard for the right to vote. Don’t take it for granted. It may be easy for you, but it’s still not easy for everyone.”

• “Vote as resistance. If you don’t vote, you cede power to those who do, as well as to those able to manipulate voters in ways you’re not going to like. Opting out is complicity with [such] actors.”

• “Vote to show that your demographic votes. This argument was helpful with my own kids. You know why political candidates pay attention to what old people think? Because old people vote, that’s why.” 

• “Vote to wield your down-ticket power. Your down-ticket choices count WAY more, statistically speaking, than your presidential vote. Something like 99% of American government officials are state and local, not federal.”

WI Potluck Picnic coming up on Aug 20 from 5–10 PM at Blue Ridge Beach! Get the details in Events.

With gratitude,
Melinda

Federal Actions

Note: We focus on actions that put you in direct contact with your Members of Congress (MOCs) or other elected officials. There are a lot of great tools to help you do this such as Resistbot and 5 Calls.

Help find lawmakers to sign the discharge petition for the Dream and Promise Act

There is a discharge petition before the U.S. House of Representatives to get the Dream and Promise Act before Congress for a vote. This bill would prevent Dreamers from being deported. (As a reminder, these are young people who were brought to this country when they were children; many have lived their whole lives here, but they are not documented.) The petition needs 218 signatures to force a vote; as of this writing it is at 210.

Rep. Jayapal and Rep. Smith have signed it. However, we can help by asking friends and family (especially out of state) to call their representative if their representative hasn't signed the discharge petition. Given the dire situation of DACA recipients, it's worth a try!

ACTIONS:

• Help your family member by searching for the name of their representative. Here's the petition.

• You can thank Rep. Jayapal or Rep. Smith for signing using their contact forms: https://jayapal.house.gov/contact/ and https://adamsmith.house.gov/contact/email-me.

Oppose a rule that restricts the right to work for many documented immigrants 

The administration is proposing new regulations that would make it harder for many people to work, including DACA recipients and asylum seekers. The proposal would restrict work permits, including a general policy to deny work permits for anyone who’s ever been arrested, even if no charges were brought. If enacted, this plan would strip nearly one million of our neighbors of their work permits. These rules would violate constitutional rights and cause increased instability for families, businesses, and communities. 

ACTION: Deadline Aug 04 before 08:59 PM PDT.

• Talking points (from Americans of Conscience Checklist) and here

• Write your comment.

• New to writing public comments? See this 2-page instruction manual.

Note Submitting official public comments on proposed executive regulations is worth doing—and many WI-ers have done so. The Americans of Conscience Checklist reported that “HHS retreats from a plan to block all Medicaid and Medicare funding for hospitals that provide pediatric gender-affirming care after more than 30,000 Americans left public comments on the Federal Register about the proposed rule.”

Oppose attacks on national monuments

At the behest of industries such as coal and hardrock mining, and politicians like Senator Mike Lee of Utah, President Trump just dramatically shrunk the Grand Staircase-Escalante and Bears Ears National Monuments by over 90%. This move could enable drilling, mining, and other harmful activities on these iconic public lands. Both monuments are culturally and spiritually important to tribal communities.

ACTIONS: 

• Read talking points from EarthJustice.

• Send your message to Senators Murray and Cantwell and your House representative using Resistbot,  5 Calls, or Member of Congress phone numbers or online contact forms.

Get Out the Vote (GOTV)

Read up on all the ways you can helg get out the vote.

Get out your own vote!

Washington State’s August 4 primary includes many important positions and issues. 

ACTIONS:

• Get informed. The “Lefty Cheat Sheet” is a compilation of endorsements for candidates. You can specify the category of endorsements you wish to see by clicking “modify endorsements.” For example, you can add “labor group” endorsements, delete “paid media” endorsements, etc.

• VOTE! Early is better than later; drop boxes are more reliable than postal service for ensuring your ballot arrives on time. Deadline: 8 PM Aug. 4.

• Track your ballot to make sure it’s received and counted: sign in at VoteWA.

Color of Change text-banking

Sign up to send texts with Color Of Change and help reach out to thousands of unregistered voters across the country ahead of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections. Supporting their  remote text bank is one of many ways you can help get voters to the polls. 

• ACTION: You can send texts any day, between 6:00AM and 6:00PM PT.  Instructions. No RSVP required. 

Text on Tap to register Democrats in swing states

Welcome to the biggest fight of our lives! Join Field Team 6's Text on Tap team and text millions of likely Democrats in key swing states who are not yet registered to vote! Text on Tap uses an anonymized Google Voice or TextNow number so your own number remains private.

• ​ACTION: Sign up to get trained on any forthcoming Thursday.

Write postcards with us

Come to WI “postcards to voters” gatherings online and in-person. Data shows that hand-written postcards to voters increase turnout. 

• ACTION: See details for the coming week in Events.

Join neighbors for another chance to get out the vote

The same people who brought you Defund Musk meet every other Sunday to do what it takes to get out the vote. We'll begin with postcarding to encourage potential progressives in purple states to register to vote. Every vote will count. Meet your neighbors, enjoy a cool drink, and help make history this November!

• ACTION: RSVP for one or more dates and the location—the next is July 26. Come as often as you can!

Local Actions

Stop WA state’s continued sharing of drivers’ info with federal immigration enforcement

The University of Washington Center for Human Rights (UWCHR) has found that WA DOL has continued to let CBP access our state license data using a national data-sharing platform called Nlets. This is in violation of several state laws.

As a result, 50 Washington neighbors were arrested after ICE accessed their license information . You can explore the People over Papers map to view confirmed and observed arrests in Washington state over any time period.

• ACTION: Get more info and contact state officials.

Get trained online as a constitutional observer

Inspired by the Minneapolis resistance to ICE, Seattle Indivisible, West Seattle Indivisible, and East Indivisible worked with WAISN and ACLU-WA to develop Constitutional Observer Training for Washington. 

• ACTION: Tuesdays, August 4–25 | 7–8:30 PM | Zoom
  Register.

Oppose a plan to cut down dozens of trees in Woodland Park

When Seattle Public Schools remodeled Lincoln HS, the school’s athletic field was replaced with a parking lot. Now SPS is looking for a new athletic field location. The current proposal would involve construction at the west end of Woodland Park. Tree Action Seattle notes “The tree loss associated with this project is enormous—at least 79 healthy significant trees on the site itself, with estimated total tree loss likely exceeding 100 trees due to construction impacts in critical root zones of adjacent trees.”

• ACTION: More information here, plus a link for sending an email. They provide a script, but for best impact, revise it to include your own comments in your own words.