CALL TO ACTION #972: Protect Census Integrity; Save Our Democracy (July 24, 2020)



102 Days

Until the November 3rd Election


 Our Recommendations for November

What Voting Blue means to us: We Steering Committee members are pragmatic progressives with no “purity or litmus tests” for our key issues. Rather, we will support the candidate that comes closest to our positions, which means that moderate Joe Biden is much preferred to fascist Donald Trump. And, electability matters; one can’t govern from the sidelines. Sometimes that means backing someone who looks less blue than their opponent, someone who is in a better position to be elected and actually help us. Finally, some candidates might want us to maintain our distance for political reasons specific to their constituencies. We respect that, so people we would otherwise recommend may be missing from this list.

**Keep Oregon House District 5 Blue!

President: Joe Biden

U.S. Senate: Jeff Merkley

U.S. Congress CD2: Alex Spenser

Secretary of State: Shemia Fagan

State Treasurer: Tobias Read

State Attorney General: Ellen Rosenblum

State House District 4: Mary Middleton

**State House District 5: Pam Marsh

State House District 6: Alberto Enriquez

Jackson County Commissioner: Terrie Martin


***Special Action***

Tomorrow, Saturday, July 25, groups and individuals throughout the state will be gathering to publicly protest the recent deployment of federal and state militaristic forces to Portland. These forces have been using excessive measures to suppress the nonviolent Black Lives Matter protests occurring in downtown Portland since early June. Unidentified federal agents—who were not invited to the state and have been asked to leave by state and local officials—are using tear gas and various “non-lethal” munitions banned in Portland. They are also detaining and removing peaceful protesters using unmarked cars. Trump’s fascist invasion of Portland and American cities must not stand!

Wearing masks and social distancing is, of course, expected. We want everyone at the rally to feel safe.

Communities across the country are invited to join these protests as we collectively raise our voices.

We will not stop exercising our right to free speech.

We will defend democracy.

Non-ORD2 Indivisible Sponsored Event: Federal Police Out of Portland NOW! Rally & March – Ashland
July 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/non-ord2-indivisible-event-federal-police-out-of-portland-now-rally-march-ashland/


***Today’s Call To Action***

PROTECT CENSUS INTEGRITY

SAVE OUR DEMOCRACY


Every 10 years the Census Bureau determines where each person resides. Census data is used to determine which states gain or lose House seats and electoral college votes, and to distribute $1.5 trillion annually in federal aid. “Person” has always meant everyone was counted, whatever their status.

Trump wants massive undercounting to dilute Democratic states’ influence in Congress and send more federal money to GOP states, depriving Black and Latino communities of their fair share of political representation and federal funding. He has:

  • Tried to add a citizenship question to scare away immigrant households
  • Ensured underfunding to minimize visits to non-responding households (over 1/3 at present) where immigrant and non-white families are over-represented
  • After Supreme Court loss on the citizenship question, ordered Census Bureau to collect citizenship information from state and federal administrative records so could be excluded from the final count
  • Last month, added two high-level political appointees to the Bureau without census experience who are questioning outreach needs

Census workers need to reach 37.9% nonresponding households but are running behind because of the C-19 pandemic. The House has included a 4-month extension in the HEROES Act with money for outreach—one of the reasons we desperately need to get the Senate to pass the Act intact.

We cannot let Trump weaponize the census. Congress must act to save our democracy.


**ACTION ONE: CALL OUR U.S. SENATORS**

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR SENATORS MERKLEY and WYDEN:

“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [city], Oregon [zip code]. 

I am calling because we cannot let Trump weaponize the census to punish states with large communities of color, deprive them of House seats, electoral college votes, and the portion of federal funding they deserve. The Senate must pass the HEROES Act which grants the Census Bureau its requested 4-month extension and the increased funding it needs to count the 38.9% of households that haven’t responded.

It must also investigate and prohibit the politicization of the Census Bureau and the continuing use of federal funds to conduct an unconstitutional census of undocumented people.

Thank you.”

SENATOR JEFF MERKLEY

Portland: (503) 326-3386, DC: (202) 224-3753
Salem: (503) 362-8102, Eugene: (541) 465-6750
Medford: (541) 608-9102, Bend: (541) 318-1298
Pendleton: (541) 278-1129
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/contact/

 

SENATOR RON WYDEN

Portland: (503) 326-7525, DC: (202) 224-5244
Salem: (503) 589-4555, Eugene: (541) 431-0229
Medford: (541) 858-5122, Bend: (541) 330-9142
La Grande: (541) 960-7691
https://www.wyden.senate.gov/contact/

 


**ACTION TWO: CALL COMPLICIT GREG WALDEN**

SAMPLE SCRIPT FOR WALDEN:

“My name is [–] and I’m a constituent from [town/city], Oregon [zip code]. 

If Greg Walden cares about his constituents, he cannot continue to let Trump weaponize the census. Undercounting in Oregon will hurt the people in his district. It is important to keep the Census Bureau nonpartisan, and, as a fiscal conservative, he should oppose Trump’s continued use of funds to conduct an unconstitutional census of undocumented persons.

To remain silent on all of this is a moral outrage. If that’s Greg’s decision, I call on him to resign his office effective immediately. 

Where’s Walden? History is watching; Greg’s legacy is at stake. 

Thank you.”

COMPLICIT GREG WALDEN

DC (202) 225-6730, Medford: (541) 776-4646
Bend (541) 389-4408, La Grande (541) 624-2400
https://walden.house.gov/contact-greg/email-me


**ACTION THREE: CALL GOVERNOR KATE BROWN**

Governor Kate Brown Phone: 503-378-4582  Trump’s militarized DHS forces who have invaded Portland are acting without restraint or accountability.  They are suppressing free speech and terrorizing peaceful protesters.  I want to thank the governor for calling for them to leave and speaking out against Trump’s abuse of power.  But I am asking for more.  Every night that the DHS continues to march on Portland streets, more people are endangered.  I am asking for real action to get DHS forces out of Portland now.  And action necessary, up to and including use of the Oregon National Guard, to protect all Oregonians on the streets of Portland.


**ACTION FOUR: BE AN ACTIVIST**

July 24, 12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Ongoing every Monday, Wednesday and Friday
#MyORHealth  Support is available for Oregon’s “helpers”

Lines for Life has created a Virtual Wellness Room to offer support to helpers, mental health professionals, first responders, social workers and anyone considered an essential worker during the COVID-19 pandemic in Oregon. Each check-in call will have a facilitator to guide the conversation.

“We at Lines for Life want to thank you for all the work you do to keep our communities safe,” the organization said. “We are offering a place for helpers to exchange stories of hope and areas of need. We especially want to hear what things are coming up for you personally and explore how we can cheer one another on to continue the good work you are already doing. We ultimately want to create space to breathe out stress and breathe in hope.”

The meetings are held using Zoom conference calls from 12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at this link: https://zoom.us/j/4848426773. Please share this invite with anyone in your network of Oregon helpers.

Non-ORD2 Indivisible Sponsored Event: Federal Police Out of Portland NOW! Rally & March – Ashland
July 25 @ 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/non-ord2-indivisible-event-federal-police-out-of-portland-now-rally-march-ashland/

Letters to Voters Garden and Zoom Parties – Medford (And Your Homes)
July 28 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Ongoing, every Tuesday
https://ord2indivisible.org/event/letters-to-voters-garden-and-zoom-parties-medford-and-your-homes/


Ongoing Action: ORD2 Indivisible Virtual Postcard and Letter Writing Parties

Postcards to Voters:

Our postcard team is temporarily suspending the delivery of postcards to your door. However, the good news is that you will find everything you need to continue writing from home (including templates to print your own or purchase pre-printed cards) here: https://postcardstovoters.org

You can sign up through https://postcardstovoters.org/volunteer/

To avoid unnecessary trips to the post office, order stamps directly from the USPS:
https://store.usps.com/store/product/buy-stamps/coral-reefs-postcard-stamp-S_745104

…and voila, you’re ready to go! Send an e-mail to with any questions.

Letters to Voters

We encourage our team of volunteers to sign up with Swing Left to start writing letters to voters in 12 swing states.  It is super easy to join. Check out their website, sign up, and let’s start writing! https://swingleft.org/

Send an e-mail to if you would like more information about how to get involved.

Correction:

In yesterday’s newsletter, the contact information for Dasja Dolan, who is one of the leaders of ORD2 Indivisible’s letter-writing campaign for Vote Forward, was incorrect. Her email address should be . We regret the error.

Virtual Letter-writing Parties

We encourage you to join virtual letter-writing parties hosted by Oregon Indivisible / Swing Left. The parties are held at noon every Saturday and on the last Tuesday of every month. Here are the links for the next two parties:

https://www.mobilize.us/swingleft/event/267146/

**Visit the ORD2 Indivisible Event Calendar on a regular basis to keep updated on local activities. Participate with us as often as you can. We also encourage you to submit events to be added to the ORD2 Indivisible Event Calendar and help us keep current with our event postings. https://ord2indivisible.org/submit-your-event/