Now the REAL work begins.

Sign outside Fetch in KCMO.

We’ve got so much on the line, friends, and so far, the early voting numbers are dismal. So let’s get out there TODAY and make sure people know why it’s so important to vote.

• In JoCo, there are about 470,000 registered voters. By close-of-business Friday, about 72,000 had cast votes, both in person and advance-by-mail. (About 15 percent.)

• In WyCo, there are about 92,000 registered voters and some 4,803 have cast early votes. (About 5 percent)

• Note: We couldn’t find public numbers for Jackson County.

Need help convincing someone to vote? Try these:

• If you don’t vote, you’re letting everyone else choose who represents you. (Look around. You don’t want that!)

• Local elections have an immediate, concrete impact on your day-to-day life, everything from property taxes to potholes.

• You pay your legislators’ salaries. You might as well have a say in who they are.

• Democracy only survives if we participate in it.

Show them what’s on the line.

• Learn more about Missouri’s Amendment 4 and Amendment 5

• Learn why to vote NO on the Kansas Supreme Court measure

Make sure they know where to vote on election day.

• MO Lookup

• KS Lookup

Also, check out the Kansas City Star’s voting guide — and share it with friends.

Today, it’s all-hands-on-deck for candidates and folks campaigning for NO votes in both Missouri and Kansas. It’s not too late to help.

• Find a candidate you support and check their social media channels for last-minute opportunities. Folks will be door knocking, phone banking and more.

• Contact your County party leaders and ask what needs to be done.

• Knock doors with Kansans United for Impartial Courts to remind voters how important it is to Vote No. Sign up here.

• In Missouri - Join Missouri Jobs with Justice for one last phone banking and canvassing push! Phonebank Sign Up Canvassing Sign Up

Show your support for our immigrant neighbors with this stunning sign — and support two of the most worthy non-profits in our area, El Centro and Center of Grace.

Put the sign in your yard or window. Do you live in an HOA that doesn’t allow signs? You can still buy one and we’ll donate to an Olathe small business. Or just make a donation!

All profits from the $20 sign go to support El Centro and Center of Grace. (A note on the design: The vibrant images overlapping around the border are drawings of the origin countries of many of our neighbors.)

✅ ORDER YARD SIGNS HERE.

✅ Tuesday, Aug. 4 | 6:30 - 9 p.m. | Burg and Barrel | Downtown OP

🥳🥳🥳 Mark your calendars for our election night watch party. This will be a low-key gathering with an opportunity to eat, drink and chat local politics.

Doesn’t matter if we’re rooting for different folks in the primary. At the end of the day, we’re all for democracy. And there will be snacks! SIGN UP HERE

It’s pretty exciting when your favorite coffee shop asks if they can highlight your work. Every month, the incomparable Café Corazón, the area’s first Latin American and Indigenous coffee house and roastery, spotlights a non-profit.

This month, they’re shining their glorious light on us. (Humbled? Yes. Yes, we are.) We first crossed paths doing Know Your Rights training. Café Corazón is more than a coffee shop. It’s a celebration of Latin American culture.

We highly recommend visiting their Southwest Blvd. location on First Fridays. It’s a party. Music. Dance lessons. Amazing food and drink.

If you’re looking for dink recommendations. The Mocha Sevilla is divine!

Our heartfelt thanks to the good people at Café Corazón.

Join us at a Community Hub in August to chat about the primary election, hear what others are working on, and most importantly, connect! No single meet-up or action is going to solve our problems, but building strong communities is what will see us through.

• August 1 | 10:30 am - 12:00 pm | Waldo | South Broadland Presbyterian | Register Here

• August 3 | 1:30 - 3:00 pm | Leawood | Leawood Library | Register Here

• August 5 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | Merriam Library | NE JoCo | Register Here

• August 6 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | Shawnee | TBD (check Mobilize for updates) | Register Here

• August 6 | 6:00 - 7:30 pm | Lenexa/Overland Park/Olathe | Shawnee Mission Unitarian Church | Register Here

• August 6 | 7:00 - 8:30 pm | NEW! Midtown | Kansas City Oasis | Register Here

ICE agents at an Olathe apartment complex.

Every day, masked and armed agents abduct people from Kansas City and Johnson County streets in broad daylight. Whether or not you want to get involved in the movement to stop ICE, it’s important we all understand what’s happening in our country.

We invite you to join the thousands of people across the metro who have attended a Community Defense Training. Our goal is to educate as many people as possible in the metro about how ICE operates and the impact they have on our immigrant community.

✅ Tuesday, August 11 | 6 p.m. | Lenexa | RSVP here (Required. Address will be sent before event.)

The Boots on the Ground calendar offers a curated list of action items in Kansas and the KCMO metro.

Please submit items for the calendar to: calendar@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org

First, thanks for being part of the resistance. We need every one of you!

We keep our work free because we want everyone to have access to information and resources aimed at preserving democracy and fighting authoritarianism.

You can support through Substack by opting for a paid subscription. Or, you can donate through here. Thank you so much!