“Do not think your single vote does not matter much. The rain that refreshes the parched ground is made up of single drops.”― Kate Sheppard (1848-1934), women’s suffrage advocate, New Zealand
Want the scoop on upcoming rallies, marches, and related events? Visit OI’s Rallies, Marches, Town Halls and Boycotts webpage!
If you haven’t received your ballot for this Tuesday’s Primary election, call the County Auditor’s election team: (360) 786-5408, or 711 Washington Relay for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. You can register and then vote in person by 8 pm Tuesday, August 4 at either the Thurston County Voting Center (2915 29th Ave SW, Tumwater, WA 98512) or the Thurston County Auditor Office (3000 Pacific Ave SE, Olympia).
If you have your ballot, fill it out immediately (using OI’s Endorsements page) and drop it in an official ballot collection box by (see map). Make sure to include your phone number or email on your ballot. If your ballot is damaged, needs signature verification, or has unintended marks, Elections staff want to reach you to fix any issues. Help them find you!
Help amplify visibility and enthusiasm ahead of the August 4 Primary election for multiple OI-endorsed candidates, including:
State Representatives Beth Doglio and Lisa Parshley (LD-22)
State Supreme Court Justice Debra Stephens (Position 7)
US Representative Marilyn Strickland (WA-10)
Training will be provided - no experience required!
Action: Join the campaign to promote social justice and flip the House majority! Click links below to sign up.
Sunday, August 2:
Monday, August 3: Primary Eve
10am-1pm: Canvass in Olympia
Multi-millionaire Brian Heywood’s ballot initiative IL-645 to repeal the Millionaire’s Tax will be on the ballot in November. The Millionaire’s Tax provides tax cuts for 99.5% of Washingtonians, paid for by a tax on income over one million dollars and earmarks the funds raised to pay for tax cuts for working and middle-class families and small business, and to fund education, healthcare, and childcare programs.
As we did for Heywood’s other initiatives (IL-001 and IL-638), we sent background information about IL-645 along with an invitation to all OI members to to decide whether OI as an organization will oppose/support/take no action on this initiative. That email was sent July 30 and voting ends August 5 at 5pm.
Action: All OI members, make sure to submit your ballot form by 5pm this Wednesday, August 5.
![Brightly colored "VOTER!" postcards](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!SJpO!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F40e7bf38-f09c-4eb7-bae6-8268ea4abd1e_840x600.jpeg "Brightly colored "VOTER!" postcards")
From the Get Out the Vote Writing Team
Join us for a Postcard Writing Party and help get out the vote in key swing states like Arizona, Ohio, and North Carolina. We supply the cards, easy-to-write scripts, and stamps (though stamps are welcome). Postcards are most effective in midterm elections, like this year’s, because the turnout is traditionally low. These cards are non-partisan; they just encourage people to vote. You might have the chance to learn the latest dance craze “Shake out writing hand cramps!”
Action: Come to a postcard-writing party at Temple Beth Hatfiloh, 201 8th Ave SE, Olympia, Wednesday, August 5, 11-1pm.
Snacks provided: non-messy ones so your postcards stay clean!
It’s an all-member picnic and you’re invited! Saturday August 15 Olympia Indivisible All-Member Picnic at LBA Park from 5:30pm-7:30pm. Join us at the LBA Park Shelter (3333 Morse-Merryman Road SE, Olympia, WA 98501) for a casual social gathering. Bring your own picnic supper and – if you wish – a potluck dessert and be prepared to chat, relax, and listen to music.
We’ll also be giving updates about Olympia Indivisible’s latest plans for the election. Please plan to carpool since LBA has limited parking. Bring your young ones for the playground, bring friends to learn about our teams and election volunteering, and bring your appetite for a potluck dessert and some songs. If you find picnic table benches uncomfortable, bring your favorite camping chair.
This social gathering will help us take a breath before the plunge into the election season, so please join us as we prepare in solidarity together.
Action: Save the date and show up!
Bonus Action: We would appreciate help with set-up at 5pm and/or clean-up: email OImembership@proton.me to volunteer. See you on August 15th!
Caffeinated and Activated: Something new is happening at Caffeinated & Activated this August
It started by accident. A few weeks ago someone made a comment at coffee, someone else responded, and before long the whole room was in it together. It got a little tense — and then it got really good. Afterward, people said: we should do that on purpose. So we are!
For the next three Saturdays, we’re turning the conversation over to you. Each week we’ll gather around a topic that matters — personal, relational, and bigger than all of us — and talk it through together, with curiosity and respect. On August 8: What gets me to show up — and what holds me back.
Getting involved in campaign and civic activities can feel exciting, scary, awkward, or all three.
Saturdays, Doors open at 9:45am, meeting runs 10–11am at the Diverse Events & Creative Arts Yard (Decay), 402 Washington St. NE, Olympia
No RSVP needed. Just show up. Read more and see all August topics here.
Action Cafe: Mondays at Noon. A Zoom lunchtime one-hour gathering where folks meet, make new friends, and take actions together. Served up with a side-order of laughter, fellowship, and live music. Sign up to be on the Action Cafe email list.
From the Local Good Government Coalition
Thurston County Commissioners will hold a public hearing on August 5 for public comments on the County’s pause on permitting new public and private involuntary detention and correctional facilities. The moratorium has been in effect since June 16, freezing permits for involuntary detention centers – federal, state, and local – except for vital services like private residential facilities for sex offenders, halfway houses for juveniles, or Tribal facilities, which fall under different codes.
Action: Comment online, by email, in person, or via Zoom.
When: By noon Wednesday, August 5 if online or by email, or at 3:30pm if via Zoom or in person.
How to Comment:
Use the online comment form on the Ordinance 16635 comment page.
E-mail your comments to Senior Planner Ana Rodriguez, ana.rodriguez@co.thurston.wa.us, by noon Wednesday, August 5.
Pre-register to join via Zoom. A Zoom registration link will be on the County’s Meetings, Hearings, and Agendas page.
Comment in person at the County Atrium Building, Rm 110, 3000 Pacific Ave SE, in Olympia.
Take action by joining Washington Indivisible network training and events. Sign up with Washington Invisible network. They’re training, preparing, and organizing shared commitments to protect our communities. Washington for All: Sign up for ICE Mobilization Alerts
From our friends at Southeast Seattle Indivisible
Background: Inside ICE Air: Flight Attendants on Deportation Planes Say Disaster Is “Only a Matter of Time”, ProPublica
It has been widely documented that the majority of the people being transported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have no criminal history. Despite that, every person being flown in and out of King County International Airport (KCIA) on ICE charter (relocation and deportation) flights is in chains; shackled at the wrist, ankles, and waist. Journalist Gillian Brockwell tracks deportation flights and reports that they can take literally days to fly around the world dropping off detainees in different countries. Passengers are frequently shackled for the entire flight.
Chains should be prohibited because of the obvious risk to passengers. In the event of an emergency, people in shackles cannot take action to save their own lives. King 5 has recently reported that it is against the airport’s own rules to re-fuel planes while passengers are being boarded or are on board, yet this happens regularly at KCIA, according to La Resistencia, who have been monitoring deportation flights at the airport for years.
Southeast Seattle Indivisible (SESI) is requesting you to sign a petition urging Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) to end the usage of chains on immigrants during I.C.E. flights. The petition calls on ALPA at KCIA (Boeing Field) to end the practice of transporting people in chains on ICE charter flights. Read Full Petition Here
Action: Sign Southeast Seattle Indivisible’s petition to the Air Line Pilots Association, HERE. And please share so others will sign.
Tell your Senator to vote to defeat the National Defense Authorization Act. The House just passed billions in new funding for Trump’s unauthorized, unprovoked war in Iran that has already cost the lives of US service members and thousands of civilians in Iran. All Senators must be urged not to vote for any new additional funding for the war. https://indivisible.org/actions/no-war-iran-senate/
Trump and his cronies are plotting to do everything they can to undermine our mid-term elections. Whether it’s trying to end mail-in voting, targeting registration programs, or blocking vote-counting, it’s going to be no-holds-barred this year as they try desperately to block free and fair elections. But Indivisible National is going to cut through the noise with community power and preparation, not panic. Visit Indivisible’s Hands off Our Vote campaign site to learn more and sign up, and sign up now for their Election Protection 101 + 201 trainings in August.
Social Safety Net Local Service Organizations and Their Needs
Indivisible.org has specific actions you can take by zip code or topic area search. Sign up to receive emails from them HERE and donate HERE.
We’re blowing the whistle on ICE Oly Whistles via their Instagram site.
Our new Resources and ways to help our immigrant neighbors document shows ways you can make a real difference locally
5calls.org 5 Calls list calls to make to your congresspeople, organized by topic, including script and phone numbers, and a way to log/track your 5 Calls actions if you choose.
Chop Wood, Carry Water is a daily political activism newsletter that comes out 6 days a week. Free or paid subscriptions HERE.
Mobilize - Actions in the Olympia area - use filters to narrow the type of activity you’re interested in.
Sign up for Take Action Network to organize and track your Activism.
The National Immigration Law Center is tracking CECOT disappearances and personal stories.
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