Defend Democracy. Take Action.

Defend Democracy. Take Action.

Women Defend Democracy
Time Range For Action Alert: 
Mar 17 2025 to Mar 23 2025

Take action to defend democracy!  

Even one action per week makes a difference. Please share this with your friends. 
 

Actions for the week of 3.17.2025

League of Women Voters Oconee/Pickens (LWVOP) has a lot going on this week, so we will list the local action items first. State and National items are below. 

Local-Level Actions 

Action 1: LWVOP Public Program: Closing the Health Care Gap in SC. What’s happening with Medicaid expansion … the news may not be as dark as you think!

Tuesday, March 18, 4 p.m.
United Methodist Church
300 Frontage Rd
Clemson (Christian Life Center - 3rd building on right)

Open to the public! Learn how Medicaid expansion would grow SC’s economy over the first three years and much more. We will hear from Zakiya Mickle, CoverSC, presenter. CoverSC is a coalition of 92 SC organizations working for an expanded program to cover the uninsured. Learn more about this important issue here.  

Action 2: Help Wanted 

We are updating the Oconee and Pickens County Directory of Public Officials. We need volunteers from both counties to proofread the text and make any corrections. Volunteers should be detail oriented and have working knowledge of Microsoft Word or the Apple equivalent. Please contact spurlock.pat [at] gmail.com (Pat Spurlock) or call 864-851-1992.  

Action 3: Rally outside Senator Graham’s office 

Wednesday, March 19, 4 p.m. Rally outside Senator Graham’s office at 12 Exchange Street, Pendleton.
Sponsored by South Carolina Stands with Ukraine  

Action 4: Attend the Pickens County Library Meeting

Thursday, March 20, 2025 at 6 pm
Kimberly Hampton Memorial Library
304 Biltmore Road, Easley, SC 29640

It is expected that two books will be up for reconsideration action by the library board at this meeting: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison and Brave Face by Shaun David Hutchinson. Sign-ups for public comment begin on Monday, March 17, 2025. The public comment period is limited to 30 minutes (although the board can vote to allow more time), so be sure to email  boardclerk [at] pcls.fyi. or call 864-850-7077, ext. 189, as soon as possible to request your spot on the roster.

If you can't attend the meeting, you can still help by contacting the library board members, your county council members and your state representatives. 

Action 5: Upcoming Judicial Reform Consensus Meeting

Tuesday, April 1, 4 p.m.
Blue Ridge Community Center in Seneca

In the light of current challenges to the rule of law, this is a very timely consensus.

There is lots of good information on our LWVOP website including consensus questions and a series of nine very short papers explaining some of the issues. Please review as much as you can and come prepared to participate in making our recommendations to LWVUS on a position on judicial reform.

If you will be at the meeting, please pick out one (or even two) of the 23 page papers to print out, review, and bring with you as an "instant expert" on that particular issue. Just kidding about the expert part. But do be prepared to share any relevant points in that particular document as we consider what we might support or oppose in the consensus suggestions. LWVUS is not looking only for yes or no, but also salient talking points! Contact holleyulbrich [at] gmail.com (Holley Ulbrich) for more information.

Action 6: Save The Date for Candidate Forum

Thursday, April 3, 6:30-8 pm
Walhalla Middle School
151 Razorback Lane, Walhalla

LWVOP will sponsor a Candidates Forum for the special election on April 22 to fill two vacant Walhalla City Council seats. Five Walhalla residents are vying for the seats.

Action 7: Attend a local LWVOP, county or city public meeting. They are listed on the LWVOP calendar.
 

State-Level Actions 

Action 8: Call or write your SC Senators about House bill H.3309, Energy regulation.

House bill H. 3309 is now under consideration by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Senators should reject the provisions of this bill that will harm the public interest.

Ask your Senator to preserve the ability of the State to protect us from the power of monopolies, do not establish preferential treatment of utilities over citizens and citizen groups during regulatory processes, protect residential ratepayers; allow agencies to do their jobs in assessing individual projects, don’t reach their conclusions regarding individual projects for them, and require data centers to fully pay their own way.

As currently written H.3309 would:

  • Bias the Public Service Commission (PSC) toward construction of a gas-fired plant at Canadys, before the appropriate data and arguments are considered by the PSC
  • Alter the mission of the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) to return to the demand that they consider the “financial integrity of utilities” in their representations before the PSC
  • Gut important aspects of the regulatory protections put in place following the V. C. Summer debacle
  • Damage ratepayers throughout South Carolina by allowing utilities to provide special negotiated rates to “transformative” and “qualifying” customers (including energy hog data centers) that would transfer the cost of providing their energy from those who will profit from the industry to residential and small business utility customers who will receive little or no benefit.

Further information is available in LWVSC testimony on H.3309, posted under Advocacy: Legislative: Environmental Policy.

Find your SC Legislators here. 

National Level Actions 

Action 9: REQUEST a town hall from your members of Congress.

Democracy depends upon informed and active participation. Eliminating public events where constituents can meet with their representatives and express their interests or concerns is antithetical to our country's foundation.

The League is encouraging members and supporters to attend town halls to ask questions about what is happening with Congress and the Administration. If a town hall has been canceled or if there wasn’t one scheduled at all, there are still opportunities to act by visiting your district office, calling their offices, or sending our action alert.

Americans have the right to demand to be heard. Please use the resources on this page to attend events, contact legislators, and hold them accountable during this and every recess period. The next in-district work period begins on March 17.

The Honorable Lindsey Graham (Dear Senator Graham)
290 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5972

The Honorable Tim Scott (Dear Senator Scott)
104 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510
202-224-6121

The Honorable Sheri Biggs (Dear Representative Biggs)
1530 Longworth Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5301 (DC), 864-224-7401 (Anderson).

Action 10: CALL your U.S. Representative about the SAVE Act (voter suppression).

Below is a sample message; learn more at 5calls.org 

Hi, my name is [NAME] andI’m a constituent from [CITY]. I'm calling (writing) to demand that Rep. Sheri Biggs oppose the SAVE Act, [if calling House: H.R. 22 / if calling Senate: S. 128], which would create unnecessary barriers to voter registration by requiring a passport or birth certificate for registration along with in-person registration. Millions of eligible voters don’t have easy access to these documents, and the in-person registration requirement would be particularly burdensome for people with disabilities and military members serving abroad. The bill would disenfranchise countless voters, especially women, seniors, and low-income citizens.

This bill is designed to block voters despite no real evidence of widespread fraud. Rep. Sheri Biggs must vote against it.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Feel free to adopt this message and make it your own! If you live in Oconee or Pickens counties, your U.S. Representative is:

The Honorable Sheri Biggs (Dear Representative Biggs)
1530 Longworth Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
202-225-5301 (DC), 864-224-7401 (Anderson). 

Other counties, find your U.S. Representative’s name and contact information here.

Action 11: Join the League (if you are not already a member!)

Help support the League in their mission of educating and informing voters. 

These are just suggestions of actions you could take as an individual. If you are a League member, always remember to express your personal views, and not to speak on behalf of the League. Only League Presidents or designees can speak on behalf of the League.

We would love to hear from you about this initiative. Feel free to forward this email to others who wish to find ways to participate. Whether it’s how this made you feel, results you saw, or suggestions for future topics, please let cherie.walker.lwv [at] gmail.com (Cherie Walker) know. 

Action 12: Sign up for the mailing list.

If someone forwarded this email to you, sign up to get it directly!

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