Take action to defend democracy!
Actions for the week of 4.28.2025
Even one action per week makes a difference. Please share this with your friends.
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.
National-Level Actions
Action 1: JOIN LWVUS on Capitol Hill Wednesday, April 30.
On April 30th, the 100th day of the second Trump Administration, the League of Women Voters US is having a Lobby Day on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and you’re invited to meet with your members of Congress and urge them to support and defend the Constitution. You can RSVP through your League in Action app.
Action 2: STAND UP TO BRAZEN ATTACKS ON OUR DEMOCRACY!
Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters, and Dianna Wynn, president of the League of Women Voters, released the following statement on April 17, 2025:
“It has now been 87 days since the start of the Trump administration. From the flagrant disregard for congressional authority and governmental checks and balances to the latest action of openly defying the Supreme Court orders to bring Kilmar Abrego Garcia back home, one thing is abundantly clear: our country is in a constitutional crisis.
The foundational principles that have sustained our democracy — checks and balances, the rule of law, free and fair elections — are under direct and sustained threat. In this extraordinary moment, we cannot proceed with business as usual. All Americans — no matter who you voted for in 2024 — need to come together, stand united, and fight back to save our democracy. We cannot afford to fail the generations to come.
What can you do: Starting May 1, the League will launch the Unite and Rise 8.5 initiative, which aims to mobilize 8.5 million voters using the power of voter engagement as a cornerstone of our democracy. Unite and Rise 8.5 will showcase the many ways voters can drive change, including through advocacy, mobilization, civic education, and engagement. The initiative is part of LWV’s Women Defend Democracy campaign. Check back here for more details as they become available. For now, continue to spread the word with your friends, neighbors and on social media.
Call or write your congressional delegation and demand that they fulfill their sworn obligation to uphold the Constitution.
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
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 3: UPDATE on Anti-Voter Trump Executive Order.
April 24, 2025 Washington, DC — Today, a federal court judge issued a ruling in League of Women Voters et. al. v. Trump et. al., temporarily blocking the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) from implementing a provision in the President’s executive order adding a requirement to show a passport or similar document proving citizenship when registering to vote via the federal form. While the case proceeds, this injunction preserves the status quo where would-be voters already affirm under penalty of perjury that they are US citizens on the federal form. Read more here.
Note from LWVSC President Nancy Williams: Here's good news and more reasons to be a proud League member! We are, indeed, defending democracy.
State-Level Actions
Action 4: CALL your SC Senators and ask them to support S.99, Hate Crime Bill.
Find your SC Legislators
We are one of only two states without such a bill. S.99 has been reported favorably out of the Senate Judiciary Committee and is going to the Senate floor. This bill does not define an independent class of crimes, but enhances penalties when the victim of a violent crime was intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s perception of the race, color, religion, political views, sex, gender, national orientation, or physical or mental disability of the victim.
- This bill is an important statement of the values of South Carolinians who reject hatefully targeting someone for violent crime because of their personal characteristics.
- This bill does NOT create a new class of criminal acts. It only enhances penalties for violent crimes that are defined in existing law.
- S.99 does NOT single out some victims as more important than others, but instead focuses on the motives and intentions of the perpetrator.
Action 5: CALL your SC Representative about H.3309: Energy Regulation Bill
H.3309 is a major revision of energy regulation and as such is of great importance for good government — or its failure. In the House H.3309 reflected nothing but the wishes of utilities. It has been returned to the House from the Senate in greatly improved form. The Senate made many positive changes including:
- Restoring regulatory accountability
- Requiring that the cost of providing energy to power-hog data centers be covered by those data centers,
- Preserving clean energy competition
- Holding utilities accountable on energy efficiency
However, a major negative change was introduced by the Senate:
- Another bill, the Electric Rate Stabilization Act (referred to as an RSA) was incorporated into H.3309, and would allow utilities to raise customer rates every year without presenting a traditional rate case before the Public Service Commission, reducing public input and regulatory review.
It is now up to the House to either accept the Senate version through concurrence or send the bill to a conference committee to resolve the major differences between the two versions.
Read the League positions on Energy Regulation here.
Call your Representative to request that regardless of the path forward that is chosen, the improvements introduced by the Senate must be retained. If the bill goes to conference committee, the Rate Stabilization Act provision should be deleted.
Local-Level Actions
Action 6: ATTEND May Day National Day of Action
Thursday, May 1, 4-6 pm, Clemson Municipal Court
Meet at Clemson Municipal Court, 1250 Tiger Boulevard, Highway 123 and 76 in Clemson, SC. More information here.
ACTION 7: ATTEND meetings of your local government and stay informed on local issues.
LWVOP.org maintains an extensive calendar of local public meetings.
- Monday, April 28: Pickens City Council Work Session, 219 Pendleton St, Pickens, SC 29671 at 6 pm. For more information, choose from the following: Schedule of Meetings, City Council Agendas, City Council Minutes.
- Monday, April 28: Pickens County School Board Meeting** at 1348 Griffin Mill Rd, Easley, SC 29640 at 6 pm. Board meetings are livestreamed; to watch, please connect to the SDPC YouTube page. You may view video of past meetings.
Action 8: The Candle Signal
Put a candle or LED lights in your window every night, as a signal to others that you are aware and they are not alone.
Action 9: CELEBRATE your actions!
Update from Spartanburg Town Hall with U.S. Representative Clyburn 4/22/25 from an Oconee/Pickens League Member:
“I was able to go to Clyburn's town hall meeting last night and so glad I did! He is such an inspirational speaker and amazing storyteller that always includes a moral lesson. There were at least 350 people in the auditorium there. There were so many great questions that he answered, and I was fortunate to be able to ask Rep Clyburn my question. I asked “What are the most effective ways to fight this administration? Is it rallies, calls, letters, emails?”
In addition to remarks below found in the Charleston City newspaper, his answer included: "We are coming up short as Democrats in sending Letters to the Editors." He continued, "Invade editorial pages with alternative views to get our point across."
I found the following in the Charleston City newspaper (encouraging words for all the members taking weekly action to defend our democracy). He also said we need to resist and keep up the fight!”
Clyburn called for Democrats to get to work to blunt the “threats to our democracy” posed by President Donald Trump, advocating for an “all of the above approach” of rallies, protests, social media engagement, letters to newspapers and conversations with neighbors.
“We all have different talents, and what I think we need to do is use whatever talent you have in whatever way you can to fight this,” he said.
You can share actions you’ve completed on Facebook, #WomenDefendDemocracy, or email me to be included in our Eblasts and social media posts.
Action 10: Join the League (if you are not already a member!)
Help support the League in their mission of educating and informing voters.
Action 11: Sign up for the mailing list.
If someone forwarded this email to you, sign up to get it directly!
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.
