Take Action: Protect Voting Rights and Demand ICE Accountability

Demand Accountability: No More $$$ or Support for ICE

The pressure is working. Last week, people across the U.S. called their senators, and together we stopped Congress from rubber-stamping huge new budgets for ICE and Border Patrol. 

WV Senator Shelly Moore Capito said she is open to cutting funding for ICE as Congress negotiates a federal spending bill for DHS. She also expressed support for needed reforms to hold ICE agents accountable.

We’ve got momentum. Let’s keep it up.

Tell WV Senators and Representatives: ICE out of Minnesota and our communities. Stop funding ICE and CBP violence.

Our demands have not changed: 

• Withdraw ICE and CBP from Minnesota and our communities 
• A moratorium on ICE activity around the country
• A thorough investigation of the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good

We don’t expect WV’s representatives to suddenly do the right thing. However, we must affirm our values and refuse to be silent. Speaking up is the bare minimum.

 Make the call to let them know that West Virginians are watching. 

• Sen. Shelley Moore Capito 
  • Washington: (202) 224-6472 
  • Charleston: (304) 347-5372 
• Sen. Jim Justice 
  • Washington: (202) 224-3954 
  • Charleston: (304) 342-5855

• Rep. Carol Miller
  • Washington: (202) 225-3452
  • Charleston: (681) 945-6556
  • Beckley: (304) 250-6177
  • Huntington: (304) 522-2201
• Rep. Riley Moore 
  • Washington: (202) 225-2711
  • Martinsburg: (304) 350-6987
  • Morgantown: (304) 350-6995

Quick script:

“Hi, my name is _____ and I’m calling from _____. I’m urging Senator/Representative _____ to vote NO on any bill that increases ICE’s budget. As a member of Congress, you have a responsibility to hold ICE and the Border Patrol accountable and demand answers. And now you have a chance to do it. We need ICE and the Border Patrol out of Minnesota and our communities now. Please rein in DHS and reject any more funding for ICE and CBP violence.”

After you’ve made the call, click here to demand cessation of state and local assistance in immigration operations in West Virginia. This petition calls for a clear directive barring the use of public resources and personnel for targeting, detaining, transporting, or surveilling people. Add your name!

Enough is enough. People who value our freedoms should be outraged by these actions. 

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Protect Your Voting Rights

Tell your delegates to oppose HB 4600, a bill that unfairly penalizes eligible voters who rely on the U.S. Postal Service to return their ballots. 

By requiring absentee ballots to be received (rather than postmarked) by 8:00 PM on Election Day, this bill disenfranchises military personnel, seniors, people with disabilities, and West Virginians working or studying out of state. The bill also reduces the amount of time voters have to request an absentee ballot by one week. 

HB 4600 disregards West Virginia’s strong election safeguards, pushing baseless conspiracy nonsense that wastes time and ignores real issues. Instead of solving problems, it attacks voters and makes it harder for eligible West Virginians to cast their ballots. Supporters pointed to restrictive voting laws in other states to justify the bill—laws born from the same baseless hysteria over voter fraud that this legislature seems hell-bent on keeping alive.

This conspiracy-based nonsense diverts time and attention from solving the many real problems facing our state while making it harder for eligible West Virginians to vote. 

Results are never final on Election Day. Currently, ballots postmarked on Election Day are accepted if received before the canvass begins.

HB 4600 would eliminate the current rule allowing ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if received before the canvass begins. This change rushes election officials, discards valid votes, and weakens trust in the process.

Tell delegates to stop this attack on democracy, reject conspiracy-based bills that will make it harder for West Virginians to vote, and oppose HB 4600. You can find contact information for your delegate here. You can also submit a public comment on the bill here.