This week demands action. Here are 13 ways you can push back right now:
⚡ Quick Actions
Tell Congress: Permanently block OMB’s federal grant rule → Send your letter
📩 Short-Term Engagement — Public Comments & Events
Stop the IRS from threatening the tax-exempt status of schools that support minority students → Register for the office hour THIS FRIDAY, Oct 23
Meet the L4GG team during Pro Bono Week → Register for the virtual open house NEXT TUESDAY, Oct 27
Stop the EPA from repealing limits on power plant greenhouse gas emissions → Submit a comment by Nov 2
Protect the accuracy of the 2030 census → Submit a comment by Nov 2
🛠️ Long-Term Engagement — Election Protection Efforts
VIRGINIA (in-person, attorneys and law students — D.C./MD/VA): Serve as a Frontline Legal Advocate on Election Day → Commit before the training TOMORROW, Oct 22
GEORGIA (in-person, attorneys, law students, and paralegals): Monitor county election certification meetings on Nov 6 → Learn more and sign up
Combat election disinformation (remote, attorneys and non-attorneys — national) → Join the Response Network
TEXAS (in-person, attorneys): Serve as a Frontline Legal Monitor during early voting, now through Oct 30 → Learn more and sign up
MICHIGAN (in-person, attorneys): Serve as an Election Protection Attorney as shifts start THIS SATURDAY, Oct 24 → Sign up for a shift
MONTANA, MISSOURI & COLORADO: Defend the courts and our rights at the ballot box → see how to help in your state below
🤝 Partner Actions
NORTH CAROLINA (remote, lawyers, law students, and paralegals): Answer voter calls on the Election Protection Hotline → Sign up for a hotline shift
Back local organizing groups with legal support during the midterms (attorneys with protest support or criminal defense experience) → Fill out the intake form
Whether you have two minutes or two days, join the fight. Keep reading for more context.
🔴 The Moment We're In: 20,000 Ballots
Last Thursday, the Justice Department sued California to stop it from counting mail ballots from about 20,000 voters the department calls “likely” noncitizens until their citizenship is confirmed. It also warned that local election workers who knowingly process those ballots could face investigation. On Monday, the department charged 28 people in a California sweep, and acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter said the 20,000 figure is “just the floor.”
State officials say the department has shown no proof. California Attorney General Rob Bonta said it “has provided us with no facts of any ineligible voters, just a conclusory statement with no evidence to back it.” It isn’t only California. Utah’s Republican lieutenant governor, Deidre Henderson, refused to hand over sensitive voter data and was told in writing that she is under investigation. “But now we also have threats coming from within our own government,” she told 60 Minutes.
Election Day is 13 days away, and early voting is underway. When a voter is wrongly challenged or turned away, volunteer lawyers answer their questions, document problems, and take the declarations courts rely on. L4GG is placing them at the polls in Virginia, Texas, and Michigan, and at the Georgia county board meetings held before results are certified. If you haven’t plugged in yet, now is the time.
Thirteen actions in this docket. Pick one. Start there.
⚡ QUICK ACTIONS
💵 Tell Congress: Block OMB’s Grant Rule for Good
Congress temporarily blocked the White House Office of Management and Budget’s proposed overhaul of federal grant rules, but that block expires Dec. 11. If it lapses, any administration could withhold, suspend, or terminate grants without notice or cause and award funding based on partisan ideology rather than merit, community need, and congressional intent. The rule would also force states, local governments, schools, and universities to implement unlawful executive orders, eviscerating decades of civil rights protections. Prefer to call? Use our call script.
📩 SHORT-TERM ENGAGEMENT - PUBLIC COMMENTS & EVENTS
🎓 Office Hour THIS FRIDAY: Your Comment Counts — Protect University Civil Rights Remedies
📍 L4GG.org/TaxExemptOfficeHour | Friday, Oct 23 | 12:00 p.m. ET | Zoom
The IRS has proposed a rule threatening the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status of private schools that offer targeted support to minority students. Administration officials call it a simple clarification of existing tax law. In practice, it’s an effort to dictate whom colleges and universities may serve. Join L4GG and the Alliance for Higher Education’s Director of Policy and Stakeholder Organizing, Eddy Conroy, to get your comment started. We’ll share what we know so far about the rule, walk through the resources and templates we have, and answer your questions. This session will be recorded and shared with all registrants.
Register for the Oct 23 office hour.
👋 Meet the L4GG Team: Virtual Volunteer Open House for Pro Bono Week
📍 L4GG.org/OpenHouse | Tuesday, Oct 27 | 2:00 p.m. ET | Zoom
National Pro Bono Week starts Sunday. Celebrate by meeting the staff behind L4GG’s work: after welcome remarks from Founder and Executive Director Traci Feit Love, you’ll join smaller breakout rooms with our teams, from the Pro Bono Litigation Corps and Project Corazon to Election Protection. Pick up to two breakout rooms when you register, and join from the Zoom app so you can move into them.
Register for the Oct 27 open house.
🏭 Submit a Comment: Oppose EPA’s Repeal of the Greenhouse Gas Findings for Power Plant Emissions
📍 Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: November 2
EPA is proposing to repeal all remaining greenhouse gas (GHG) requirements on power plants. Even though power plants are the largest industrial source of GHG emissions in the U.S., EPA now believes that the Clean Air Act did not give it authority to regulate those emissions. Just like its earlier repeal of the Endangerment Finding for motor vehicles, EPA believes that the contribution of power plant emissions to global climate change is not sufficient to endanger public health or welfare. EPA was wrong about motor vehicles and is wrong about power plants. Make your voice heard to oppose this proposal.
Read L4GG’s comment template and draft your comment
Submit your comment by November 2, 2026
Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment
📊 Submit a Comment: Take Action to Protect the Accuracy of the Census
📍 Follow the steps below | Comment deadline: November 2
More than 60,000 comments are already in. The U.S. Census Bureau has proposed two unprecedented changes to how the 2030 census and later counts are conducted. One proposal would fundamentally alter a 230-year precedent of counting ALL residents, regardless of immigration status. A second proposal would ban questions about race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. A fair and accurate count is used to determine congressional districts and to distribute over $1 trillion in federal funding. Add your voice before the Nov. 2 deadline.
Read these comment templates and draft your comment
Submit your comment by November 2, 2026
Let us know you submitted at L4GG.org/TrackComment
🛠️ LONG-TERM ENGAGEMENT - ELECTION PROTECTION
🏛️ VIRGINIA: Serve as a Frontline Legal Advocate on Election Day — Training on Thursday
📍 L4GG.org/VAFrontline | In-person | Open to attorneys and law students (D.C., MD, VA) | Required training: Thursday, Oct 22
In partnership with Virginia Election Protection, L4GG is placing D.C., Maryland, and Virginia attorneys and law students at 18 priority polling locations on Election Day, Nov. 3. Advocates answer voter questions and flag problems during four-hour shifts. Commit now and you’re registered for the required training on Oct. 22; if you can’t attend live, you’ll get the recording. You do not need to be barred in Virginia.
Learn more and commit to serve.
🍑 GEORGIA: Monitor Election Certification Where It Matters Most
📍 L4GG.org/GAMonitors | In-person | Open to attorneys, law students, and paralegals | Friday, Nov 6
In partnership with All Voting is Local Georgia, L4GG is recruiting volunteers to observe county Board of Elections meetings across Georgia on Friday, Nov. 6, the last public moment before counties formally certify the election results. Board members sometimes raise fraud claims or signal they won’t certify at these meetings, despite certification being a nondiscretionary legal duty. Most counties don’t stream them. Complete a short training, and choose your county. No Georgia bar admission required.
Watch the required training and sign up for a county meeting here.
📡 Combat Election Disinformation: Join the Response Network
📍 L4GG.org/Disinfo | Remote | Open to attorneys and non-attorneys (national)
L4GG’s Election Mis/Disinformation Response Network, built with Voter Protection Corps, trains volunteers to spot false election information online and flag it for rapid response, all from home. Shifts run Tuesday, Oct. 27, 6-8 p.m. ET, and on Election Day, Nov. 3, 6 a.m.-8 p.m. ET. Every shift is supervised by an election mis/disinformation expert.
Sign up and watch the recorded training.
⭐ TEXAS: Serve as a Frontline Legal Monitor During Early Voting
📍 L4GG.org/TXFrontline | In-person | Open to attorneys
Early voting in Texas is underway and runs every day through Oct. 30, with more shifts on Election Day, Nov. 3. In partnership with the Texas Civil Rights Project, L4GG is placing attorneys in 22 priority counties where legal coverage is thin, with border counties at the top of the list. Monitors answer voter questions, check polling places for ADA compliance, and report problems. See the priority county map. Sign up, watch the required training recording, and choose your shift.
🗳️ MICHIGAN: Serve as an Election Protection Attorney — Shifts Start THIS SATURDAY
📍 L4GG.org/MichiganEP | In-person | Open to attorneys
With the Promote the Vote Fund and the ACLU of Michigan, L4GG is recruiting attorneys to monitor early voting sites and polling places. Attorneys registered to vote in Michigan serve as challengers; others serve as poll monitors. Both engage election workers when problems arise and help collect affidavits, including for emergency, same-day litigation. Four-hour shifts run Oct. 24-Nov. 1, plus Election Day, Nov. 3. The 90-minute training is on demand; finish it at least four days before your shift.
Learn more and sign up for a shift.
✅ MONTANA, MISSOURI & COLORADO: Defend the Courts and Our Rights at the Ballot Box
Voting is underway on measures that will shape judicial independence and fundamental rights: Montana voters can cast absentee ballots in person, Colorado mail ballots are out, and Missouri’s no-excuse in-person absentee voting is open. If you’re in one of these states, your voice carries real weight — and several campaigns have remote ways to help from anywhere.
Montana — Vote YES on CI-132. Montana politicians recently passed a bill allowing political parties to contribute large sums of money to judicial candidates. CI-132 would enshrine nonpartisan judicial elections in the state constitution, keeping politics out of the courts. Get involved with Montanans for Nonpartisan Courts: In Montana, add your name or display a placard; from anywhere, boost the campaign on Facebook, Instagram, or X.
Missouri — Vote NO on Amendment 3. In 2024, Missouri voters ended the state’s abortion ban and enshrined the right to reproductive freedom in the state constitution. Now politicians are pushing to overturn the will of the people and ban abortion in nearly all cases again. Get involved and Stop the Ban: In Missouri, join a get-out-the-vote canvass; from anywhere, phone bank throughout the week or text bank on Thursdays, 5:30-7 p.m. CDT.
Colorado — Vote NO on Props 134 & 135. Both measures take decisions out of the hands of experts and families: Prop 134 subjects kids to invasive gender checks, and Prop 135 interferes with kids’ medical care, both with no appeals process. The most important thing you can do right now is phone bank with Families, Not Politics. Persuasion calls run through Oct. 30, and you can join from anywhere: Wednesdays, 6-8:30 p.m. MDT or see all phone banks. In Colorado for the final weekend? Join a canvass in Aurora on Oct. 31 or Boulder on Nov. 1, or virtual phone bank all day Nov. 2-3.
🤝 PARTNER ACTIONS
☎️ NORTH CAROLINA: Answer Voter Calls on the Election Protection Hotline
📍 Sign up for a hotline shift | Remote | Open to lawyers, law students, and paralegals
The nonpartisan North Carolina Election Protection Hotline (888-OUR-VOTE) is recruiting volunteer lawyers, paralegals, and law students to answer calls from voters across the state through Election Day, documenting problems and working to remove barriers to voting. The hotline is 100% virtual, so you can train and answer calls from home. Volunteers are especially needed on Saturday, Oct. 31, the last day of early voting; Monday, Nov. 2; and Election Day, Nov. 3. Volunteers serve at least two shifts and complete two trainings.
Learn more and sign up for a hotline shift.
⚖️ Back Local Organizing Groups with Legal Support During the Midterms
📍 Fill out the intake form | Open to attorneys with protest support or criminal defense experience
Movement Law Lab and the Legal Alliance Against Authoritarianism are matching lawyers with state and local organizing groups preparing for mobilizations and protests during and right after the midterms, with the biggest gaps in New Hampshire, Iowa, Maine, Alaska, and Seattle. Volunteers connect with a local organizing hub, learn its plans, and offer legal consults on local threats and protest plans. This role does not commit you to provide legal representation. A briefing for attorneys is planned for next week, and filling out the intake form provides you with more information.
We’ll be back next week with more ways to take action—but the work doesn’t stop here.
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