Posted on April 14, 2020
How to Request an Absentee Ballot During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The 2020 elections are the most consequential in generations. But with a global pandemic not only straining our healthcare system, paralyzing our economy and upending our daily lives, our fundamental right to vote is equally under threat.
No one should have to choose between their health and safety and their right to vote. While most states and the federal government have yet to adopt universal vote by mail, one of the best ways right now to stay safe this election season and participate in the process is voting by absentee ballot.
We’ve put together a quick guide and handy tool to help you retain your right to vote and request an absentee ballot in the upcoming elections.
Right now, only five states, Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Utah, offer all-mail voting. If you live in one of these states, you’re in luck. But the vast majority of Americans lack mail-in voting options. Multiple bills to enact election security and universal vote-by-mail have stalled in Congress, blocked by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has allowed hundreds of important House-passed bills to collect dust on his desk.
Without an option to vote by mail for everyone, how can you exercise your right to vote while protecting your health? A different vote-by-mail alternative: Absentee ballots.
Each state has its own rules governing absentee voting — some with more stringent requirements, others enjoy no-excuse absentee voting. Luckily, a number of states have begun relaxing the rules for who can request an absentee ballot, raising the count to 34 states and the District of Columbia now allowing no-excuse absentee voting. Some states, like California, are taking proactive measures to send ballots directly to registered voters.
If your state hasn’t held its primary election yet, now is the time to request your absentee ballot. Sixteen states and one territory — Alaska, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, West Virginia, Wyoming and Puerto Rico — have recently pushed their primaries back or instituted vote by mail. You can find out the rules for your state here.
Requesting your ballot is simple. The non-profit Vote.org provides a number of handy resources to register to vote, verify your registration status and, of course, request an absentee ballot. If you’re ready to request yours, try out their easy-to-use tool below to submit your request.
Editors note: This blog post was updated on May 13, 2020.
Posted on April 8, 2020
4 Free Video Apps to Stay Connected
For those of us who are fortunate to be healthy and home during this pandemic, it can be difficult when we’re away from our loved ones. Especially in this age of social distancing, it’s important now more than ever to stay connected to our friends and family.
As we all do our part to flatten the curve, protect our families and vulnerable communities and slow the spread of the coronavirus, video apps on your mobile device or computer are a great way to remain connected with your loved ones in a virtual face-to-face video chat, whether your friends and family are 3,000 miles away or just down the street.
All you need is a device with a camera and a good internet connection. Here are 4 free video chat apps you can use to help you stay in touch while you’re social distancing.
FaceTime
If you have an iPhone, iPad or Mac, you might be familiar with FaceTime, Apple’s built-in video chatting app. It’s incredibly easy to set up and use — here’s a quick tutorial from Apple — and just like any video app, make sure you have a stable internet connection. We always recommend connecting to your WiFi when you’re home.
FaceTime allows up to 32 people in a group chat, which is great for connecting with a lot of friends and family at once. You’ll need at least an iPhone 6s or a newer iPad with a recent iOS update to enable group chats. Here’s some info from Refinery29 with more details.
But one caveat: FaceTime only supports other Apple users, so if some of your loved ones don’t own Apple products, you still have other options that will work on your iOS device.
Google Duo
Google Duo is the video and audio chat app made by Google — think FaceTime for Android. Google Duo supports face-to-face chats for as many as 12 people, having recently increased the platform’s eight-person limit acknowledging on Twitter that the company “recognize(s) group calling is particularly critical right now.”
The app is extremely easy to use with a clean interface, and it’s available for across all platforms, including iOS, Android and on the web. Download it from Google Play, the App Store or use it straight from your web browser.
Zoom
Before the pandemic, you probably hadn’t heard of Zoom, the remote tele-conferencing platform. Today, Zoom seems to be everywhere — from students who are distance learning and employees working from home to virtual religious services, book clubs, happy hours, and of course, group chats with family and friends. Downloads of the app have surged in the last month, and Zoom now claims 200 million daily users.
A free Zoom account allows up to 100 people in a group meeting, but calls are limited to 40 minutes each. However, since connecting over Zoom isn’t tied to your phone number, setting up an account and coordinating video chats can be a little more difficult or time consuming. Zoom has also come under fire recently for lax security measures on the platform, and as we mentioned in a previous blog post, the recent phenomenon of “Zoom bombing” can make for an uncomfortable or unsafe chatting environment.
Sign up for a free Zoom account here.
Skype
Founded nearly 20 years ago — now owned by Microsoft — Skype is one of the original video chatting platforms and dominated the market for years. In recent months, Skype has also seen a massive flood of downloads as Americans continue to social distance during this crisis.
Skype is free to use when contacting other Skype users and supports up to 32 people in a video chat. The application offers a feature called “Meet Now” that offers “video chat Zoom-like functionality” so you can contact people who don’t have an account or the app. Here’s how to get started with Skype.
Skype is installed by default on Windows 10 computers, and users of other operating systems can download the program for free. You can also find Skype from Google Play and the App Store.
Posted on April 7, 2020
CREDO Donates $75,000 for COVID-19 Relief
As our nation continues to reel from the coronavirus pandemic, all of us here at CREDO know we have a moral obligation to help those affected in any way we can.
It’s vital now more than ever to ensure frontline organizations have the resources to respond by getting food, relief and critical aid to where it’s immediately needed. That’s why, last week, we established a special COVID-19 Response Fund to donate $75,000 — above and beyond our monthly giving to nonprofit groups — to three organizations working to help our most vulnerable communities.
More than 16,000 CREDO members stepped up over the last few days to help us decide how to distribute these funds among Mercy Corps, National Domestic Workers Alliance and World Central Kitchen. Here are the results:
$23,708 to Mercy Corps
$28,732 to the National Domestic Workers Alliance
$22,560 to World Central Kitchen
Mercy Corps
The $23,708 CREDO donation will help Mercy Corps, through its Mercy Corps’ COVID-19 Resilience Fund, provide emergency supplies, food, clean water and urgently needed support to vulnerable families and communities during this crisis and beyond.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
With its $28,732 CREDO donation, NDWA’s “Coronavirus Care Fund” is working to slow the spread of the virus by providing emergency assistance for domestic workers that enables them to stay home and healthy.
World Central Kitchen
A $22,560 CREDO donation will help World Central Kitchen deliver fresh meals, help get restaurants back to work, feed frontline healthcare workers and map out feeding efforts during this crisis.
Thank you to all our members and customers who helped us distribute this critical funding during this crisis. If you’d like to help us distribute even more donations — at no cost to you — to three nonprofits in April doing important work for the climate, peace and civil rights, please visit CREDODonations.com and vote today.
Posted on April 4, 2020
Our March grantees thank you for your support
Each month, CREDO members vote on how we distribute funding to three incredible nonprofits. Those small actions add up – with one click, you can help fund groups fighting for economic justice, climate justice and women’s rights. In March, nearly 70,000 CREDO members voted to distribute our monthly donation to Americans for Tax Fairness, Friends of the Earth and NARAL Pro-Choice America.
These donations are made possible by CREDO customers and the revenue they generate by using our services. The distribution depends entirely on the votes of CREDO members like you. And for that, our March grant recipients thank you.
Americans for Tax Fairness
$41,014
“Thanks so much for your support! CREDO members help make it possible for us to amplify the voices of our hundreds of thousands of online members and our organizational partners to create an economy that works for all of us.” – Frank Clemente, Executive Director
To learn more, visit americansfortaxfairness.org.
Friends of the Earth
$60,286
“Thank you for your support and partnership! We value your dedication to our work to defend the environment and champion a healthy and just world. CREDO members like you help us fight—and win—many important battles for our planet.” – Erich Pica, President
To learn more, visit www.foe.org.
NARAL Pro-Choice America
$48,700
“We are thankful for the support of CREDO members as we work to protect reproductive freedom. NARAL will continue to fight for the right to access abortion and with your support, we are meeting this critical moment stronger than ever!” – Ilyse G. Hogue, President
To learn more, visit NARAL Pro-Choice America.
Now check out the three groups we are funding in April, and cast your vote to help distribute our donations.
CREDO members who use our products are the reason why we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile, the carrier with a conscience.
Posted on April 2, 2020
Vote now: Help us distribute $75,000 for coronavirus relief
We’re facing a global pandemic the likes of which our planet hasn’t seen in generations.
Hundreds of thousands here in our country have tested positive, and sadly, thousands have already died. The coronavirus pandemic has upended our health care system, our economy and our way of life, and so many people are suffering the effects. It truly breaks our hearts.
Here at CREDO, we have a moral obligation to do what we can to help the people who are affected and the organizations working to make a difference.
That’s why we’ve created a “CREDO COVID-19 Response Fund” to give $75,000 to three organizations working on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis, in addition to the donations we make every month. As always, this gift comes at no cost to our members.
We’d like your help to distribute these funds among Mercy Corps, World Central Kitchen and the National Domestic Workers Alliance. Click here to vote for one, two or all three organizations making a difference during this difficult time before voting ends on April 6.
Mercy Corps
Mercy Corps is a global team of humanitarians, working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper. Its mission is to alleviate suffering, poverty and oppression by helping people build secure, productive and just communities.
This donation will help fund Mercy Corps’ COVID-19 Resilience Fund to help provide emergency supplies, food, clean water and urgently needed support to vulnerable families and communities during this crisis and beyond. Learn more about Mercy Corps here.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
The National Domestic Workers Alliance is one of the nation’s leading voices for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States. Founded in 2007, NDWA works for respect, recognition, and inclusion in labor protections for domestic workers, the majority of whom are immigrants and women of color.
A donation will help fund NDWA’s “Coronavirus Care Fund” which is working to slow the spread of the virus by providing emergency assistance for domestic workers that enables them to stay home and healthy. Learn more about National Domestic Workers Alliance here.
World Central Kitchen
World Central Kitchen is a not-for-profit non-governmental organization devoted to providing meals in the wake of natural disasters. Founded in 2010 by celebrity chef José Andrés, the organization prepared food in Haiti following its devastating earthquake. Their motto is, “A hot plate of food when it’s needed most.”
Funding will help WCK deliver fresh meals, help get restaurants back to work, feed frontline healthcare workers and map out feeding efforts during this crisis. Learn more about World Central Kitchen here.
Voting ends on Monday, April 6, so please cast your vote today to help fund one, two or all three of these groups doing critical work during the coronavirus pandemic.
Posted on April 1, 2020
CREDO Tip: 5 Tips for Coping with Social Distancing, Loneliness and Isolation during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Even if you haven’t heard it enough, we’re going to repeat it again: Stay at home. Practice social distancing. Flatten the curve.
But an unintended consequence of our efforts to slow a pandemic and keep our communities healthy is a real problem: loneliness and social isolation. As state and local governments issue quarantines and stay-at-home orders, many of us are living a new normal without in-person social interaction — and that can take a toll on our mental health.
Making matters worse, researchers have found that people who don’t feel connected to others over the long term are more likely to catch colds, experience depression and live shorter lives. One study even calculated the health risks of social isolation as equivalent to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Even before the pandemic, loneliness was already widespread, with a national survey showing that more than 70 percent of young people and millenials and half of seniors felt lonely.
So how can we combat this new — hopefully short-term — reality of social distancing and isolation? Here are some tips to improve our health and stay connected.
Make a plan to connect with friends and family
Before the pandemic, many of us probably took for granted regular social interactions with our loved ones. Connecting could be more casual, and there were fewer concerns about meeting face-to-face. But with social distancing and sheltering orders, it’s become a lot more difficult, if not impossible and even unsafe.
Yet, simply saying you’ll stay in touch and actually connecting with loved ones, whether it’s over the phone, video or some other technology, are very different — and you may forget to find time. That’s why it can be so important to make a plan to connect with your friends and family to ensure you’re staying in touch to stave off loneliness. Just like in elections, where studies have shown that making a plan to vote increases the likelihood that you’ll show up to cast your ballot, be sure to make a regular plan to connect.
A great way to make your plan stick? Send a calendar invite. Here’s how to send a calendar invitation to multiple people on your iOS and Android devices to ensure everyone stays connected.
Plan a virtual happy hour
The coronavirus pandemic has spawned a new phenomenon: the rise of the virtual happy hour. People across the country have taken to FaceTime, Zoom, Google Hangouts and other platforms as a welcome way to share a drink (non-alcoholic drinks are always welcome!) with friends while we social distance.
There are many ways to enjoy your “quarantini.” The writers at Inc. suggest these tips to host your virtual happy hour:
- Pick your video platform (Zoom, Google, Skype, etc)
- Set a specific time for the event
- Encourage your friends to bring a drink of their choosing
- Make a plan for the conversation
- If needed, gently guide the conversation
But watch out for “Zoom bombing”
Another phenomenon — and really unfortunate unintended consequence — of our new social distancing is the “Zoom Bomb.” As millions have shifted to working and learning from home, the popular video conferencing platform Zoom has become the go-to software for remote business, school and other activities.
The increased use of the platform has become a ripe target for hackers, who have exploited vulnerabilities in the software and taken over group video chats with hateful or obscene content. The FBI recently issued a warning that malicious actors could steal personal information over Zoom.
To prevent Zoom bombing, check out this article from PC Mag and some additional safety tips from the Anti-Defamation League.
Start or join a book club
Book clubs are cropping up everywhere during the coronavirus pandemic. Although many libraries have already closed, digital books are plentiful, so if you’re an avid reader (or not-so-avid, but want to become one), starting or joining a book club with your friends and family can be a great way to stay connected.
Not sure where to begin? Bustle has you covered with 10 tips on starting a digital book club.
Just want to join an existing book club? You’re in luck. Lots of virtual book clubs — each with unique themes and book choices — are welcoming new members across the globe. Here are ten suggested book clubs from Time. Or, you can join the “Quarantine Book Club” where you can chat directly with authors over Zoom.
Look out for those most at risk during this time
Even though we personally may feel isolated or lonely right now, there are others who may need our help, too. They are people in our community who could be suffering from mental health issues or chronic illnesses, our elderly neighbors who need basic necessities like groceries or medication or someone who is low-income or facing financial difficulties.
If you can, check on them and offer your assistance. They are feeling isolated and anxious too. They may not have internet access or family members who can assist. Here are some additional tips to help communities experiencing loneliness from AARP.
Posted on April 1, 2020
Vote for Amnesty International, Earthjustice and United We Dream Action this April
Every month, CREDO members vote to distribute our monthly donation to three incredible progressive causes – and every vote makes a difference. This April, you can support groups fighting for human rights, climate justice and immigrant rights by voting to fund Amnesty International, Earthjustice and United We Dream Action.
Amnesty International is a global grassroots movement and one of the world’s foremost defenders of human rights. With millions of activists worldwide, the organization works tirelessly toward fair treatment for people everywhere.
Support from CREDO Mobile and its members will help Amnesty International USA as it works at home and abroad to fight injustice and help create a world where human rights are enjoyed by all.
Earthjustice is the premier nonprofit environmental law organization. The organization wields the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, preserve magnificent places and wildlife, advance clean energy, and combat a climate crisis.
Your support will help Earthjustice take on the most consequential legal fights of our time, working with communities and partners to ensure the survival of the wild, force solutions to the climate emergency, and secure a healthy environment for all.
United We Dream Action is building a multi-racial, multi-ethnic movement of young people organizing for justice for immigrants and all communities of color in the US.
Funding from CREDO members will allow United We Dream Action to face a new decade of struggle and victory as we build a movement that best illustrates the world we desire.
Your vote this month will determine how we divide our monthly donation among these three progressive groups. Be sure to cast your vote to support one, two or all three by April 30.
CREDO members who use our products and services everyday are the reason we are able to make these donations each month. Learn more about CREDO Mobile and CREDO Energy and join our movement.
Posted on March 25, 2020
6 Tips for Working From Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic
These days, we’re dealing with new challenges every day. A new one for many: working from home.
If you’re like many people during this time of social distancing and stay-at-home orders, you may have the option to telework. For those who can’t, especially people working paycheck to paycheck and struggling to make ends meet, we hope our lawmakers quickly provide extensive relief and protections for workers’ health and financial well-beings.
But if you can work from home, we know that it’s not always easy, especially if you’ve never done it before. There are the regular distractions like the pile of laundry or managing child care. There can also be problems with staying productive and keeping your motivation.
Here are 6 tips to make your working from home a little easier during these times.
To get dressed or not?
Oft-repeated advice from the work-from-home crowd is to get dressed for the day when you telework. The argument goes like this: Putting on clothes similar to what you’d normally wear to the office sets the tone for the day, helps keep you focused and connects you to your work.
On the other hand, these are stressful times. Your mental health is important. Wearing your favorite sweats or leggings can be comforting, and your boss will probably never know. But it might be a good idea to put on a good top if you have a video conference. Some of us here at CREDO enjoy a “casual Friday” feel for our work-from-home outfits. It helps us stay in control of our daily routine while still remaining comfortable.
Keep a morning routine
We think there’s a lot of benefit to keeping your morning routine as we transition to a new and uncertain lifestyle. Take a shower, brush your teeth, have breakfast and your morning coffee or tea. Taking time to take care of yourself can help you feel better and more productive for the day.
Designate a separate work space
Trust us, it will be tempting to stay in bed with your laptop all day. But don’t fall into the trap. You’re bound to be less productive.
Just like getting ready for the day, having a dedicated space for your work day will help keep your home and work lives a little more separate. You don’t need a whole room; a dedicated space in a small apartment works just fine. If you have a desk, you’re already there. If not, a table or another surface works great. If you can’t find a quiet space, try sitting in your car to do some work.
Treat your work space the way you might treat your space in your physical office. Ensure that your family members or roommates are aware of your working area and should respect it.
Keep regular hours
When you’re working from home, having structure in your day is important, and that includes the working hours you keep.
If you normally had regular office hours, try to keep them. Again, remind the people you live with that when you’re working, you’re “on,” and that you’ll let them know, pending emergencies, when you’re “off.”
Balancing family care
If you have children or other family members that you care for, many of the tips above may not apply. Many child care facilities are closed. Districts across the country have shuttered schools for the foreseeable future. Yet, some schools still require distance learning, and you may need time during the day to homeschool. If you care for a loved one with a disability or health issue, you may not have additional home care help at this time.
We understand this is going to be a difficult time. Be upfront with your employer, human resources department and your coworkers about your situation. Likely you’re not the only employee confronted with this circumstance. Get creative with your schedule as much as you can. If you have a partner or others at home, try to work out a split schedule to balance the family care needs. Here are some additional tips from The Muse.
Remember to take breaks
This is a stressful time. It’s important for your mental health to schedule breaks during the day, if you are able to. Take your lunch away from your work space. Walk outside for some fresh air, if it’s safe, and practice social distancing. Use this time to connect with friends and family on your phone via FaceTime or other cross-platform app. This TechCrunch article offers some advice on the best video chat apps.
Posted on March 24, 2020
CREDO Grantee Americans for Tax Fairness Is Fighting for an Economy That Works for Everyone
Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) is a coalition of more than 400 national and state endorsing organizations focused on creating an economy that works for all of us by making sure the wealthy and corporations pay their fair share of taxes.
Like the rest of the world, ATF has seen its work upended by the coronavirus pandemic. It has been fighting to ensure the federal government’s response to the economic emergency delivers timely and sufficient aid directly to workers, families and communities and doesn’t get hijacked by corporate special interests. The goal is to prevent a repeat of what happened during the financial crisis of 2008, when Wall Street banks, auto companies and other corporations were bailed out, while homeowners, workers and other innocent victims of the crisis were left to fend for themselves.
Specifically, ATF has fought against tax cuts as a remedy, because they are slow, inefficient and tend to reward most those who need help least: the wealthy and big corporations. ATF was a leader of the successful effort to reject President Trump’s proposed payroll tax cut, which would have given almost two-thirds of the benefits to the highest-earning 20% of workers and been no help at all to the unemployed. After this bad idea was shelved, attention turned to the much more effective answer of sending immediate and substantial cash payments to all but the wealthiest families.
ATF has also been a leading voice demanding that corporations that benefited so much from the 2017 Trump-GOP tax law not be rewarded again with a no-strings-attached coronavirus bailout. It has insisted that financial assistance to impacted industries be in the form of loans, not tax cuts, and that they come with conditions such as reduced executive pay, no stock buybacks and dividend payouts that benefit wealthy shareholders, and protections for workers. ATF has also demanded that aid not come in the form of tax cuts, given the huge giveaway to corporations from the Trump-GOP tax cuts.
Most of these conditions were met in legislation proposed in the House, and some in the Senate bill, which are being negotiated as this blog was being posted.
When the immediate crisis has passed, ATF will turn back to its top goal of getting the U.S. Congress to raise trillions of dollars in new revenue to strengthen Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid and to make major new investments in healthcare, education, housing, childcare, renewable energy, rebuilding public infrastructure, and more.
Even against the concerted efforts of much better financed opponents, ATF has been succeeding. It continues to successfully prosecute the case against the destructive Trump-GOP tax law, which will cost nearly $2 trillion in lost revenue over 10 years and mostly benefits the wealthy and corporations. On the law’s second anniversary last December, ATF mobilized its allies to highlight its eight worst broken promises.
But ATF isn’t just playing defense. It’s been building support for progressive tax reforms that could raise up to $10 trillion over 10 years to create an economy that works for all of us.
On Tax Day last year, ATF released a major report outlining the best options for creating what it calls a “fair share tax system” as a blueprint for Congress, candidates and activists.
Many of ATF’s progressive tax proposals wound up in the tax plans of leading Democratic presidential candidates. The group’s op-ed in the Des Moines Register shortly before the Iowa caucuses celebrated the surge of progressive tax policy in the presidential campaign. ATF rightly takes some of the credit for making mainstream what were once considered “extreme” tax-and-spending plans.
ATF has also launched several progressive tax proposals with key members of Congress, including the Millionaires Surtax, which would slap a 10% surtax on the income of married couples that exceeds $2 million a year—the richest 0.2%! It would raise $635 billion over 10 years and has been endorsed by 72 national groups.
Finally, ATF has continued to lead the progressive community’s demand that President Trump release his tax returns, as explained in this USA Today op-ed.
Tax fairness is tough to achieve, but it’s what our economy needs, the American people demand, and our democracy cannot survive without. Once our society has survived the present crisis, and backed by supporters like CREDO and its members, ATF will return to pushing for a tax system that truly works for working families.
Posted on March 19, 2020
Minimize risks to the most vulnerable in your community. Take the social distancing pledge today.
We at CREDO Mobile have been reeling from the Coronavirus, like everyone else in the country and world. Our hearts go out to all those affected by this dangerous and deadly virus.
We are also dismayed that some of our leaders have not taken the very real threats of this pandemic seriously. They are spreading disinformation, causing confusion and ignoring the warnings by public health officials to take precautions to protect themselves, their families and their communities.
Scientists and leaders in the public health community stress the importance of “social distancing” to minimize the spread of this virus, especially to protect at-risk people, like seniors and those with pre-existing health conditions. But we also know that many people — like low wage and hourly workers, those whose employers are not providing paid time off, and people experiencing homelessness — do not have the freedom to limit their interactions or distance from others, which puts these people at extremely high risk, too. That’s why for those of us who have the privilege to practice social distancing, we must immediately limit our interactions to protect our most vulnerable communities.
We’re asking you today to sign our pledge and commit to minimizing your public interactions now. Then, we urge you to share this pledge with your family and friends to spread the word to help protect our nation’s most vulnerable.
We are social distancing — and, if you have the means to, we urge you to join us.
