Initiate Justice Action

Civic EngagementConducted thirty-five (35) civic engagement workshops at reentry facilities across the state, including in the counties of Los Angeles, San Diego, Kern, and Fresno.For the General Election, we completed twenty civic engagement workshops between August and October, collectively reaching nearly a thousand participants.Organized eighty-one (81) different presentations, workshops, webinars, canvasses, phone banks, and tabling events in opposition to Prop 36, which was on the November 2024 General Election ballot.Power BuildingOrganized virtual check-in meetings with several elected officials on their public safety priorities for the year, and organized numerous lobby days and advocacy opportunities for our Members.Sacramento Lobby Day: Held a Sacramento Lobby Day where more than a dozen of our Impacted Members advocated against harmful incarceration bills. Members got to meet directly in-person with their State Assemblymembers and Senators and provide Me Too testimonialsConducted monthly virtual training opportunities for Members on various topicsDeepened our engagement with currently incarcerated community members byvisiting four prisons to conduct tabling events, collectively reaching several thousandCaliforniansLaunched our first-ever Member competition to encourage more volunteer hours supporting our endorsed candidates and fight against Proposition 36.ElectionsConducted a Candidate Endorsement Process for 2024 General ElectionEndorsed nineteen (19) candidates running for State Senate, StateAssembly, Superior Court Judge, District Attorney, Mayor, or City Council- more than double our total number of endorsed candidates in the 2022. - Thirteen of the nineteen candidates (68%) won their seats.- Endorsement benefits included: monetary donations, staff and memberassistance with voter outreach, and promotions through IJ Actionssocial media and General Election Voter Guide.2024 Voter Guide: Published comprehensive voter guides for both the 2024 Primary Election and General Election covering every candidate for State Assembly and State Senate, and every State ballot proposition.2024 Legislative Scorecard: Published the 2nd Annual Legislative Scorecard, grading every state lawmaker based on their votes on key Public Safety bills.Policy Advocacy-Increased our impact in Sacramento by publicly supporting or opposing ninety (90) different public safety bills and/or budget requests - more than double our rate in 2023.IJ Action submitted a formal position (i.e. support or opposition) on 128 of 453 bad bills/harmful legislation, equaling 28% of all public safety bills introduced this past cycle.Our Executive Director testified twice before the Assembly Public Safety Committee against two bills strongly opposed by IJ Action.IJ Action also released its 2nd Annual Legislative Scorecard, and selected seven bills on which to grade each lawmakers votes.