Dolly Parton memorialized. (Brent Moore via Flickr)
Democracy is not a spectator sport. Whether you want to exercise your right to vote, join a protest, call your elected officials, run for office, or keep tabs on the week’s hottest issues and protests, The Contrarian has you covered.
Here are our top suggestions for getting involved in the days ahead. These are heated times; we encourage non-violent and lawful activism.
Register to Vote!
Don’t miss out on your chance to participate in the midterms. Voter registration deadlines are fast approaching, and the most restrictive states require registration nearly a month (either 29 or 30 days) before the end of voting on November 3. This includes Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Please check your state’s details here, and make sure you, your friends, family, and relations are prepared to participate.
You can double check your own registration status at Vote411.org and make a plan to cast your ballot. Learn more about the sky-high stakes of the midterms in this explainer.
Cast Your Ballot Early
This election has already kicked off in select states. Illinois, Michigan, and North Dakota have joined the in-person, early-vote party today. Early voting is also underway in Idaho, Minnesota, Mississippi, South Dakota, Vermont, and Virginia.
States in blue: where in-person early voting is underway.
Vote-by-mail is also commencing this week in Nebraska, Maryland, and Washington, D.C., joining myriad other states from Oklahoma to Wisconsin to New York.
Check out ElectionInnovation.org for a state-by-state breakdown of how to cast your ballot early. Vote.org also offers an early-voting calendar.
Track Trump Funding Cuts
The Trump administration has slashed $177 billion in federal funding since January 2025. These haphazard cuts have devastated social programs, jeopardized life-saving activities and research, and disrupted operations across communities and local governments. No state is left unscathed.
A pair of prodemocracy nonprofits, States United and Grant Witness, have teamed up to launch the Lost Funds Project to catalog the massive “funding disruptions” under Donald Trump. Learn how cuts have affected your state via an interactive map. Also check out the accountability page to keep up with how states are fighting back – and how you can, too.
Celebrate 9/25 — Dolly Parton Day
The world lost a moral light when Dolly Parton died. Keep her spirit alive on September 25 (or 9/25 — nine-two-five). Cities from Nashville (which also renamed its airport for the departed country star) to New Orleans to Portland and all of California have all declared local Dolly Parton days on 9/25 — which seems destined to join 3/14 (Pi Day — or St. Louis Day for those in the 314) and May the Fourth (for Star Wars fandom) as treasured American pun days.
“On 9/25, let’s celebrate Dolly the way she lived,” said Portland City Council President Jamie Dunphy, announcing the day of celebration. “Read a book with a child. Help a neighbor. Stand up for someone who needs it…. Do it the Dolly way, with kindness, grace, and a lot of joy!”
Fight for Feminism in Texas
Contrarians near Houston can join the Women’s Convening 2026, sponsored by the activist group Women’s March, on September 26. Attend trainings and speeches about organizing your community under authoritarianism, defending elections, fighting for reproductive freedom, and building power locally. Learn more about the program at the convening’s website; tickets are $25 (and free for “future feminists” under 12). Or get involved in events in your area by signing up for Women’s March’s email list.
Stand for the Climate
New York metro Contrarians, it’s climate week in the Big Apple — expected to draw more than 100,000 people across more than 1,000 events. The focus of this year’s climate week is accelerating the response to global warming. As organizers put it: “Progress is being slowed down by outdated regulation, infrastructure constraints, and misaligned markets. The priority is to remove these barriers and deliver change at speed and scale.” Find events, running through September 27, on this calendar, ranging from caring for street trees to sustainably powering the AI boom.
Train in Election Protection
The nonpartisan Nation of Laws coalition is hosting a training for lawyers who want to defend the 2026 midterms. Join a “Forty Minutes for the Rule of Law” virtual rally on September 26 at noon eastern time; it promises to help legal professionals plug in at “polling places, on hotlines, [or] behind the scenes, making sure every eligible voter can cast a ballot and have it counted.” Register here.
Help Voters Get IDs
Many states now require voter ID at the ballot box — creating a barrier for eligible voters who, for any number of reasons, may not have a government-issued photo identification. Vote Riders offers free support to Americans who need help collecting necessary documents, making appointments, and paying the fees to get an official ID. The group is signing up volunteers to help with this vital work. Find out more here.
Door Knock (or Dial) for Democracy
Swing Left is recruiting canvassers to knock on doors to boost turnout in the midterms. Click here to find or organize a canvass for “must flip” races near you. If going door-to-door isn’t your speed, Swing Left also has a phone-bank campaign to support the group’s target House, Senate, and state-level races. Likewise, Indivisible has phone bank events to boost candidates in 40 target races — 31 in the House and nine in the Senate.
Oppose Exorbitant Visa Fees
The Trump administration is again attempting to turn visas for high-skilled workers into a racket, proposing to charge $100,000 for each H1-B visa applicant. The public can comment on the proposed rule — which would affect the availability of skilled workers in fields from healthcare and advanced research to programming and tech. Speak out through September 24.
Banish AI from Campaign Ads
AI-generated campaign ads are on the rise (see MAGA Senate candidate Ken Paxton’s latest anti-James Talarico creation here) and often wildly misrepresent candidates and their positions. The proposed AI Ads Act would “prohibit fraudulent misrepresentation of political candidates” and ban using AI-generated content to solicit funds. If the truth is important to you, contact your representatives to support this legislation. Meanwhile, you can educate yourself on how to spot AI-generated ads.
Click here to find The Contrarian’s standing resources for empowering yourself in American civic life — from contacting your elected officials, to ensuring your right to vote, to supporting public-interest journalism.
Don't know if you've heard about the Rev Barber's Poor Peoples Campaign for 1000 Marches to the Polls on Early Voting Days (especially in the South). We are organizing church communities and others to March to the Polls in KY. Let's make it spectacular, have a party at the polls and draw the media attention to ALL those who are determined to vote! Let's capture the narrative and spur others to join us!
Great article. I am registering new young people to vote.