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We hope you have been enjoying the summer season and been staying cool (or cool enough!) in this latest heat wave. We have a few exciting announcements we want to share with you all: 1 – Our public transit ads are up in Basel and Geneva, and our billboards will be up in key places throughout Zürich at the end of the month – your pictures of them are welcome! As we enter our big GOTV push before the midterms, we are excited to reach as many Americans as we can. Thank you to all those who donated to support this effort, we could not have done this without you. 2 – Our postcards are here! We hope you will join us to send postcards to our members throughout Switzerland in the coming weeks. Thank you so much to those who have already volunteered to help! 3 – We are thrilled to have a new interim leadership team for our Zürich chapter! We are so grateful to Darcy Alexandra and Janne Flisrand for stepping up as co-chairs to support our members in Zürich and we are looking forward to working with them in these crucial weeks and months ahead! 4 – On September 5th, we have a special wine tasting fundraiser planned at La Cave de Cheyres in Fribourg. The fundraiser will begin at 1 pm and consist of a full tasting (10+ wines) with a local meat and cheese board for $50. We would love to have you join us! Finally, we have a new resource comparing employment law in Switzerland and the US. We hope you will join us to encourage every U.S. citizen you know to request their ballots by email and vote in the midterm elections. Thank you for your time, your energy, and your dedication – onward! In solidarity, Katie Wright In this newsletter: Get Out The Vote UpdateYes, there IS something you can do! Global phonebanking campaigns begin in August — your country needs YOU to help your fellow Americans abroad vote from Abroad. You can only vote once, but calling multiplies your vote and amplifies your voice, helps and empowers overseas voters to cast their one vote, helps make the USA a truly participatory democracy! In 2024, DA callers made 350,000+ calls and sent 300,000+ texts. Get trained to help Get Out the Vote via phonebanking – https://www.democratsabroad. *Please note that given the DA Global call campaign, we have decided to suspend our local campaign to prevent duplicate calls of members. Thank you to all those who volunteered their time to reach out to our members locally. VFA Reminder
If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad, using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) is the absolute best way to request your ballot. While you can technically use your specific state’s standard absentee ballot form, the FPCA grants you specific, powerful legal protections under federal law that state forms do not. In the last few newsletters, we have been highlighting the benefits of using the FPCA. Here is the sixth benefit: Standardization Across All States. Election laws vary wildly between the 50 states, but the FPCA is a standard federal form. You don't have to hunt down a specific county-level form or navigate a confusing local portal; the FPCA is universally accepted by every state and territory.
Resource on Swiss Employment LawAs we continue to look for ways to stay connected with our members, we were recently contacted by Swiss attorney Nicole Hilpert (NYU alum), who offered to share information that may be useful to our community. She has prepared a short guide answering frequently asked questions about employment law in Switzerland. We hope you find it useful, and we’d love to hear whether you’d be interested in similar resources in the future.
Events may be added throughout the month, so check our Events Page or Google Calendar for additions! We encourage you to participate in any DA events globally and across Switzerland.
Introducing Event AssessmentsWe want to know what you think about the events we've had so that we can make future events better! If you have attended any of our events so far this year (in person or virtually), please click through to answer a few questions about them. Please go to our website for more information on upcoming events, how to become a volunteer, and how to become a sustaining donor. DA Switzerland https://www.democratsabroad.
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GET REGISTERED & READY TO VOTE! Every American abroad has critical Federal elections to vote in this year! 470 Federal seats are up for re-election including all 435 members of the House, plus ⅓ of the Senate, plus 2 additional Senate special elections (FL & OH). Many states also hold critical state and local elections that their overseas voters can vote in. All Americans abroad are urged to register to vote / request an overseas absentee ballot annually. If you have not done it yet since January, do it now to be ready for the November elections. Be sure to ask to receive your ballot by email/online. Get everything you need at 
