Sunday, April 28 through April 29, 2024
Hamburg, Germany
Hamburg runs the blue line! Northern Germany is running for democracy
Fighting Fascism is a Marathon, not a sprint!
We know we have a lot of work to do this year to make sure our democracy holds. Although advocating for our liberties can feel like a marathon at times, some of our members are LITERALLY running in marathons. I will be running in the Hamburg Marathon (run the blue line!) on April 28!
If you want to sponsor this endeavor, please consider purchasing "Democracy Mile Tickets" on this website. One Democracy Mile Ticket = $1. This money will go towards our Get Out The Vote efforts. If more than 500 Democracy Mile Tickets are purchased (i.e. if I raise more than $500), I will randomly select a donor to win a Vote From Abroad reusable water bottle as a thank you!
How can I get involved as a runner?
If you are also running in the Hamburg marathon and want to raise money or bring attention to our cause, please contact me! Also, if you like running marathons or smaller distances and are looking for a destination race, there are plenty of future races in the area that we can also get involved in. If you are doing any future races and want to bring awareness to voting rights for Americans, let me know!
Finally, if you don’t love running long distances or races, but you like running 5k or walking, we will have two meetups: one in Hamburg and one in Bremen. We will have options for a 5k run or a 1k walk if you want to get in shape for any upcoming demonstrations you might want to partake in. The Hamburg fun walk/run will be on Saturday, April 6 and the Bremen meetup will be on Saturday, April 20. Details are posted in the events for our chapter.
How can I be a part of this if I don’t want to run?
If you don't run marathons, but you would like to be a spectator in Hamburg, it would also help our cause to have a group of visible supporters. I know some of you like to make signs! Some of you might be wizards at social media. If you have ideas to promote this cause, any advice or ideas are greatly appreciated. At the meetups, people of all athletic abilities are welcome. Donating is also an option. There are many ways to get involved in this initiative if you want!
General information
Why am I doing this? I have lots of reasons! Mainly, I want to try to get more Americans abroad to vote, and I want to use one of my favorite hobbies to do it. If you are interested in the estimations of how many Americans abroad vote, please read the following article:
https://www.npr.org/2022/11/06/1132730832/american-citizens-voters-overseas-abroad
In a nutshell, civilian turnout is very low for citizens abroad (under 10%). We have made progress the past few years, but we can still get more people to vote. Many expats don’t vote because they do not know they can vote, or they find the process too hard.
Marathons typically have tens of thousands of runners and spectators, and they are an international event. They are great places to bring awareness to causes such as voting rights.
Races also instill a feeling of hope and possibly in people. Runners are typically very open and helpful, and hopefully that spirit will rub off on some people who are usually too afraid to ask how they can vote in the US. Although everyone is running their own pace, there really is a running community. Running together is fun, and it makes us more visible. This type of atmosphere can only help us to reach people who need help to get out and vote!
WHEN
Sunday, April 28, 2024 at 11:59 PM Berlin Time through April 29, 2024
WHERE
Haspa Hamburg Marathon
Hamburg, HH
Germany
Google map and directions
CONTACT
Jodi Szarko
[email protected]