Message from the Chair

It may be an off election year for most of us, but our Democrats Abroad phone bankers have been hard at work making thousands of calls. We mobilized overseas voters for the California election and for the past few months have been calling DA members who vote in Virginia and New Jersey. As someone who was an active phone banker in 2020, I can attest that it is one of the most rewarding and impactful forms of activism you can do (I guess I should add, from the comfort of your own home). Yvonne Richard, our phone bank coordinator, and her deputy, Marjorie Rosenberg, have done an amazing job leading a small and dedicated team of phone bankers in Austria. Next year, we will need a bigger team, so I urge you to contact Yvonne at [email protected] and get trained and ready to go. After you get over your first call jitters, you will feel like you and your fellow phone bankers around the world are single-handedly  saving US democracy! And know what? You will be! 

— Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria

In This Issue —

Events:

• ProDA Monthly Meeting
• Experienced Dems Get Together 
• Black Caucus Book Club
• Thanksgiving Feast with all the Fixings
• Solidarity Sundays — Prosecco, Postcards & Politics
• Global Black Caucus — Global Meeting
• Happy Holidays Happy Hour 
• Punsching for Democracy

Issues & Actions:

• Set a Calendar Reminder! Renew your registration 
• DA Voter Protection update: 2021 issues
• Those emails aren’t from DA

Reviews:

• Wine Tasting Fundraiser
• Solidarity Sundays

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Events: 

ProDA Monthly Meeting

When: Saturday, November 6, 2021

Time: 3-4:00 p.m. CET

Where: Online

RSVP to attend.

Experienced Dems Get Together

When: Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Time: 6-8:00 p.m. 

Where: In-person. Cafe Museum, Operngasse 7, 1010 Vienna 

RSVP to attend.

Black Caucus Book Club — Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

When: Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Time: 6-8:00 p.m.

Where: Hybrid — TBA

RSVP to attend.

Thanksgiving Feast with all the Fixings

When: Thursday, November 25, 2021

Time: 6-9:30 p.m.

Where: In-person, 2G rules. Melker Stiftskeller, Schottengasse 3, Vienna 1010

RSVP to attend.

Solidarity Sundays — Postcard Writing Party

When:  Sunday, November 28, 2021

Time:  4-6:00 p.m.

Where:  In-person, 2G rules. Private home, Vienna 1080 

Email for address:  [email protected] 

Global Black Caucus — Global Meeting 

When: Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Time: 1:00 p.m. (CET)

Where: Online

RSVP to attend.

Happy Holidays Happy Hour

When: Saturday, December 11, 2021

Time: 6:00 p.m. 

Where: TBA in Vorarlberg

RSVP to attend.

Punsching for Democracy

When: Thursday, December 16, 2021

Time: 6:00 pm 

Where: Punschstand in 1010 Vienna

RSVP to attend.

Issues & Actions:

Set a Calendar Reminder! Request Your 2022 Ballot 

December will be busy. So now is the time to mark January 15, 2022, on your calendar to go to Vote from Abroad to request your ballots for every election in 2022 and automatically renew your voter registration. This is required by law for Americans who live overseas and, as you know, Republicans are in a flurry to keep us from voting. 

As the Brennan Center wrote, “In an unprecedented year so far for voting legislation, 19 states have enacted 33 laws that will make it harder for Americans to vote.” Although “access to the right to vote increasingly depends on the state in which a voter happens to reside.” Regardless of what state you vote in, ALL Americans living overseas must register to vote in every calendar year. 

And the benefits? Your ballot will be sent 45 days before the election and if it doesn’t arrive you’ll be able to vote with the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, which is only available for overseas voters. 

Are there other benefits? Yes! You’ll save DA volunteers loads of time (and money) as they call to remind you, your family members, and friends to Vote Blue in ‘22.

So, open your calendar right now and enter VotefromAbroad.com on January 15, and you’ll be ready for the midterms!

DA Voter Protection Update: 2021 Issues

We are in the throes of the 2021 election season, and 2022 is just a few months away!  DA’s Voter Protection Team wants to keep you informed of some of the voter protection issues that could crop up and we need to be aware of. 

Read more to find out about signature matching, misinformation, voter roll purges, geoblocking, NIXIE issues, and more. If you or someone you know is experiencing these issues or anything else that is stopping them from voting their ballots, please write to [email protected]. 

During the 2020 elections, we handled over 500 cases, helping voters abroad to successfully cast their ballots. Most importantly, don’t delay in seeking help if you’re experiencing a problem and always check for confirmation that your voted ballots have been received by local election officials. Voter protection issues usually crop up unexpectedly and addressing them at the last minute risks missing the election deadline. Let’s help ensure that ALL votes are counted in 2021!

Please be sure to share this information with your networks and colleagues!

– DA Voter Protection Team

Read More 

No, Those Emails Are Not From Democrats Abroad!

I don’t know about you, but my inbox has recently been awash in messages asking for donations from seemingly every Democratic candidate and left-leaning group in the US. And the fact is, I did it to myself by signing a petition or donating to a candidate at some point. But those emails aren’t coming from Democrats Abroad.

Although OTHER groups and candidates loan and give and sell their email lists, Democrats Abroad doesn't. Ever. Period. 

This has been a topic of conversation in some of DA’s channels. So former DAA Chair and current DNC member Katie Solon will again put up her hand at DNC and ASDC meetings and tell those folks that the deluge of fundraising is "breaking" email for the rest of us. 

In the meantime, make sure to stay subscribed to DA Austria emails. We’ve made a promise to only send one per month with our newsletter, which includes all the events and voting information you need! 

And we will never share, sell, or loan your address — ever. Period. 

– Jen Rakow-Stepper, DA Austria Member at Large, RVC-EMEA Region

The IRS Can Do Better with Stimulus Payments!

DA's research survey on the experience of Americans abroad accessing pandemic aid has not received a representative response from Americans in Austria. Please fill out this survey about your experience with the stimulus payments. The research will be used to pressure the IRS to provide better service and support to the Americans abroad community.

Also, on November 15 DA Portugal is hosting a webinar about the work DA is doing to persuade Congress to provide tax relief to Americans abroad in 2021 that is open to the public. 

– Carmelan Polce, Chair, Taxation Task Force

Open Volunteer Positions

Database Manager –  

Do you have an extra hour or two per week to help DA Austria with vital back-end administrative work? Are you computer savvy and personable? DAA is looking for a new Database Manager. 

Time commitment:

• Variable, with more work during the end-of-the-year database-cleanup phase and before the Annual General Meeting, Global Primary, and presidential elections

Requirements: 

• Nationbuilder and GDPR trainings and certification (roughly 2-hour time investment each)
• Signed confidentiality agreement
• Comfortable cold-calling members
• Comfortable using a database

Tasks: 

• Daily/Weekly: Login to Nationbuilder database to approve new members (check their files for missing information / spam / repeated members)
• Monthly: Report to DAA ExCom on membership growth
• Annually: Database cleanup to locate expiring members

This critical role helps DA Austria function at its best. There is so much important work to be done to get out the vote in 2022 in order to keep the House and Senate blue. Please add your skills to the team!

Contact: [email protected] 

Reviews:

Wine Tasting Fundraiser

Great wine, great conversation, a lovely home and hostess — all the ingredients for a wonderful wine-tasting fundraiser. A big thank you to Yvonne Richard for opening up her home to us, and for the organizational support from Josh Friedman. Thanks to everyone who attended, and a special thanks to DA member Nancy Lee Seymann of Seymann winery in Karlsdorf, Austria, for sharing her spectacular wines and her passion for wine making. The plan is to next year, possibly in late spring, hold another wine tasting out at her vineyard. Stay tuned. 

– Richard Miller, DA Austria Chair  

Solidarity Sundays — Getting Real

October 20, 2021

Solidarity Sundays took its first steps out of Zoom in October. A new group met in Paris, France, and a small group of us met up at our old Vienna haunt, Amerlinghaus. 

For those of us in Vienna, it had been a long time. Over drinks, we caught up with each others’ lives, exchanged thoughts on US politics, and shared ideas for the future. It was a very special meetup.

Solidarity Sundays learned about the Democrats Abroad effort to get Americans in Austria registered for next year’s midterms. SolSunners are passionate about voting, fun, and community — so we’re throwing an in-person Postcard-Writing Party to help (details available above in Events). Join the movement to save Democracy — we’re doing it with pens and prosecco.

– Tanya Lolonis, DA Austria Member at Large, Solidarity Sunday Co-Coordinator

Thank you for reading the November Newsletter! We'll see you in December. 

In This Issue —

Events:

• Experienced Dems Get Together 
• Wine Tasting Fundraiser
• Halloween Happy Hour
• DAA Black Caucus Book Club
• Salzburg Meet Up
• Solidarity Sundays 
• Save the Date — Thanksgiving

Message From the Chair

Issues and Actions:

• DAA sends flyers to Virginia voters
• Help us keep our member registration up to date!
• Open Volunteer Positions

Reviews:

• Solidarity Sundays: Democracy State of Mind
• Slovakia Meet & Greet
• 2021 EMEA Regional Meeting – Setting the gears in motion

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Events: 

Experienced Dems Get Together

When: Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Time: 6 pm

Where: In-person. Cafe Museum, Operngasse 7, 1010 Vienna 

RSVP to attend.

Wine Tasting Fundraiser

When: Thursday, October 14, 2021

Time: 4 – 6 pm

Where: In-person. Private home (RSVP for address), 1070 Vienna 

RSVP to attend.

Halloween Happy Hour

When: Saturday, October 16, 2021

Time: 6 pm

Where: In-person. Pier 69, Hafenrestaurant Seestrasse 4, 6900 Bregenz 

RSVP to attend.

DAA Black Caucus Book Club

When: Sunday, October 17, 2021

Time: 4 pm

Where: ZOOM. 

RSVP for the link.

Salzburg Meet Up

When: Friday, October 22, 2021

Time: 5:30 pm

Where: In-person. Braugasthof Krimpelstätter, Müllner Hauptstraße 31, Salzburg 05020 

RSVP to attend.

Solidarity Sundays

When: Sunday, October 24, 2021

Time: 5:00 pm

Where: In-person. Stiftgasse 8, Vienna 1080 (RSVP for details)

RSVP to attend.

Save the Date — Thanksgiving

When: Thursday, November 25, 2021

Time: 6:00 pm

Where: In-person. Melker Stiftskeller, Schottengasse 3, Vienna 1010

RSVP to attend.

Message from DA Austria Chair

Time is flying by and soon 2022 will be here! But there are key elections this November in New Jersey and Virginia, and Democrats Abroad Austria has been active in getting out the vote for those statewide elections. Our phone bankers have been busy calling overseas voters from those states and we sent out postcards to voters as well. And let’s take a victory lap for the outcome of the recall election in California—DA was in the thick of that battle too. Thank you to our volunteers! 

A big part of getting ready for 2022 is ensuring our database of DA Austria members is up to date. Without good email addresses and phone numbers, we cannot effectively support our members and get out the vote. We are looking for a new Database Manager (see more below) who can do valuable work such as welcoming new members when they join, ensuring our database is kept current, and reporting on results at our monthly meeting. If interested, please send an email to Richard at [email protected].     

Issues & Actions:

DAA sends flyers to Virginia voters  

Many thanks to Yvonne Richard, DAA Phone Bank Coordinator, for organizing flyers to be sent to nearly 70 Virginia voters living in Austria. Overseas voters from Virginia must return their ballot by post, so time is running short for the November 2 election. Democrats Abroad has proven itself to provide the margin of victory in close races, such as Georgia and Arizona in 2020. That’s why DA Global invested to ensure that Virginia voters living abroad received voting information by post, text, and online! 

Help us keep our member registration up to date!

A clean database means our phone bank volunteers are able to reach more members to help them vote.

A clean database means your donations aren’t wasted on unnecessary postage.

A clean database means you’ve RSVP’d for an event sometime in the last four years! 

Please take a look at the many exciting events and webinars happening throughout Democrats Abroad, such as the October 13 webinar with US Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida on women’s rights and winning in 2022 https://www.democratsabroad.org/da_speaks_with_rep_lois_frankel_on_women_s_rights_winning_in_florida_in_2022

Your RSVP lets us know you’re still in Austria!

Open Volunteer Positions

Database Manager  

Do you have an extra hour or two per week to help DA Austria with vital backend administrative work? Are you computer savvy and personable? DAA is looking for a new Database Manager!  

Time commitment:

• Variable, with more work during the end-of-the-year database cleanup phase and before the Annual General Meeting, Global Primary, and Presidential Elections

Requirements: 

• Nationbuilder and GDPR trainings and certification (roughly 2 hours’ time investment each)
• Signed confidentiality agreement
• Comfortable cold-calling members
• Comfortable using a database

Tasks: 

• Daily/Weekly: Login to Nationbuilder database to approve new members (check their files for missing information / spam / repeated members)
• Monthly: Report to DAA ExCom on membership growth
• Annually: Database cleanup to locate expiring members

This critical role helps DA Austria function at its best. There is so much important work to be done to get out the vote in 2022 in order to keep the House and Senate blue. Please add your skills to the team!

Contact: [email protected] 

Reviews:

Solidarity Sundays: Democracy State of Mind

September 26, 2021

“Republicans are not fighting the Reconciliation bill. They’re fighting other things—critical race theory, vaccines. They’re not attacking this bill because it’s insanely popular.” -- Julie Bordeau-Alderman

Each month, Solidarity Sundays takes a deep dive into an issue confronting our Democracy and takes an action to help. This month, we looked at the states. Julie, a progressive activist and political researcher, surveyed the outlook for Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.

It will be challenging. Gerrymandered maps and new voter suppression laws have put Democrats’ slim House majority in danger. But stellar candidates in every race, together with a very popular agenda, offer substantial opportunities.

Julie pointed out two kinds of messaging that can cut through GOP disinformation—reasons to vote against and reasons to vote for something. Democrats need both. Negative arguments play up the dangers if the other side is in charge. “Don’t let us become Florida!” worked in the California Recall election and will resonate in other states, too. And the Texas abortion ban is animating the swing voters who delivered victories in 2018 and for Biden in 2020.

Positive messaging talks up the Administration’s accomplishments. Two achievements that poll well are money in wallets, with the Child Tax Credit, and vaccines delivered to every American who wanted one.

Solidarity Sundays explored Senate dysfunction in March. Yvonne Richard, DA Austria’s Phonebanking Coordinator, invites you to take action to expand our Senate majority to overcome legislative paralysis and help Biden’s agenda. The most impactful thing you can do? Help Americans living abroad to vote.

“Conversations translate to votes,” she said. Phonebanking is easy to learn and to fit into your schedule, is done from home, and costs you nothing. Contact Yvonne and be part of the movement to deliver the Senate for Democrats.

Slovakia Meet & Greet

DA members in Slovakia turned out for a Meet & Greet event in Bratislava on September 25. We enjoyed some Mexican food (and margaritas) at Los Mexicas, in honor of our organizer, Estela Landeros, who was born in Mexico. Estela has kindly agreed to be our point person for our GOTV efforts in Bratislava next year. We discussed ways to reach more Americans in Slovakia to boost our membership. Also, it was great to meet (in person) Aaron Fishbone, who did an amazing job leading DA’s global communications team in 2020. Thanks also to Victor and David for attending! We look forward to further events next year in Slovakia.

2021 EMEA Regional Meeting – Setting the gears in motion

DA members from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa met online from Oct. 1 to 3 to help us gear up for getting out of the vote in 2022. We started to work on a regional strategy calendar so we have an overview of what needs to be done over the year in terms of GOTV, fundraising and member recruitment, etc. We also had a preview of our GOTV Rap, performed by your DA Austria chair. Some meeting highlights were talks by special guests DNC Executive Director Sam Cornale, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland’s 8th district, and Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, New York. Kudos to our own Jennifer Rakow-Stepper, EMEA Regional Vice Chair, for organizing a smooth and productive event! From the word cloud above, you see that we’re raring to go.

Thank you for reading the October Newsletter! We'll see you in November.