In This Issue —

Events:

• Training Tuesdays – TONIGHT!
  
• Salzburg Meet-Up
• Books Abroad
• Global Climate Rally
• Everything You Need to Know about Immigration Law
  
  

Issues & Actions:

• Taxation Task Force
• DA Global Tax Survey

Midterm Election News:

• Are you an Battleground State Voter?
• Battleground States Call Campaigns
• Your Vote is Your Voice

Reviews:

• DA Austria Annual General Meeting
• DA Austria Survey

Members Corner:

• 2022 Midterm Election Overview

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, April 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!

Message from the Chair –

A big thank you to everyone who helped make our Annual General Meeting run so smoothly. It was so exciting to meet many members for the first time in person.

I think a benchmark of success for the meeting was that several people signed up to be phone bankers and others are interested in becoming sustaining donors. A goal of the AGM was to motivate everyone to get out of the vote and ensure that 2022 is not a sleeper year. We know that if Republicans do well in November, they will do everything they can to make it harder for people to vote—and that could include overseas voters.

Please consider joining our dynamic volunteer team by contacting me at [email protected] and be sure to request your ballot today at VotefromAbroad.org.

— Richard Miller, Chair Democrats Abroad Austria

Events:

Training Tuesdays

When: April 5, 2022

Time: 7:30pm CEST

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link

Hosted by DA Germany

Salzburg Meet-Up

When: April 8, 2022

Time: 5:30pm CEST

Where: Krimpelstätter Braugasthof, Müllner Hauptstraße 31, Salzburg 1010, Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Hosted by DA Austria – Salzburg

Books Abroad

When: April 24, 2022

Time: 2:00pm CEST

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link

Hosted by DA Global Women’s Caucus

Global Climate Rally

When: April 25, 2022

Time: 6:00pm CEST

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link

Co-Hosted by DA Global Progressive Caucus & DA Global Environmental and Climate Crisis Council

Everything You Need to Know about Immigration Law

When: April 28, 2022

Time: 7:00pm CEST

Where: Amerlinghaus, Stiftgasse 8, Vienna 1070 Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Hosted by DA Austria

Issues & Actions:

Help make DA’s website engaging, accessible, and user-friendly!

Having a strong digital presence will be more important than ever for finding and mobilizing voters abroad for critical races in 2022. That’s why Democrats Abroad has prioritized redesigning its website (www.democratsabroad.org) in Spring 2022.

At the top of the to-do list is making our website more engaging, accessible, and user-friendly—something we know needs to be done, but which comes with a price tag of $30,000. Please help us in this longer-term investment so that we can better attract and support our online visitors—and in turn convert site visits into activism and votes.

Thank you for your support!

https://www.democratsabroad.org/website

Taxation Task Force

The Democrats Abroad Global Taxation Task Force is working to provide tax relief for Americans living abroad. As a member of DA in Austria, I am working with them because of my frustration every spring for the past 40+ years when I am required to file US taxes. The US is the only country other than Eritrea that has citizen-based taxation rather than residence-based taxation. My frustration has grown due to the FBAR (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) and FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) laws which put restrictions on investments allowed to US citizens overseas. The issue is not the reporting, which WE have to do, but what the banks are required to do. Many banks in Austria will not even accept a US citizen as a client at all, particularly with an investment portfolio. We are also not allowed to invest in mutual funds/ETFs outside the US without filing a complicated form each year on each one. The Tax Force is working with legislators to try to get changes in the laws to make our lives easier. It does not provide individual tax advice. Major issues the tax force are working on are:

• A switch to Residency-Based Taxation
• Elimination of FATCA reporting for the financial accounts in the country of residence of Americans abroad
• Exemption from the transition taxes for Americans abroad who own small- to medium- sized businesses
• Reforms to FBAR reporting and implementation
• An accessible and affordable renunciation solution for Accidental Americans
• Supporting the newly formed Seniors Caucus on repealing the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision and Medicare portability

You can support the work of the taxation task force by keeping an eye out for the DA tax survey that will be coming your way later this month. Please participate in the survey (see below) and make your voice heard.

-Brenda Speck Müllner, DA Austria member

The Democrats Abroad 2022 Tax Survey Has Launched!

The Democrats Abroad 2022 tax survey has officially launched! Click here to take the survey now. Please share with your American friends and family living abroad, and ask them to share it with people they know too. We need as many people as possible to participate to gain a better understanding of the tax and financial access issues Americans abroad are currently experiencing so the more the merrier. You do not have to be a Democrats Abroad member to participate. Survey closes April 30th.

Click here to take the survey: https://demsabroad.typeform.com/taxsurvey

Midterm Election News:

Are you a Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, or Pennsylvania Voter?

You’ve got a primary coming up! Go to Democrats Abroad 2022 state voting information page to find information on deadlines and to request and return your ballot. Help ensure strong Democratic candidates win in important down-ballot races. Get more information here and request your ballot for all 2022 elections at votefromabroad.org.

Battleground State Calling Campaigns

The overseas vote was the margin of victory in Georgia and Arizona in 2020 and we’re going to make sure to do it again in the upcoming midterms. Starting March 7 Democrats Abroad phone bank volunteers will be calling our members in Ohip, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia — all battleground states.

We need your help to reach our members! It’s easy and satisfying. We call DA members who are happy to get the reminder and DA covers the call costs. Also, you can make as many or as few as you like and when it fits your schedule. There are regular trainings to get you started and our DA Austria’s Phonebank Coordinator, Yvonne Richard, will answer your questions. Be part of the effort to fight for our democracy! Find out more here.

Your Vote is Your Voice

One of the DA’s core activities is to help Americans to register and return their ballots. The non-partisan Vote from Abroad website has up to date information so voters are best informed about their State’s regulations and deadlines. There is also a voter protection team that works with Local Election Officers and State Secretarys to solve issues that disenfranchise overseas voters.

Every election cycle we hear from overseas Americans and dual citizens who say they didn’t know they had the right to vote in Federal and even State elections. Help us to spread the word amongst your family, friends, and colleagues. And if there are Americans in your sport’s team, club, school, or place of worship, we’re happy to come by and help get them registered – regardless of their party affiliation. Contact the Vote from Abroad Coordinator at [email protected]ad.at

Reviews:

DA Austria 2022 Annual General Meeting

Many thanks to everyone who attended the 2022 AGM! Around 40 people joined the meeting, either in-person or via Zoom. Special thanks to our International Chair, Candice Kerestan, for coming to Vienna to offer a broader view of the work of Democrats Abroad and rally us ahead of the midterm elections. Congratulations to Marcy Fowler, our DA Austria secretary, who was elected as our third DPCA voting representative, and to Harold Otto and Bruce Murray who were elected as our auditors. Harold and Bruce signed off on our financial statements and commended our treasurer, Diego Heatherman, and Marcy (our former treasurer) for the financial bookkeeping.

The AGM included a recap of our 2022 goals: ramp up our GOTV efforts, boost membership, recruit active volunteers and caucus leaders, and fundraise to support DA Austria and DA Global to get out the vote. Some ways you can help include becoming a sustaining donor for DA Global or DA Austria, joining our phone banking team, helping at our upcoming voter registration tables, or organizing an event! For more information, or questions about the AGM, send an email to [email protected].

Finally, the meeting wrapped up with a phone banking demonstration by Yvonne Richard and Tanja Lolonis and a rap performance by DA Austria Chair, aka, ‘Rap Meister Rich’ of the new VoteFromAbroad Rap. Stay tuned for more opportunities to participate.

DA Austria Member Survey 2022

Sixty of you filled out our DA Austria membership survey, which will help us with some strategic decisions going forward. Here are some of the key findings:

The top three issues for DA Austria members are climate change and environmental protection (91%), voting rights and election integrity (81%), and foreign policy and diplomacy (79%).

The top five sources of information are Der Standard – New York Times (30%), FM4 Radio (24%), Metropole (20%), The Local (18%) and Vienna Würstelstand (15%).

Asked what challenges members face voting abroad, fortunately, most said no challenges (46%), but many reported difficulties with mailing/postal issues (42%) and others reported state legislative changes affecting their ability to vote (15%). Asked what DA activities people appreciated most, members said the monthly DA newsletter (57%), social events (45%), and GOTV efforts (40%).

Thanks to all who participated! We will hold a drawing soon for some prizes.

Members Corner

2022 Midterm Election Overview

There is an abundance of information on the internet and in the press about the upcoming November 8 midterm elections, which fall two years before the 2024 presidential election. It behooves us Democrats living abroad to stay on top of the primaries and get out the vote for the elections.

The following is a summary of some of the crucial gubernatorial, US Senate and US House of Representative races. The nearest internet source for information on election candidates and dates can be found at votefromabroad.org. Click on the State Guide and then choose your state to find the information of most interest to you. Not incidentally, you can also register to vote at the votefromabroad.org link.

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Thank you for reading the April Newsletter!

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There is an abundance of information on the internet and in the press about the upcoming November 8 midterm elections, which fall two years before the 2024 presidential election. It behooves us Democrats living abroad to stay on top of the primaries and get out the vote for the elections.  

The following is a summary of some of the crucial gubernatorial, US Senate and US House of Representative races. The nearest internet source for information on election candidates and dates can be found at votefromabroad.org. Click on the State Guide and then choose your state to find the information of most interest to you. Not incidentally, you can also register to vote and request your ballots at the votefromabroad.org link.