Today, December 5th, is International Volunteer Day. International Volunteer Day was designated by the United Nations in 1985 as an international observance day to celebrate the power and potential of volunteerism.

This year dedicated DA Canada volunteers have shown their power and potential in many ways.

Democrats Abroad is 100% volunteer run, we could not do any of our great work without you. We are very proud and grateful for the dedication and time that our volunteers contribute.

In 2018, through street festivals, rallies, pop-up events, and phone-banking, across Canada hundreds of volunteers contributed over a thousand hours of time to support GOTV. The GOTV Campaign Office in Toronto was a unique opportunity for us to see volunteers in action. We were amazed by the dedication, skill and enthusiasm of the volunteers who made this office a success!

We overcame insurmountable odds and your hard work made an impact on many historic Democrat victories. You helped to flip the House Blue!

Thank you!

There are some outstanding volunteers who we would like to give some special recognition for going above and beyond this year to get out the vote!

Debra Lazar was nominated by her chapter. She is a long time member of Democrats Abroad and has been critical helping to organize chapter activities. Thank you Debra!

Cameron Mitchell was nominated by his chapter. Cameron stepped forward and filled a critical role as a bilingual media contact. He also created and led a successful “Constitution Day and Citizenship Day” media event. We are grateful that he worked so hard to get out the word that Americans in Canada can vote in the US elections!

Riley Nielson-Baker was nominated as an outstanding volunteer by their chapter for helping to get out the student vote this year. Riley is a university student and has worked hard to get Democrats Abroad visible on campus. Thank you Riley!

Danielle Stampley was nominated by her chapter. Danielle's leadership, knowledge and caring personality make her and an invaluable member of her chapter. We are grateful that even with her busy schedule she can give so much time to DA.

Michael Stevenson was nominated by the GOTV Team for his outstanding dedication to phone-banking. Michael made thousands of calls and had 1422 conversations with members during this year’s election!

Tracy Hudson was nominated by DA Canada IT. Tracy has dedicated many hours as our national Facebook Page Administrator. Her amazing work on our page has been praised by the DA international social media team.

Tracy was also nominated by her chapter as a skilled communicator who ensures all chapter events are posted and promoted to members. She is a talented photographer, her photos are regularly published in local media promoting Democrats Abroad. Tracy also was the co-lead for a voters information table at the American Women’s club.

Phone-banking is the most effective way Democrats Abroad can reach out to Americans living overseas to get out the vote! The following are volunteers who went the extra mile this year, and their incredible GOTV conversation totals!

Stephanie Perry 964
Mari Rutka 774
Lorraine Scott 720
Allenna Leonard 481
Janette McCabe 379
Melek Ortabasi 357
Elizabeth Shropshire 340
Kenneth Sherman 339
Carol Donohue 313
Erin Campeau 281
Letitia O’Connell 259
Nargess Khosrowshahi 248
Reg Charney 247
Beverly Wellman 235
Carol Ricker Wilson 212

On this International Volunteer Day, the leadership of Democrats Abroad Canada wishes to extend their heartfelt gratitude to all of our volunteers. Your efforts truly helped in making the difference in these midterm elections.

Democratically yours,

Jamey Shick, 

Director of Volunteers DA Canada 

This urgent message is for members who vote from Florida, Georgia or Arizona – Please take a moment to read on to ensure your vote was counted. It’ll take a few minutes of your time but it’s crucial to take action now or risk allowing the Republicans to take your vote away.

Over the past several election cycles, the votes received by Democrats Abroad voters has delivered the numerical difference to victory in one to two close races; e.g. MN, NY, CT, NV. This time it’s overseas voters from FL, GA and AZ who have the ability to truly play a role in victory – every vote does count!

The stakes are high and the numbers are close - if every vote is counted Stacey Abrams, Andrew Gillum, Bill Nelson and Kyrsten Sinema could see victory at the end.

The Democrats Abroad GOTV Team has put together crucial information to help you contact your voting county immediately to make sure your vote is being recognized and counted. If your ballot has not been counted or cannot be found, follow the following steps outlined below. The tight race in Arizona has not only highlighted the value of our votes from abroad, but also highlighted how much we need to do to help protect those votes and ensure they are counted.

In GA, FL and AZ, the GOP is actively working to avoid counting absentee ballots.

To help ensure that our votes are counted, we are working with state voter protection teams and have rolled out the following process to help you PROTECT YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE..

1. We are sending emails to voters in each state with information walking them through checking on the status of their ballots.

2. If a ballot has not been counted, we are asking Florida and Georgia voters to fill out a form which we are sharing directly with the voter protection teams in their states. We are asking Arizona voters to get in touch with their local election offices immediately to ensure they have all the information they need to verify their ballots, and then to reach out to us if they have further problems.

Here is the information, by State:

Arizona
https://www.facebook.com/DemsAbroad/posts/10160904477040005

Florida
https://www.facebook.com/DemsAbroad/posts/10160904523715005

Georgia
https://www.facebook.com/DemsAbroad/posts/10160905029765005

In Solidarity,

Bodil Geyer
GOTV Coordinator, Canada