Halloween will be here before we know it! While this holiday isn't widely celebrated in Switzerland, there are definitely pockets of the country that are starting to embrace it. If you're looking for some spooky, family-friendly fun, we have some suggestions for you! 

🎃 Basel 🎃

• Your kiddos may have some luck trick-or-treating in these neighborhoods:
  
  You can recognize participating households as those with a pumpkin by the front door. Süsses oder Saures!
  
  
• The Basel Children's Trust typically has a Halloween Party; you can contact them for details at [email protected].
  
  
• Teens and adults should check out our Ghost Walk!

🎃 Geneva 🎃

• If you want to head north out of Geneva, you can trick-or-treat in Versoix:
  
   
• Check out Halloween with Chaplin at Chaplin's World in Corsier Sur Vevey.
   
• Otherwise, you can visit Halloween au Château at Château de Prangins.

🎃 Zürich 🎃

• Visit the Halloween Kinder Disco 🕺💃 in Horgen; email [email protected] to reserve your child's spot.
   
• Explore a pumpkin rainforest at Jucker Farm in Seegräben.
   
• Join the waitlist for the AWCZ's Kids Corner Halloween Party!

Did we miss something near you? Let our Engagement Team know by contacting Emily at [email protected].

October 2021 Elections By State

For more information and links to the specific state elections pages, go to Ballotpedia.

Alabama

• Birmingham Municipal Run-Off Election
  October 5, 2021
• State House of Representatives District 63 Special Primary Election
  October 19, 2021

Alaska

• Juneau Municipal Elections
  October 5, 2021
• Anchorage Assembly District 4 Meg Zaletel Recall Election
  October 26, 2021

Colorado

• Silverton Mayor and City Council Recall Election
  October 12, 2021

Iowa

• State House of Representatives District 29 Special General Election
  October 12, 2021

Nebraska

• Ralston Public Schools Local Ballot Measure Special Election
  October 12, 2021

New Hampshire

• State House of Representatives Rockingham 6 Special Primary Election 
  October 19, 2021
• State House of Representatives Cheshire 9 Special Election
  October 26, 2021

North Carolina

• Durham Municipal Primary Election
  October 5, 2021

Northern Mariana Islands

• State House of Representatives District 3 General Election
  October 16, 2021

Rhode Island

• State Senate District 3 Special Primary Election
  October 5, 2021

The Democrats Abroad Switzerland Youth Caucus (DACH YC) is growing and needs you! The newly-minted Switzerland youth caucus chapter is looking for new members and volunteers. We are small team of young Americans living in Switzerland, who are passionate about voting and supporting other Americans abroad. We aim to give a voice to young people standing in for social and political issues close to our hearts. Whether you are a young professional or a student abroad, have recently moved to Switzerland or have lived here for a while, we look forward to getting in touch with you and having you on our team! To get involved and find out more about the DACH Youth Caucus, contact us at: [email protected].

Go to democracy.io to write to your Member of Congress today and ask them to provide vaccines to US citizens abroad who need them.

Unfortunately, Covid-19 is not going away. DACH applauds the US for leading the way in getting vaccines to the rest of the world, but there are still many US citizens living (and dying) outside the United States who lack access to vaccines. Whether you have already received a vaccine or not, we hope you will show solidarity with your fellow citizens abroad who are still waiting for theirs.

Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona is among many Members of Congress who are trying to get the message to the White House and the State Department that there are still many US citizens living abroad who need our help, if we are to fulfill our government's pledge that ALL US citizens will have access to vaccines. YOU can help by writing to YOUR Representative TODAY to support Rep. Grijalva in his efforts. It's pretty simple and it only takes a couple minutes - and you might just save some lives. So do it today - it would be great if members of Congress woke up on Monday to find thousands of messages from their constituents asking them to do the right thing. Here are just a few quick steps that YOU can take to make it happen:

1. Click here to write to your Member of Congress.
2. Fill in your voting address in the United States.
3. Select your House member.
4. Copy this language into the subject line: "Sign on to Rep. Grijalva's Letter asking for Vaccines for Americans Abroad"
5. Copy the message below into the space provided - and take a few seconds to read it - it really makes the case.
6. Fill in any details required - (use 000-000-0000 if you don't have a US phone number - and use your voting address in the US)
7. SEND!

Once you're done, please forward this message to friends and families inside and outside the United States and URGE them to URGENTLY reach out to their own Congressional Rep. Our fellow citizens need all the help that we can give them. If you have any doubts, please take a look at this video prepared by US citizens abroad just like you - and share it with others.

Click here for more information about what Democrats Abroad's COVID TASK FORCE is doing about publicizing this issue - and reach Senator Chris Murphy's letter to Secretary Blinken asking for vaccines for US citizens abroad. Also, please send questions or comments to [email protected]. Together, we can beat this thing.

Adapted from an email sent on 25 September 2021 by Art Schankler, International Vice Chair and member of the Covid Task Force.

The Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA) voting body met online on August 21 and 22 to vote on Charter Amendments and Resolutions. Your DA Switzerland voting reps know that taxation reform is important to you, so we would like to report on two of the resolutions that were adopted.

As always, you can follow the DA Taxation Task Force’s work on their website. Your DA Switzerland DPCA voting reps will also keep you up-to-date with information about the proposed messaging system and the RBT Coalition’s work.

Resolution #3
In Support of Development of a DA messaging platform for engaging members in Congressional outreach in support of DA issues-advocacy initiatives

Whereas Democrats Abroad has greatly expanded its advocacy work promoting reforms related to issues affecting Americans abroad and of importance to Democrats Abroad; and

Whereas DA advocacy initiatives routinely feature outreach to U.S. federal and state lawmakers and regulators; and

Whereas state of the art issues-advocacy programs provide activists with platforms that facilitate messaging to elected representatives by: identifying the activist's representative(s); providing sample message language; and sending the message to the activist's representative(s) via their official website, campaign website, or social media pages; and

Whereas DA issues-advocacy coordinators would benefit from data indicating which elected representatives are receiving messages from DA issues-activists, helping them to target representatives for further or follow-up outreach; and 

Whereas DA issues-advocacy coordinators would benefit from data, with GDPR compliance, identifying campaign supporters, helping them to target activists for further or follow-up communication; and

Whereas DA's Taxation Task Force has learned from at least 10 years of committed advocacy in support of tax reforms to eliminate double taxation; remove barriers to banking, saving, and investing; and simplify filing from abroad; that reform will happen when enough Americans abroad reach out to their elected representatives and demand it; and

Whereas votes from abroad reach politicians for the most part only once every 2 years, but voices from abroad can reach elected representatives - or candidates for office - continuously and with focus; and

Whereas DA is blessed with volunteers who can set up and maintain a messaging platform, but there will be origination and on-going maintenance costs that will consume organizational funds; and

Whereas DA can access "white label" systems ("off the shelf" web-creation products with functions already in place and ready to be customized) that would facilitate the development of such a platform without the need to start from first principles; and

Whereas DA advocacy teams with any area of focus could make use of the platform; and

September 2021 Elections by State

For more information and links to the specific state elections pages, go to Ballotpedia.

Alabama

• State House of Representatives District 78 Special Election
  September 7, 2021

Alaska

• Juneau write-in filing deadline/ballot access
  September 30, 2021

Arizona

• Tucson write-in filing deadline/ballot access
  September 23, 2021

California

• Recall Election for Governor Gavin Newsom
  September 14, 2021

Georgia

• Clayton County Board of Education District 8 Special Election
  September 21, 2021

Iowa

• State House of Representatives District 37 Special Election
  September 14, 2021

Maryland

• Annapolis Municipal Primary Election
  September 21, 2021

Massachusetts

• Boston Municipal Primary
  September 14, 2021
• Special filing deadline for State House of Representatives 4th Essex District
  September 28, 2021

New Hampshire

• State House of Representatives Hillsborough 7 Special Election
  September 7, 2021
• State House of Representatives Cheshire 9 Special Election Primary
  September 7, 2021
• Manchester School District Board Primary Election
  September 21, 2021

Ohio

• Cleveland Primary Election
  September 14, 2021
• Toledo Municipal Primary Election
  September 14, 2021

Tennessee

• State House of Representatives District 29 General Election
  September 14, 2021

Geneva Reception for Democratic
U.S. Reps Adam Schiff and Sean Maloney

A friend of DA in Geneva will host Democratic U.S. House Representatives Adam Schiff (CA) and Sean Patrick Maloney (NY) at a gala evening event. This will be an apéro with a chance to hear and meet the two congress members, to be followed by a private dinner for special guests. This is a fundraiser for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Democrats Abroad is not a sponsor but is happy to publicize such events of special interest to our members. Special donation rates will be made available to Democrats Abroad members.

We will provide the official invitation as it becomes available, showing venue, ticket prices, and ordering details. Watch for updates at our events page, our social media channels, and your inbox.

ETA: The event post is live; read it here!

At our AGM in March, you elected five Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA) voting representatives (Chair, Vice Chair, and three more) to represent Switzerland to the international committee. We had our first international meeting in May, but not all issues were able to be voted on in the time allotted. Therefore, we are meeting again on Saturday, August 21, and Sunday, August 22.

We will be voting on the following charter amendments and resolutions:

• Charter Amendment 7: Create DPCA Representation for Non-Country Committee Members
• Charter Amendment 8: Enable to Formation of Region Committees
• Resolution 3: In Support of Development of a DA messaging platform for engaging members in Congressional outreach in support of DA issues-advocacy initiatives
• Resolution 4: In Support of Democrats Abroad Joining the RBT Coalition
• Resolution 7: On Strengthening Democratic Institutions in the U.S. 
• Resolution 8: On Polarization of the Electorate
• Resolution 9: On Central American Immigration in 2021
• Resolution 13: To Expand the Travel Fund to Include Stipends for Members Interested in Attending DNC, ASDC, and DA Regional Meetings
• Resolution 14: To Keep the Pershing Hall Collections and the Time Capsule in France
• Resolution 17: In Support of Reactivation of the Atrocities Prevention Board
• Resolution 18: To Relieve the Financial and Administrative Burdens of the Present U.S. Tax and Financial Reporting Systems for Americans Outside the U.S., While Ensuring the Ultra-Rich Pay Their Fair Share of Taxes No Matter Where They Reside
• Resolution 19: Supporting H.R. 2590: Prohibiting Use of U.S. Military Foreign Aid for Detention of Children
• Resolution 20: To Condition Military Aid to Israel
• Resolution 22: To Regulate Social Media and Limit Negative and Divisive Effects On Society Around the World
• Resolution 27: Justice in Law Enforcement

If you are interested in reading the text of any of these proposed amendments or resolutions, asking questions about them, or expressing your opinion, please get in touch with your DPCA voting reps at the email addresses below.

If you are interested in Resolutions 19 and 20 in particular, you can view a petition in support of them here.

DPCA Voting Representatives for DA Switzerland

• Eric Burns, Chair - [email protected]
• Liz Voss, Vice Chair - [email protected]
• Leedonal Moore - [email protected]
• Vivian Beetle - [email protected]
• Zachary Bailey - [email protected] 

August 2021 Elections by State

For more information and links to the specific state elections pages, go to Ballotpedia.

Alabama

• Birmingham Municipal Election
  August 24, 2021

Arizona

• Tucson Municipal Primary Election
  August 3, 2021

Connecticut

• State Senate District 36 Special Election
  August 17, 2021

Florida

• St. Petersburg Municipal Primary Election
  August 24, 2021

Kansas

• Topeka and Wichita Primary Elections
  August 3, 2021

Michigan

• Detroit, Lansing, and State Senate Districts 8 & 28 Primary Elections
  August 3, 2021

Missouri

• St. Louis Community College District Special Election
  August 3, 2021

Montana

• Paradise • Recall election seeking to remove 2 of the 5 members of the Sanders County Sewer District
  August 24, 2021

Ohio

• 11th and 15th Congressional Districts Special Primary Elections
  August 3, 2021

Washington

• Primary Election
  August 3, 2021

Wisconsin

• Dane County Board of Supervisors District 20 Special General Election
  August 10, 2021

Are there issues you would like to see discussed within Dems Abroad Switzerland? Do you have an idea for an event or political action we can take?

If so, we want to hear about it!

Schedule a meeting with Eric (our Chair) or Liz (our Vice Chair) via Calendly for an online chat. We want to make sure that we are taking our group in the direction our members are wanting to go.