FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 5 October 2020

Contact: Darcy Alexandra, Zurich Co-Chair, [email protected] +41 78 920 79 98

According to data from the United States Election Project¹, a record number of at least 944,144 people have already voted in the 2020 general election. For comparison, around this same time in 2016, only 9,525 people had voted². Overseas citizens are voting early, too, and organizing to make a difference.

It is a collective effort as volunteers at Democrats Abroad Switzerland (DACH) help their fellow US citizens exercise their right to vote. Members are trained to register voters, answer state-specific questions, and return ballots via email, fax and post.

Joe Amato, a retired International School teacher and proud Democrat hailing from Queens, New York has been traveling across the Zurich area to assist new voters. Like other concerned US citizens residing in Zurich, Amato is a member of the DACH voter outreach team. Other members include US-Swiss writer, Aubrey Wagg, physics student Monika Molnar, and ETH Ph.D. Candidates Zachary Bailey and Eric Burns. Ranging from members who have lived in Switzerland for the majority of their life to those who have only recently started to call Switzerland home, these dedicated volunteers are getting out the vote during the historic US Presidential election and aiming to turn the Senate blue.

¹ https://electproject.github.io/Early-Vote-2020G/index.html
² https://www.huffpost.com/entry/2016-early-voting-underwa_b_12184290

UPCOMING EVENTS:
KAMALA HARRIS VP DEBATE DOWNLOAD: Friday 09.10.20 7pm online Zoom event

Democrats Abroad organizes events across Switzerland with the aim of connecting US Americans, disseminating information, facilitating political action, and raising funds for Democratic efforts like getting out the vote. Since the beginning of the pandemic, many of these events are now taking place on-line where US Americans gather. DACH events are open for media coverage and offer opportunities for journalists to speak with US Americans about their perspectives on current events. 

Since 2017, Senator Kamala Harris has represented California, the largest state in the country. Senator Harris is the second African-American woman and the first South-Asian American senator in US history. Kamala knows how to ask hard questions and get answers, whether she is going toe-to-toe with Jeff Sessions and Brett Kavanaugh in Senate hearings, or holding the current administration accountable. As a US Presidential candidate, she inspired millions of voters with her lifelong commitment to fighting injustice. During nearly two terms in office, Kamala defended California’s landmark climate change law, protected the Affordable Care Act, and helped win marriage equality for all Californians. Senator Harris shares Joe Biden’s view of standing up for everyday Americans and is ready on Day One to serve as Vice President of the United States.

Join Democrats Abroad Switzerland as we discuss the debate and continue to support efforts to defend the vote for US citizens living overseas.

DACH Aktivmitglied Miriam Victory Spiegel steht Ihnen als Ansprechpartnerin auf Deutsch/Schweizerdeutsch gerne zur Verfügung. Frau Spiegel kann unter 079/215 74 27 oder [email protected] erreicht werden.

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The following list represents currently scheduled events; for more information and updates, please visit our website at https://www.democratsabroad.org/ch_events.

• DACH Geneva Book Club - October 2020, Tuesday, October 6 at 6:30 PM CEST
  The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss. The author will be present to discuss her book about the fight to win 19th Amendment ratification that secure the right to vote for women. Zoom Meeting, RSVP to [email protected].
  
  
• DA Discussions: Vice Presidential Debate Download, Friday, October 9 at 7 PM CEST
  Zoom Meeting, RSVP to [email protected].
  
  
• Kitchen Brew Beer Tasting, Friday, October 16 at 6:30 PM CEST
  Kitchen Brew brewery, Allschwil • CHF 25
  
  
• DA Discussions: Partisan Tribalism and the 2020 Elections, Thursday, October 22 at 6 PM CEST
  Zoom Meeting, RSVP to [email protected].

If interested in joining one of our upcoming events, please contact [email protected], [email protected], or [email protected]. More information about Democrats Abroad Switzerland, please visit our website, https://www.democratsabroad.org/ch. We can also be found on social media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook) at @swissdemocrats.

INFORMATION SHEET
QUICKVIEW STATS and FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Over 19,000 U.S. citizens live in Switzerland; of those, about 15,000 are of voting age.
• DA Switzerland membership has grown by 27.3% since February 2020.
• DA Switzerland has chapters in Zurich, Basel, and Geneva, which are hubs for expats.
• Democrats Abroad is the state Democratic party for overseas Americans.
• We represent the 6.5 million eligible voters overseas (out of 9 million total). That’s a larger population than all but 11 US states.
• We have approximately 200k members in over 190 countries around the world, and 45 active country committees.
• We provide members with tools to help them stand up for democracy in America, through voter registration training, regularly published actions, events and marches, and a friendly community of like minded American citizens living abroad.
• During election years, our focus is to get out the vote and advocate for overseas American issues, through our own members, outreach volunteers, and resources like votefromabroad.org, which helps every American overseas request and receive their ballot. 

FAQs

How large is the organization Democrats Abroad?
Democrats Abroad is the largest organization of civilian Americans outside the US. We are 100% volunteer-led, with active chapters across six continents and members who vote in every U.S. state and congressional district.

We represent the 6.5 million eligible voters overseas (out of 9 million abroad, total), with almost 200,000 activists and voters members in over 190 countries around the world. Our extensive reach goes far beyond our 45 country committees through engaged, active online communities of Americans around the world.

How is DA financially supported? Do you get donations from abroad?
We are supported by generous donations from our US citizen members as well as Americans living in the US who value our work and see us as a natural, critical resource to tap into a huge number of potential voters.

We also, from time to time, receive small grants from the DNC to help support specific projects.

Special note: We never accept donations from corporations or foreign citizens.

How long has Democrats Abroad been active?
There have been patriotic Americans abroad virtually since the country’s inception! But as an organization, Democrats Abroad has been continuously active since chapters were first established in Paris and London in 1964.