2026 has been a remarkable year for voter turnout! U.S. citizens abroad showed up in record numbers across the world, including Gen Z, whose turnout nearly tripled over past midterms, thanks to our outreach in schools and study abroad programs. The unique challenges presented by this administration's interference and mail disruption make these achievements particularly significant.
Key Insights:
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VoteFromAbroad usage skyrocketed: U.S. citizens abroad used our voter registration and ballot request tool in numbers nearly doubling the last midterm in 2022!
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280% increase in youth turnout usage on VoteFromAbroad over 2022
Our Efforts and Outreach
This year, thousands of volunteers mobilized voters abroad to help change the trajectory of our country:
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Phonebank volunteers made over 240k calls this election.
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We’ve sent 185k texts to voters abroad.
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Helped more than 23k voters solve ballot problems through our Voter Assistance helpdesk in the last three months alone.
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Held nearly 4k events in 58 countries across six continents, from voter registration drives to voter assistance to resistance events.
Digital advertising and Social Media
In 2026 DA global and local teams advertised in close to 80 countries via Facebook, YouTube, Google, banner ads, radio, display ads, podcasts, and more. We were again able to see the impact of enhanced messaging from an increasing variety of influencers and celebrities from the world of politics, commentary and performing arts.
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Our ads generated millions of impressions and sent many hundreds of thousands of referrals to votefromabroad.org.
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100s of graphics and reels created for 1000s of posts across 12 Social Media platforms with 100s of thousands of followers
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Highlight: Mark Ruffalo’s VoteFromAbroad reel has 5.4 million views
Earned media
Media around the world highlighted Democrats Abroad, expanding our outreach to U.S. citizens living abroad.
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Democrats Abroad press teams at both the local and global level secured more than 170 interviews in the media this year.
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Highlights include: AP, BBC Radio and TV, CNN, el Periodico, France24, Newsweek, The New Yorker, The New York Times, Reuters,, Salon, Sky News,The Guardian, The Washington Sun
Voter Protection
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Resolved complex voting problems which our Voter Assistance team alone could not address.
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Rebuilt and strengthened our Voter Protection team, bringing in dedicated leadership, experienced voter-assistance volunteers, legal expertise, and a clearer escalation to resolution path.
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Launched a centralized case-management system to track voter issues, keep assistants and voters informed, identify recurring problems, and coordinate securely with relevant partners.
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Worked directly with election officials and state party Voter Protection teams to resolve voter problems and document outcomes.
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Coordinated with the DNC Office of General Counsel, DNC Voter Protection, state Democratic parties and other partners to address issues affecting overseas voters
Study Abroad Ambassadors for Democrats Abroad
Democrats Abroad has long helped students overseas register to vote and return their ballots, a key part of our Get-Out-The-Vote strategy for many election cycles. Hundreds of thousands of young Americans study abroad each semester, and many want to vote but don’t know they can, or how.
Our pilot student ambassador program built on this work by creating a core “Ambassador” group of student volunteers to help their peers register, request ballots, and vote. Peer-to-peer outreach makes voting feel achievable for other students.This year, thanks to this program, the ambassadors were able to travel to other schools and bring the message to new campuses. As an example in the UK, one of seven country committees involved in this work, their 12 student ambassadors reached students across more than 50 study abroad programs at over 170 events this fall, helping thousands of students take steps toward voting. Student Ambassadors also did outreach in Italy, Spain, France, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and New Zealand.
In Summary
It's been a very busy and successful year, reaching Americans living abroad, assisting where needed and protecting voter rights. We did this as a global team while also offering community to our members and everyone who dropped by an event. We would like to thank all our volunteers for all that they did and do! We couldn’t have done it without you!