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MESSAGE FROM DA SPAIN CHAIR, ANDREW ANDERSON
Happy New Year. We are now in the throes of our Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign. As a fellow Democrat or Independent, you know that the midterms will be consequential.
We need your help. If you can find the energy, we would love to have you join us in helping to get the message out to Americans in Spain to register to vote. We can help. Let us know and we will provide the information to get people to register. We also need help with your time and energy. Volunteer.
Join us in the upcoming events and activities.
If you would rather contribute money, we can sure use that as well. Our organization is 100% funded by members and those who support the Democratic agenda. The link to donate is on the website here. Funding is 100% spent to pay for ads and activities. No money goes to any volunteer. We are an all-volunteer organization.
Lastly, we are looking for a Vice Chair. If you are interested in helping me lead a wonderful and energetic volunteer team, let me know. I can be reached via email [email protected].
Thank you for taking the time to read this message. Hope to see you as a volunteer or at an activity or event.
ALICANTE
By Edmond CobosIn honor of International Voter Registration Day, Democrats Abroad Alicante would like to invite you to our voter registration event happening Thursday, February 12 at 6:00 pm. Sip and Wonder Cafe at Calle Poeta Campos Vasallos, 8, in Alicante is opening up their doors for this after-hours private event. This event will feature a tapas menu, two international comedians and end the night with live music.
We hope to kick off this extremely important election cycle with as much participation and enthusiasm as it requires to make a change. That being said, this event is open to all your fellow Americans regardless of their political party affiliation. RSVP here to join us, the Democrats Abroad Alicante leadership team: Edmond, Allie, Andrew.
BARCELONA
By Doris Stanger
The Barcelona Chapter has been busy! We hosted a very successful Thanksgiving fundraising lunch, with more than 60 attendees joining us and over $500 raised. We have continued our three monthly events, Wake Up Wednesday Coffee and Conversation, our BCN online ExCom meeting (open to all), and Thirsty Thursday Drinks, Tapas and Talk. These events have been combined with our GOTV efforts. Our most recent Thirsty Thursday on January 15 marked the kickoff of voter registration. We welcomed over 40 attendees — a record turnout.
We also held a standout DA BCN Book Club meeting with a record 20 attendees and a lively and engaged discussion of Surviving Autocracy by Masha Gessen. Afterward, we enjoyed Dinner with DA, continuing the evening with conversation and community. The next DA BCN Book Club and Dinner with DA will be on April 11.
Movie Night continued, with a screening of The Lady Bird Diaries on January 25 and another gathering on March 1 to kick off Women’s History Month. For a full list of upcoming activities, please check out our events page here.
Looking ahead, we are working hard on expanding our GOTV efforts beyond the city of Barcelona. In December we hosted get-togethers in Sitges and Tortosa and returned to Sitges in January for a GOTV event. Our next event will take place in Girona on February 1 (event info here), with additional events in Tarragona and the Tortosa area currently in the works. If you live anywhere in Catalonia outside of Barcelona and want to help with GOTV efforts, please contact us at [email protected]
We are always looking for volunteers — especially in this critical election year, 2026. If you’re interested in helping, please contact us at [email protected] or fill out our volunteer form.
GRANADA
By Alexia Weninger & Thomas Colón
In the last few terrible weeks of unprecedented threats to the constitution and to our democracy, the mission of Democrats Abroad takes on an added urgency, and DA Granada is more committed than ever to doing its part.
We continue to build a lively community whose actions are felt both here and far away. Our methods are based on grassroots, boots-on-the-ground tactics, as well as local press and social media connections. Members are encouraged to spread the word, take action and commit to defending the rights presently at risk for us and for future generations. We offer here an update on our recent activity.
Granada’s first ever voter registration event took place on January 15 and 16 at Granada's popular Botánico Café, as our contribution to the launch of the International Voter Registration Drive. It was fun, attendance was great, and we had the chance to meet many new people who are eager to become more active. One of our messages to the people attending is this: Getting involved makes a difference and it also serves to counter the shock and despair we are naturally feeling these days.
January's activities came after a planning meeting in November, at another popular restaurant, Mezze. Clearly, in Granada we like to combine our organization efforts with a good happy hour!
Upcoming actions include visits by voting assistants to study-abroad programs. Granada is a fantastic college town and with so many US students here, there’s a lot to be done. Apart from showing them how to register and request a ballot, our goal is to generally raise awareness about the importance of defending democracy. Not all exchange students will have the chance to vote from abroad while they are here this semester, because not all states have special elections, but we hope our visits will help build enthusiasm that will carry over into heightened interest in the November midterms when these students are back home.
Our team of volunteers is proud to report that in the past few months membership numbers in DA Granada have increased considerably, thanks to concerted outreach efforts, mainly word of mouth and local chat groups. We’ve also created brand new accounts on Instagram and Facebook. A new initiative is to connect with local press contacts to gauge their interest in doing a feature on Democrats Abroad and the importance of the work we do.
MADRID
By Maggie Zelonis
Democrats Abroad Madrid has had a lively and community-filled few months! In November, the LGBTQ+ Caucus organized trivia night on November 11 and we celebrated Thanksgiving with a happy hour, followed by our annual fundraiser dinner, raising more than $300 for our GOTV efforts, on November 20. In December, we welcomed new energy at the Young Americans in Madrid Youth Caucus kickoff on December 4, had an ugly Christmas sweater trivia night on December 9, and closed out the year with a fun ugly holiday sweater social with a white elephant gift exchange on December 16.
The new year started strong with the “Inaugurations and Insurrections” trivia night on January 13 and our International Voter Registration Drive event “Register and Raise a Glass” on January 15, which brought out 30+ people to register to vote and complete their FPCA.
It’s been wonderful to see familiar faces alongside many new ones at our recent events. Please keep an eye on your email, our website, and social media for news about our February events, including trivia night on February 10. And don’t forget to check out our volunteer opportunities and reach out to [email protected] to get involved. Every action counts!
MÁLAGA
By Nancy PfefferThe Málaga chapter kicked off 2026 right by holding our first meeting on January 15, International Voter Registration Day, and the first day of DA’s International Voter Registration Drive. We had about 30 attendees — a mix of familiar attendees and new faces — and succeeded in getting 24 people registered and their ballots requested for 2026. After a brief meeting agenda, we had our trained GOTV volunteers help everyone with the FPCA process, while enjoying refreshments and music.
We’re busy planning to hold more events like this in locations outside Málaga city. Our members come from all over Málaga province, and they are spread out along the Costa del Sol. Our next efforts will focus on Nerja and Fuengirola, with possible events later in farther-away towns like Marbella. We’re coordinating our Nerja event with the Granada precinct so as to encourage attendance. We’ll be trying to reach DA members and non-members by whatever means we can figure out!
Lastly, a heads-up for DA Spain members that we will be coordinating an online tax webinar for expats in early March that will bring you two experts: one in US taxes, and one in Spanish taxes. Please save the date of March 9 at 7:30 pm. More information to come.
SEVILLA
By Kevin DodsonIn November, Chapter member and vocalist extraordinaire Leora Glasgow performed in a Democrats Abroad fundraiser at the local Uprooted Theater in a sold-out one-person show, And to the Republic. Following the performance, former Chapter Vice Chair Sabina Chen hosted an open discussion with Leora and the audience on the issues of race and gender raised during her set.
The Chapter held an Organizational Meeting and Holiday Cheer on December 10, where members discussed upcoming activities. In mid-January, the Sevilla Chapter members staffed a Voter Registration Drive event sponsored by Vote from Abroad, also at Uprooted Theater. Turnout was outstanding in terms of both volunteers and prospective voters.
The Chapter often holds important events at Uprooted Theater. The theater provides the English-speaking community a space for the collaboration of artists who connect through theater, music, and art, and hosts events every weekend. Interested persons can follow them on both Facebook and Instagram. Uprooted Theater also provides meeting space for the local NGO Diálogos Para Construir, which works to facilitate the inclusion of migrants into Spanish society. Many Chapter members support the organization’s work, and its website can be found at www.dialogosparaconstruir.org.
Finally, the Chapter continues to hold its monthly First Friday event, alternating between mornings and afternoons. In February, we will celebrate Black History Month with a tour of relevant historical sites in Sevilla conducted by the local group Sevilla Negra, which can also be followed on Instagram. The Sevilla Chapter is committed to building community where we live, not only to enrich our personal lives but also as a critical component in the struggle to preserve and advance democratic politics.
VALENCIA
By John Schuetzle
DA Valencia ended the year with a bang, hosting two fundraising events to support GOTV efforts in 2026. Our annual Thanksgiving dinner hosted by Fallas Casal Pilar, featured the Fallera Mayor carving the turkey, and the “house band” organized by Casal members playing American classics! Their rendition of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” brought a tear to the eye of many attendees. The event sold out with over 100 attendees and raised $500. A member-hosted house party event featuring Thanksgiving-themed tapas and cocktails raised an additional $800.
As a lifelong Minnesotan and former Minneapolis resident, it has certainly been an interesting start to the new year. I’m saddened by the unnecessary violence, yet inspired by the will of Minnesotans to stand up for their neighbors! In Valencia, we are channeling that same energy into our GOTV efforts under the leadership of Jeremy Angel. In January, Jeremy and other volunteers hosted six GOTV events, resulting in an estimated 75+ registrations as well as 37 new members in January. We will continue our GOTV efforts in February and March with Student/Auxiliares de Conversación outreach, and ongoing opportunities for registration support and primary ballot requests at our monthly First Friday Coffees and Third Thursday Happy Hours.
WOMEN'S CAUCUS
Greetings from the Spain Women’s Caucus! With all of the horrific news coming from the States, it’s hard to stay positive. But as Margaret Atwood wrote in The Handmaid’s Tale, "Nolite te bastardes carborundorum," roughly translated as "Don’t let the bastards grind you down."
So we carry on! We are working on getting some events lined up for March, Women’s History Month. We could always use more volunteers or collaborators to help us build a community here in Spain. If you would like to read about the Spain Women’s Caucus, check out our page on the DA Spain website. You can get in touch with us at [email protected].
The Global Women’s Caucus is kicking off 2026 with a bang. Along with their busy calendar of events, every month on the last Sunday at 6:00 pm CET there is The Cauldron, a monthly space for women’s voices abroad. The January topic is “What’s Driving You in 2026?” For more information click here. On February 15 is book club. The book The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy will be discussed. For more information, click here.
Lots of plans are in the works for Women’s History Month in March. The event on March 8 is an all-day Feminist Hackathon, a hands-on power lab for women who are done asking permission and ready to build something together. It will be an amazing day! You can follow the GWC on social media. Instagram Facebook LinkedIn Threads
If you would like to join the Women’s Caucus, click here. When you join the Global Women’s Caucus, you will automatically be assigned to the Spain Women’s Caucus. Join us to keep defending women’s rights!
VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES
As we enter the beginning of 2026, the Trump Administration has advanced a series of initiatives that directly undermine the well-being of veterans, military families, and Americans living abroad. These actions have placed critical issues at risk, including access to VA healthcare, the protection of earned benefits, overseas voting rights, and the stability of military families stationed or residing outside the United States.
In response, VMF Spain stands ready to join members of Democrats Abroad Spain in a collective effort to register voters and mobilize civic participation, with the goal of restoring the balance of power in the upcoming midterm elections. Veteran and military family voices are essential to ensuring that policies reflect lived realities and safeguard hard-earned rights.
With this mission in mind, VMF Spain is actively seeking dedicated volunteers who are prepared to represent, advocate for, and defend the interests of veterans and military families — particularly those affected by policy decisions made far from home.
We are currently looking for volunteers to fill the following positions:
- Phone Bankers
- Activities Coordinator
- Vice Chair
- Volunteer Coordinator
All those interested in making a meaningful impact and standing up for those who have served are welcome to join this effort.
If you are willing to join, please email: [email protected]
LGBTQ+ CAUCUS
The new year kicked off with our raucous monthly trivia night hosted by DA’s LGBTQ+ Caucus. The theme was Inaugurations and Insurrections and drew an SRO crowd upstairs at Saporito restaurant in Madrid. Prizes were given out to the increasingly competitive attendees of our monthly contest. We continue to draw lots of new faces from a wide spectrum of communities.
February’s trivia night has been slated, which will focus on Black History Month, Valentine’s Day, and, of course, politics.
More activities to be announced! Check us out on Instagram and Facebook.
If you would like to join the LGBTQ+ Caucus, you can join here.
You can also reach out to the caucus co-chairs via email at [email protected].
Click here to learn more about DA caucuses and how to join. When you join a global caucus, you automatically become a member of the Spain caucus.
Click here to see all the upcoming Global Caucus events.
Laying the Groundwork Starts Here
All of the activity you’ve read about above points to one shared priority: being voting-ready early. As we enter a crucial midterm election year, a few simple steps now make a real difference later.
Get Voting-Ready Early
Bookmark the main Democrats Abroad website for state-by-state registration and voting information. Rules and deadlines vary, and checking early gives you time and peace of mind.
A trained and dedicated team of volunteers is ready to help Get Out The Vote (GOTV) this year in Spain! After a four-session training series last fall, the voter registration assistance team moved from concept to action this month, hosting over a dozen successful events around the country in support of the International Voter Registration Drive. In the first three weeks of January 2026, we helped more than 320 Americans in Spain to register and request their ballots using www.votefromabroad.org.
You may wonder, if the election isn’t until November, why the rush to register now?
Here are a few reasons it helps both you and us:
- You can vote in primary elections as well as the general
- You can vote in any special elections
- Your name may have been purged from the voter rolls
- Time to work through any unforeseen glitches in submitting (e.g., email didn’t reach the clerk, form must be sent by snail mail, can’t remember SSN, etc.)
- Avoids the time and expense of a phone banking call to you later in the year
- Frees up volunteers to work with non-members and students later in the year
So please, do it now and get the satisfaction of crossing this essential item off your to-do list!
Stay Connected Locally
Make sure you are subscribed to your chapter’s newsletter so you don’t miss local updates, events, and opportunities to get involved. Most action starts at the chapter level, so make sure you click the links above for your local chapter here in Spain.
Help Grow the Community
If this newsletter resonated with you, please share it with other Americans abroad. Forward it, post it, or send it to someone who should be part of this community.
This is how we lay the groundwork together.
Phonebanking
Are you looking to get involved in getting out the vote in 2026? Phonebanking is a fun and easy way to assist, no matter where you live, and it’s a key element of laying the groundwork for successful midterm elections.
In March, DA Spain is starting our phone banking program, dubbed the Albion Land Memorial Phone Banking Campaign to honor our late friend and staunch DA supporter, Albion Land. Albion loved phonebanking and made thousands of calls for DA in 2024. After Albion’s death, several of his friends contributed enough money to fully fund this year’s campaign.
As a team, we will call members of DA Spain to remind them to register and request their ballot. You call from your computer using a free, user-friendly calling program with a script. You can spend as much or as little time as you choose phonebanking, depending on your schedule. Every call helps!
If you have never done phonebanking for DA Spain, please fill out the volunteer form. If you have already told us through this form that you are interested in phonebanking, we will be in contact soon with more information. No need to fill out the form again. In the meantime, sign-up for phonebanking training.
If you are a former phonebanker and are ready to get started, please let our phonebank coordinator Doris Stanger know and she’ll make sure you receive all updated information. If you are in the phonebanking Signal group, you can let her know there too.
If you are not convinced about phonebanking but want to get more involved, please visit our volunteer page to learn about various volunteering opportunities.
DA Spain Cookbook Tasty Fundraiser Update
YES!!! We made our target $2,000 by December 31 for the DA Spain Cookbook fundraising campaign! Thanks to the Cookbook Team and the 100+ supporters who bought Cooking Up Democracy. Many of you bought multiple copies for gifts, which made a huge difference. Several copies went to your friends and family in the USA too. All in all, a huge success!
It is still for sale on our events page, and to date we have raised $2,450 — all of which goes to DA Spain to help GOTV efforts this year. In February, we will make a push to sell it to members in other DA countries. Enjoy the recipes and keep sharing them! Buy your copy at: https://demsabroad.org/DASpainCookbook
The cookbook is designed to be used on any device — phone, tablet, laptop — whatever you use in your kitchen. Easy to print out any recipe you like. It also prints in A5 size in a lovely spiral binder, for less than 8€ each. For online print options in Spain, please email [email protected] for instructions.
Thank you for being part of this work. The months ahead will demand commitment, but they will also be shaped by it.
FOLLOW US
To stay on top of all the news, follow Democrats Abroad Spain on social media. And please forward this email to your American friends in Spain who may not know us!
MAKE A SMALL DONATION
Donations to Democrats Abroad go directly to registering Americans and get out the vote (GOTV) activities such as phone banking, postcards, and most importantly, social media. Democrats Abroad is an incredible investment in our Democracybecause it is 100% volunteer led and organized.
Every dollar you give supports our work to elect Democrats who will fight to make a better life for all Americans.
that make a difference in election victory. DA is a global organization committed to helping Americans abroad to be involved in our country no matter where we live.
If you cannot afford to make a donation, consider volunteering your time, or bringing a friend to one of our events.