June is Pride month in America. However, CSD/Pride goes on all summer in Europe. The first of the party's 2020 presidential primary debates will take place over two nights, on Wednesday, June 26 and Thursday, June 27 in Miami, Florida. Many of our chapters and precincts will be having watch parties. We'll provide more information as the dates get closer.
On Thursday, June 13th, from 6:45 pm to 8:45 pm CEST, the Global Women's Caucus will host an essential webinar with Dr. Jennifer Merchant. She will discuss the long-feared upcoming challenge to Roe v. Wade limiting choice for women and a likely constitutional crisis concerning women’s rights. Don't miss this important webinar, RSVP today.
Please welcome our new Black Caucus leader for Germany, Derek Bembry. He is from our Frankfurt Chapter. If you have any questions for Derek or want to get involved with the Black Caucus in Germany, contact him at [email protected]
Please also welcome our new Braunschweig Precinct Captian, Drew Wilson. Thanks to both Derek and Drew for volunteering! We couldn't exist without people willing to help out.
Wow! May was a busy month for DA Germany. On May 4th, our Chair Candice Kerestan and Vice Chair Kenton Barnes held an online "Meet and Greet." The next one will be in the fall. We hope you will join us.
Our Running for Democracy fundraiser was a big success. We raised over $3,000 for DA International, which supports all of our IT infrastructure, phone banking, and much more. Thank you for your support. Read more about the event and check out our pictures and videos from that day.
On Saturday, May 25, 2019, members from our Kaiserslautern and Wiesbaden/Mainz Chapters visited the Luxembourg American Cemetery for their annual Memorial Day Ceremony. They joined our DA Luxembourg chapter for the ceremony. See the pictures.
May 17-19, 2019 leaders and members of Democrats Abroad came together in Washington, D.C. for the annual Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA) Global Meeting. Countries represented included Canada, Mexico, Columbia, Haiti, the United Arab Emirates, China, New Zealand, and also many of the European country committees. Germany had one of the largest delegations with 16 members in attendance. In addition to all of the people in the room, there were also a large number of participants online, contributing via WebEx. Read more about DAG's trip to Washington.
On a sad note, a longtime member and volunteer John Henke passed away. Our condolences to his wife Kathleen and his family and friends. John was a valuable member of our Munich Chapter who will be sadly missed, see his memorial article here.
Join Democrats Abroad from around Germany and the world at Oktoberfest! We’ve got a big year coming up, so to help you get energized for 2020, join us on Sunday, October 6th from 11:00 am to 2:30 pm. We have reserved seats in the Gallery section of the Schottenhamel tent, which means we’re upstairs, above the large crowds and you don’t have to fight to get a seat.
You can buy tickets via this reservation form. Tickets are only 65 euros until July 1st when they increase to 75 euros.
Each ticket includes a reserved seat in the Gallery, a half roasted chicken, 2 liters of beer, and a 10 euro coupon for additional food and drinks. And don’t worry, you can use the beer vouchers for other beverages, and there are vegetarian options available.
Oktoberfest is a fun event and a great chance to meet other members of Democrats Abroad! If you have any questions, please email [email protected]. We hope to see you there!
From monthly meetings to book clubs to pub nights and phone banking parties, there's plenty of activities happening throughout the country in May and beyond. For a complete overview, be sure to bookmark and regularly check out our event page.
There are local, state and federal elections in 2019. Please vote, we need to gain more Democratic seats in this year's elections and Republicans win when we don’t vote!
If you vote in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, or Virginia, there are elections in 2019.
North Carolina's 3rd and 9th districts will have special elections for seats in the US House of Representatives; let’s keep the Blue Wave going in an off year.
Even if you voted in 2018, submitting a new ballot request form in 2019 is required by most states.
Make a new ballot request for 2019 — send the form right away!
- Go to www.votefromabroad.org to complete the *Ballot Request form (FPCA).
- Follow the Instructions to attach your signature online—or—print out and sign the completed form.
- Send the signed FPCA to your election official. You may EMAIL, FAX or MAIL your FPCA to your Local Election Official.
Get more information on the 2019 elections.
Election Dates
June 11th - Virginia Primary
Aug. 6th - Mississippi Primary; August 27th Runoff
Sep. 10th - North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District Special Election
Oct. 12th - Louisiana Primary; November 16th Runoff
Nov. 5th - General Election
Did you fill out your ballot request yet?
Follow Democrats Abroad Germany on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram!
We're gearing up for 2020, and it takes a village to do all the things we need to do. Here are three opportunities to help:
- Take our Volunteer Survey. We are looking for volunteers in all areas.
- DA Germany is looking for members interested in leading our LGBTQ+ Caucus, Progressive Caucus, and Youth Caucus. Find out more information.
Do you have an idea? We're looking for suggestions on how to find and connect with more Americans in Germany, to encourage and enable them to vote. Bookmark this link and submit your ideas at any time.
Taxation News - During June 4th's Member's Day on the Hill, Rep. Jamie Raskin submitted a statement to the Ways and Means Committee supporting tax reform for Americans abroad. We appreciate the Representative's support of our constituency in Washington D.C. Read more.
DA is hosting a Congressional CallStorm on Thursday, June 13 to mark International Tax Filing Day and support those seeking relief from double taxation to call their members of Congress and demand it. We created this Guide for participating in the CallStorm.
As noted in our recent report on the May Congressional Door Knock, we've reached a significant tax advocacy milestone in securing the support of Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA08) as a partner to Rep. George Holding (R-NC02) on the development of a Residency-Based Taxation (RBT) bill. We will continue to work with them to create legislation that can generate the endorsement of the rest of the House Ways and Means Committee. But we need Americans abroad to reach out to their elected representatives in every state and district about the need for RBT. Please call and write your Congressional Representatives next week.
DAG is forming a caucus to serve veterans and their family members in Germany as is done in other countries and at the congressional level. The primary purposes are to provide:
- A sense of inclusion to members of the military community
- Information to veterans (e.g., benefits)
- A forum for discussion of Democratic policies and platform issues that are of particular importance to military communities such as the importance of budget support for the Veterans Administration.
Jim Moss, from our Kaiserslautern chapter, is the Chair of the DAG VMF Caucus, and Robert Scott is the Deputy Chair. They are both Army veterans. The caucus is currently seeking a volunteer for the secretary position. Anyone interested may apply. Please contact Jim Moss at [email protected] if you are interested in the secretary position.
The Mueller Report is available as a free audiobook on Audible. It's an easy way to "read" this critical report by listening.
DAG is a self-sustaining, 100% volunteer organization. Thank you to all our sustaining members -- your donations are vital. Without you, our mission would be difficult. In 2020, we must defeat Donald Trump! If you are not currently a sustaining member, please consider becoming one. In 2016, we calculated that each Euro spent resulted in 3 new members/voters, and in 2020 every vote will be necessary. A donation of €5 per month or more will make a big difference for us. If you are interested in donating, either one time, monthly, or quarterly, please find our bank information below. To make it a recurring donation, you would do a “Dauerauftrag." The suggested recurring donation amount is €5, but higher amounts are gladly accepted.
Account name: Democrats Abroad Germany
IBAN: DE04 5405 0220 0140 2702 99
BIC: MALADE51KLK
Finally, you have to laugh sometimes to keep from crying at the state of our country. Enjoy this video from Late Night with Seth Meyer. He takes A Closer Look at Trump’s growing anger at people trying to investigate him.
Thanks for Reading,
DA Germany
https://www.democratsabroad.org/de