Please join us Saturday, April 23 from 2-5pm in Kaiserslautern for a Spring Picnic & April Chapter Meeting. We will cover our chapter's get out the vote (GOTV) and membership outreach plans ahead of the fall 2022 midterm elections. We're looking forward to catching up in-person together with you!
Other chapter focuses from this newsletter:
★☏ Phonebankers needed!!! ☏★ DA's last couple of campaigns have not had enough caller participation to reach all target members. We need your help!
★ Meet the Primary Candidates Events are underway, thanks to the DA States Abroad teams. Don't miss your chance to hear from primary candidates in your state. Up next: Georgia, with panels on April 13 and 23!
★ It's Tax Season! Get your U.S. tax questions answered from an overseas tax expert on April 20.
As always, it's never been a more important time for you to get involved! We welcome your attendance at our upcoming chapter and DA Germany events, and encourage you to consider volunteering with your fellow members through one of DA's many opportunities to help US citizens overseas vote and to grow our membership. And if you haven't yet, register to vote and request your 2022 ballot at Vote From Abroad!
Chapter Events & Updates
★ Spring Picnic & April Chapter Meeting - Saturday, April 23, 2:00-5:00pm
Please join us for an in-person gathering in Kaiserslautern for our April chapter meeting. We will cover our chapter's get out the vote (GOTV) and membership outreach plans ahead of the fall 2022 midterm elections. Your family members, kids, and American friends interested in DA/voting are all welcome to join the event - planning for outdoors if weather permits!
If you have any questions about registering to vote and requesting your ballot through Vote From Abroad or FVAP, please bring them - we are here to help!
Please RSVP by April 20 so our hosts can plan appropriately!
★ New Year, New Boundaries, New Name!
You may have noticed our chapter has a new name! We are now the Kaiserslautern-Saarland Region Chapter. As part of a review earlier this year, DA Germany updated all chapter names and boundaries for consistency and to better align our members with chapter activities. We are happy to welcome the Trier / Bitburg / Spangdahlem region back into our chapter!
We continue to seek local volunteers across our chapter who are interested in helping Americans in their cities vote and join DAG. If you are interested in participating in or hosting local events, please contact [email protected]. We are especially interested in continuing development in our major hubs, including Saarbrücken, Bitburg / Spangdahlem, Idar Oberstein / Baumholder, Trier, Ludwigshafen, Worms, Neustadt, Speyer, Bad Kreuznach, Pirmasens, and Zweibrucken.
DA Germany & Global DA Events of Interest
★ Georgians Abroad - Meet the Primary Candidates - Wednesday, April 13, 7pm & Saturday, April 23, 5pm
Join Georgians Abroad for this Meet the Primary Candidates panel discussion to hear from some of the candidates* for Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State.
This event is your chance to hear Democratic candidates share their backgrounds, key issues and their vision for the state. There will also be time for a Q&A session with an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.
GA Primary Ballots will be sent out starting April 5-8! Request yours TODAY if you haven't already at www.votefromabroad.org!
*Democrats Abroad has not endorsed any candidate(s) and is committed to remaining neutral for the duration of the primary. ALL candidates for these races were invited to speak at our events.
★ Info Session: US Taxes Abroad (Virtual) - Wednesday, April 20, 7:30pm
Worried or confused about what you need to do about your U.S. taxes? U.S. taxes are a common concern for our members that we want to help address.* All U.S. citizens and permanent residents are subject to file US taxes for their worldwide income, even if they never lived in the US and even if they hold dual citizenship.
Come to an online tax information session on Wednesday, April 20 at 7:30pm to learn more about what you need to do as an American citizen or permanent resident living abroad. Monique Luegger, EA from Americans’ Income Tax Service will be presenting and fielding your questions.
Topics will include:
- legal tax requirements
- German-American tax treaties (income, gift & estate, Totalization/Social Security)
- Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Form 2555 / Foreign Tax Credit Form 1116
- Overseas self-employment and US Social Security Tax FATCA & FBAR
A $10 donation is requested and RSVPing for this event is required.
*DA's Taxation Task Force (TTF) identifies and advocates for key U.S. tax issues that impact DA's members as Americans living and working abroad. Learn more about the TTF, explore their U.S. taxation resource blog, and join their next volunteer session on May 3!
★ Save the Date: Democrats Abroad Annual Global Meeting - Saturday, May 21 - Sunday, May 22, 2022 - Virtual
DA's Annual Global Meeting will be held virtually the weekend of May 21-22. More meeting information will be available in the next few weeks.
GOTV & Volunteer Opportunities
★☏ PHONEBANKERS URGENTLY NEEDED!!! ☏★
Phonebanking - contacting DA members who've already agreed to be called and reminding them to register & request their ballot or helping them resolve voting issues - is perhaps our most critical tool in supporting our members in voting from abroad.
In the last couple of phonebanking campaigns, we have fallen short due to lack of phonebanker participation, and were not able to contact all DA members eligible to vote in targeted states.
We URGENTLY need YOUR help to help DA members!
➠ If you are new to phonebanking, please sign up for GOTV Phonebanking Training on Tuesday, April 5 at 7:30pm. This Training Tuesday event by the DAG GOTV team will cover all you need to know to phonebank and walk you through making actual calls. You are also welcome to join DAG's monthly Phonebanking Stammtisch early and roll from your training session into a phonebanking session (see below!)
➠If you have phonebanked for DA before, please join DAG's monthly Phonebanking Stammtisch, taking place the first Sunday of every month at 6pm. The next one is this Sunday, April 3 at 6:00pm. For a refresher or a first-time training, join at 5:00pm to learn everything you need to phonebank!
DA Germany and DA have created state-focused teams to drive local action and win state and congressional elections in 2022 and beyond. Currently, we have active state teams for: Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin. If you'd like to join a state team - or don't see your state listed and would like to help creating a team! - please email [email protected].
★ Register to Vote and Request Your Primary & General Election Ballots for 2022!
Starting January 1, you can register to vote and request your ballot for the US state or territory you vote in at VoteFromAbroad.org (VFA).
Register today and set calendar reminders so you can register for additional elections later this year if required by your state: VoteFromAbroad.org.
★ DA Germany and Global DA Volunteer Opportunities
Our chapter, DA Germany, and the global DA organization are all looking for volunteers to help with the many different ways we support the DA mission. Visit the Volunteer Opportunities page to see current opportunities.
As always, we look forward to hearing from you - your ideas and input are always welcome at [email protected].
Democratically yours,
Esther Lofgren, Kaiserslautern-Saarland Region Chapter Chair
DA Germany - Kaiserslautern-Saarland Region
https://www.democratsabroad.org/