**DEMOCRATS ABROAD MEMBERS ONLY EVENT**

Not a member yet? It's free to join! www.democratsabroad.org/join

June is Pride Month! It's déjà vu, as pride events all around the world are once again canceled, but our pride and resilience remains. Join us for a global virtual Drag Queen Bingo Pride Kick-Off event and help get out the vote in 2022!!!  This will be a wild night hosted by the fabulous drag queen Cherry Poppins, with prizes and performances!

Help support our phone banking efforts! Your $10 donation will help us call 50 voters. Please donate today here and kindly make a donation for this event!

This event is co-sponsored by Democrats Abroad France - Paris Chapter and co-sponsored by the Global LGBTQ+ Caucus and the Democrats Abroad France LGBTQ+ Caucus.

Thank you for your support - please don't forget to RSVP. Attending from outside France?  Check your time zone here so you can be sure not to miss this great event. We'll see you there!

Our monthly meeting will begin with a Spotlight Saxony talk with our very first DA Saxony alum, Mike Ruddy! We will then move into chapter announcements and closing discussion. Anyone is welcome! Please RSVP to receive the Zoom link. 

Geometry for Political Gain: How to Spot a Gerrymanderer w/ Mike Ruddy

The act of Gerrymandering, or crafting electoral district boundaries for political gain, is common in many first-past-the-post electoral systems. While partisan Gerrymandering (where the Gerrymandered districts are designed to benefit one party over another) has been prevalent in the United States since its inception, the issue has had renewed interest recently, as new technology and access to increasingly large voter datasets makes more extreme partisan Gerrymanders possible. In 2019, a panel of judges in North Carolina ordered the state’s legislative district maps to be redrawn, citing the “surgical precision” with which they were drawn to benefit the Republican party. Though surveys have shown that the majority of Americans favor reforms to stop Gerrymandering or make it more difficult, progress has been slow. The Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that federal courts lacked jurisdiction to rule on partisan gerrymandering, which leaves state-level reform as the most direct path.

While states are adopting a variety of methods to stop Gerrymandering, many state constitutions already require that districts satisfy vague geometric constraints such as “compactness.” In this talk, we will discuss why such geometric requirements on districts have proved ineffective and been largely ignored. While recent brazen attempts of partisan Gerrymandering have produced obvious cases of Gerrymandered districts (sometimes comically so), it is not always so easy to “prove” that partisan Gerrymandering has or has not occurred. We will see how a partisan Gerrymander can still produce districts pleasing to the eye, and how geometric requirements can produce “false-positives.” Finally, Mike will explain how the recent work by the Quantifying Gerrymandering research group at Duke University provides an interesting way of measuring gerrymandering and how the renewed focus on Gerrymandering has produced interesting mathematical and scientific research aimed at promoting social good.

Join Political Forum host Jean-Pierre LaRochelle and leaders of Democrats Abroad France in a free-wheeling discussion of current events and news of the week, and share your views with other attendees. Send your questions to [email protected]

Politics is not a spectator sport! Join us every Wednesday every month as we join together to take political action -- to engage our elected officials and policy makers on the issues that matter!

We will start the first few minutes of every meeting with calls to our elected officials in House and Senate -- you can call Congress for Free from France at 07 555 3 6446 (or 07 555 DOGGO) -- this connects callers automatically to the US Capitol Switchboard, where you follow the prompts to be connected to your House Rep or Senators. 

Never made constituent calls before? Don't worry, we will walk you through what to do including a call script. Every meeting we will also have new actions to take on the issues, together -- postcarding, phonebanking, textbanking, and more.

Have an action to suggest? Contact Max Dunitz [email protected]

Democrats Abroad Netherlands will hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 13 June 2021 in Amsterdam at 230pm virtually on zoom. 

The AGM will include reports from our current officers and election of new officers, plus guest speakers who will talk and take questions on US tax issues and Democrats Abroad’s lobbying efforts in Congress.

If you'd like to read more about what it means to serve on the executive committee check out this link. 

Please RSVP to get the connection details (to be sent on the day of the AGM its self). 

Join Political Forum host Jean-Pierre LaRochelle and leaders of Democrats Abroad France in a free-wheeling discussion of current events and news of the week, and share your views with other attendees. Send your questions to [email protected]

Democrats Abroad Thailand Elections will be held at the Annual General Meeting

June 16, 2021, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Due to the pandemic situation in Thailand, this meeting will be virtual on the Webex platform.  If the Covid situation in Bangkok improves dramatically and permits for in-person meetings; this will be held at the FCCT as well as on Webex.  Logins and instructions will be sent to all those who RSVP here on the website.

If you are not a US citizen or a member of Democrats Abroad but wish to join the meeting please email [email protected] to request log in details.  Please note that while the meeting is public, voting for DAT officers is only open to registered members of Democrats Abroad Thailand.

 Call for Candidates!

Get political- join a team of passionate Dems dedicated to social justice and getting out the vote.   All offices have 2-year terms with the opportunity to run for re-election.

Please submit your intent to run for office no later than June 2, 6pm.   Please note we will also take nominations from the floor during AGM.  All nominations from the floor need a second. 

Chair- Participates in all regional and global meetings/calls, must cast vote and report as necessary to DPCA (global), must hold an Annual Gen Meeting in DAT according to bylaws, hold elections every two years and is responsible for maintaining country committee compliance.

Vice Chair(s)- Votes on global level.  Vice Chair together with the Chair can define specific roles. In the event of an emergency and the Chair cannot perform their duties the Vice Chair can step in.

Secretary- Responsible for database management, membership communication (newletters) meeting minutes, confirming quorum for AGM and notification of elections etc.

Treasurer- we do not have a registered NGO or foundation here in Thailand.

Voting Representatives- The number of voting reps depend on our membership count.  The only are obliged to attend the Global Annual General Meeting (remotely if necessary) to cast votes for Thailand.   They have voting rights on the excom.

Non-elected positions for Democrats Abroad Thailand:

Caucus Coordinators- If you're passionate about a particular issue or group- consider coordinating Caucus action and activities here in Thailand.  We need help building these communities up around Thailand.

Black Caucus Coordinator Bangkok,  LGBTQ Caucus Coordinator Thailand, AAPI Caucus Coordinator Thailand, Veterans and Military Families Caucus Thailand, Hispanic Caucus Thailand, Women's Caucus Thailand

Get Out the Vote (GOTV)  COORDINATOR: Interfaces with Global GOTV and relays all relevant information to DAT excom and volunteers to develop and manage national strategy for voter participation. Responsible for designing and implementing the DAT GOTV plan.  Relays issues and concerns from DAT to global and is responsible for training volunteers.  This term will focus on midterm elections next year and actions for special elections.

BANGKOK Events Coordinator: Responsible for Bangkok area events logistics. Works together with caucus coordinators and excom to support events.  Feeds logistics details to Social Media Coordinator and Secretary for event promotion.

SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR: Maintains DAT FB, Instagram, Twitter accounts to promote events, messaging etc.  Coordinates with Caucuses, Excom and Global Communications Team

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During the AGM you can hear the latest from our Covid Task Force and what we can do to increase the access to quality vaccines for US citizens living in Thailand.

We look forward to seeing you at the DAT Annual General Meeting. 

Stay safe.

Politics is not a spectator sport! Join us every Wednesday every month as we join together to take political action -- to engage our elected officials and policy makers on the issues that matter!

We will start the first few minutes of every meeting with calls to our elected officials in House and Senate -- you can call Congress for Free from France at 07 555 3 6446 (or 07 555 DOGGO) -- this connects callers automatically to the US Capitol Switchboard, where you follow the prompts to be connected to your House Rep or Senators. 

Never made constituent calls before? Don't worry, we will walk you through what to do including a call script. Every meeting we will also have new actions to take on the issues, together -- postcarding, phonebanking, textbanking, and more.

Have an action to suggest? Contact Max Dunitz [email protected]

Join Democrats Abroad LGTBQ+ Caucus for a day long Pride Celebration as we share our stories.

It is a day filled with discussion, videos , a bit of history, poetry, music, games, a raffle and more.

We will screen Edie and Thea: A Very Long Engagement, a film about Thea Spyer and her wife Edie Windsor that eventually led to the landmark Supreme Court decision in 2013 that recognised their marriage. A discussion with the director Susan Muska will follow.

The day will include a poetry reading contest, so get your poem or short piece ready. More details below!

An issue that has been of long relevance to our overseas community has been immigration and the ability of LGBTQ+ families to immigrate and reside legally in the US and pass US citizenship to their children. We will be joined by Shirley Tan and her spouse Jay Mercado for an intimate look back at their journey to keep their family together when Shirley faced deportation, and Shirley's testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

The LGTBQ+ Caucus in Canada has arranged two family oriented events for kids and those with a playful heart. The group Faye and Fluffy’s Story Time is hosted by drag queens with a message full of joy and laughter. The Toronto based Canvas Art Program will present a story with a message for young and old alike.

The political action that our community is working toward is the Equality Act. We are pulling together a panel of political activists on the state and federal level that are working hard to make this happen. We will have the opportunity to learn how we can best engage to reduce workplace, housing and other discriminatory activity currently experienced by far too many.

We will have a keynote speaker that will be announced in the near future. As we get closer to June 20th we will post a more detailed schedule so you can participate in the program of greatest interest to you.

Join Political Forum host Jean-Pierre LaRochelle and leaders of Democrats Abroad France in a free-wheeling discussion of current events and news of the week, and share your views with other attendees. Send your questions to [email protected]