In This Issue —

Events:

• Experienced Dems Meet-Up – Summer pause
• Global Pride Fundraiser in Amsterdam
• Lady Day Theater FunRaiser
• Oktoberfest in Munich

Issues & Actions:

• We Can & Must Fight Back
• DA Austria In the News
• Innsbruck Consular Services
• Follow us on TikTok

Midterm Election News:

• The Missing 83%
• State Teams
• Dialing for Democracy Results

Reviews:

• Pride Parade
• Fourth of July Party

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, July 13, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Message from the Chair

Leading up to our Independence Day Celebration in Vienna, I heard from a number of people who wanted to sit this July 4th out. They told me they thought there was nothing to celebrate about America. The Supreme Court decisions overturning Roe v Wade, the ruling limiting the EPA’s power to combat climate change, the seemingly weekly news of mass shootings - now even at a July 4th Parade - are tragedies that leave us little to celebrate.

However, it is my hope that we can channel our emotions - our sadness, anger, frustation - to take action. For Democrats Abroad, that means ensuring every one of our 200,000 plus members requests their ballot and votes in the mid-term elections. We have a ways to go. As of today, only 18% of our members have requested their ballot at our VFA website, and only 17% of our members in Austria.

What can you do? If you have not done so already, please request your ballot at VoteFromAbroad.org. Also, please volunteer with Democrats Abroad Austria, including perhaps joining our phone banking team. DA Global is launching important calling campaigns in August to call overseas Americans who vote in battleground states. Please consider joining us! It is both fun and rewarding work helping voters to request their ballot. The overseas vote was the margin of victory in key races in 2020 and 2021.

Let’s do it in 2022!

-Richard Miller, chair, Democrats Abroad Austria

Events:

Training Tuesdays

When: Ongoing

Time: See schedule

Where: Online

Hosted by DA Germany

State Teams Events and Planning Sessions

When: Ongoing

Time: See schedule

Where: Online

Hosted by: DA State Teams

Amsterdam Canal Pride

When: August 5–8

Time: Varies

Where: Amsterdam

RSVP to attend

Hosted by DA Global LGBTQ+ Caucus & DA Netherlands

Theater Fun-Raiser – Lady Day

When: September 20

Time: 8:00pm

Where: Drachengasse Theater

Minimum Donation: $38

RSVP to attend

Hosted by DA Austria

Oktoberfest Extravaganza

When: Oct 2, 2022

Time: 11:00 am

Where: Munich

RSVP to attend

Hosted by DA Global & DA Germany

Issues & Actions:

We Can & Must Fight Back

The Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is an abhorrent and unprecedented assault on our fundamental human rights. Today is a dark day, a hard day in American history.

Stripped of protections and freedoms the past 50 years had granted us, we now confront a new, grim reality where our health, marriages, and basic bodily autonomy are on the chopping block. Make no mistake: the radical Republican Party has no intention of stopping with Roe.

We can and we must fight back. We must show up to the polls this November — and make sure that every single American we know has a plan to vote, too.

In this moment of despair, let us not forget that the power still resides with us – and that the overwhelming majority of Americans support the freedoms Roe upheld. A net gain of only two more U.S. Senators will allow for abortion rights to be codified at the federal level. The America we want, need, and deserve is within reach, and Democrats Abroad is committed to making it a reality.

We still have each other — and our resolve to fight for our basic rights. Let’s do this.

– Candice Kerestan, DA International Chair

DA Austria In the News

Sophie Spiegelberger, DA Austria Communications Director, was invited to appear on Puls 24 on July 1 to discuss the US Supreme Court’s decision to curtail the EPA’s ability to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.

Interested in more news regarding the decision? Be sure to join the Global Progressive Caucus and the Global Environment and Climate Crisis Council to stay informed.

Puls 24 clip

Innsbruck Consular Services – July 18-19

Attention U.S. citizens in western Austria! A Consular Team from U.S. Embassy Vienna will be visiting Innsbruck, Monday July 18 - Tuesday, July 19, 2022. We are offering LIMITED appointments for applicants who must appear in-person for services such as Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), passport renewals for children under 16, and replacement of a lost or stolen passport (DS-11 applications), and emergency notary services. The turnaround time for passports and CRBAs is about 2 weeks.

If you are interested in Innsbruck services, please send a detailed email to [email protected] and include the names and Dates of Birth of all applicants and attendees, contact information, and what service(s) you require.

Due to the high demand and limited appointment slots, we will not be able to accept all requests. If your case is selected, we will send you a follow-up email with the exact time, date and location for your Innsbruck appointment.

Innsbruck applicants must arrive fully prepared with all required application forms, supporting documentation, photocopies and self-addressed stamped envelope. We are only able to accept payment in Euros (exact change only).

See the consulate’s website for detailed instructions on all consular services: https://at.usembassy.gov

– U.S. Embassy Vienna

Follow us on TikTok

Vote from Abroad is on TikTok and it’s pretty awesome. Have your kids show you how to use it if you don’t know 😉. DA-UKs summer interns from Syracuse have outdone themselves! Take a look at the VoteFromAbroad TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@votefromabroad.org and the Democrats Abroad TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@demsabroad/video/7105060440622845189

– Linda Adeson, DA United Kingdom

Midterm Election News:

The Missing 83%

Are you one of the 83% of DA Austria members who has not yet gone to VoterFromAbroad and requested your ballot for the 2022 midterms? What are you waiting for?

The GOP is and will do everything in their power to prevent our votes from being counted. Do not let that happen! Go to votefromabroad.org today and register/request your ballot. The FVAP form on the site provides special protections for overseas voters that a regular absentee ballot does not. Plus, the up-to-date Frequently Asked Questions section and voter assistance volunteers are there to answer your questions.

Be counted — and make sure your family, friends and colleagues are too!

State Teams

Do you vote in California, Ohio, North Carolina or Florida? The State Teams group is hosting Candidate meet & greets and organizing meetings in July. Go to the State Teams event page to find out more about these events and others from many States across the Union.

Dialing for Democracy Results

The D4D 48 hour around-the-world fundraiser Call-a-thon which took place over the weekend of June 25-26 was a great success!

Thanks to the time and amazing effort spent by DA volunteers during Dialing for Democracy, together 72 callers from 21 countries on four continents and in all three regions made 5771 calls!

And 24 donors raised more than $2400 to help Democrats Abroad to get out the overseas vote.

Working together on actions like D4D shows DA volunteers are a force to be reckoned with when we set our minds to it. The surge of calls over the weekend was 4-5 times our recent daily call averages and it is truly important to get to these battleground state voters now, as our callers know from hearing members eagerness to vote and their need to be reminded!

DA Austria led the way in the number of contributions given from any one country with nine unique donations raising $670 dollars — thank you donors for your generosity!

Four DA-AT callers (the sixth from 21 CCs participating ) made 323 calls, the fourth highest – only behind Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico – once again swinging above our weight! Thank you callers!

Please donate a little or a lot to congratulate DA Austria’s callers’ success and support the thousands of calls that we’ll be making in the fall! https://www.democratsabroad.org/d4d_donate

Are you interested in helping us call members in the fall? There are regular training sessions to learn to be a phonebanker or to help answer voter questions. Find out more here https://www.democratsabroad.org/live_training Trainings are updated regularly.

– Jen Rakow-Stepper, DA-AT Member-at-Large, RVC-EMEA

Review:

Pride Parade

Thanks to everyone who joined Democrats Abroad Austria as we again walked with pride in Vienna’s annual Regenbogenparade on June 26. While our group was small, we had lots of spirit and Faith’s soundtrack had the crowd around us dancing!

Fourth of July Party

Thanks to everyone who attended our Fourth of July event in the Prater! We had live music from the band “Rage Against the Voting Machines” and your chair and vice chair, Richard and Faith, performed the VoteFromAbroad.org Rap (stay tuned for the music video). Congratulations to our raffle winners. The event was a fundraiser for DA Global’s get-out-of-the-vote efforts, including funding upcoming calling campaigns. We raised a bit over 200 euros for the cause. If you care to contribute, here is the link.

Thank you for reading July’s newsletter and we’ll see you in September!

Our fearless Chair & Vice Chair at Vienna Pride

DA Austria is excited to once again be able to support both the local English-language theatre community and DA Global's 2022 get-out-the-vote efforts with our 2022 Theatre Fun-Raiser on September 20, 2022. 

The award winning Broadway and West End play – Lady Day – capturing one of Billie Holiday's last performances is back in Vienna due to popular demand! The donation price for DA members includes a ticket to the performance and some bubbly drinks and discussion with the cast and crew afterwards. 

As described on the Theatre Drachengasse website, "The time is 1959. The place is a seedy bar in Philadelphia. The audience is about to witness one of Billie Holiday’s last performances, given four months before her death. More than a dozen musical numbers are interlaced with salty, often humorous reminiscences to project a riveting portrait of the lady and her music." 

Williams embodies Billie Holiday on stage with extraordinary charisma and presence. The interaction with the grandiose jazz band Fagner Wesley Trio is also great. Absolutely worth seeing.
Kultur-Schatulle

Please join fellow Democrats Abroad members and their guests for a memorable evening. Your donations are very appreciated and will help bring home the overseas vote as Democrats Abroad continues to be the margin of victory in narrow elections! 

Ticket are limited! To secure your spot for the Lady Day Fun-Raiser, please RSVP below. You will receive an email with the link to make a minimum donation of €38/per person. Thank you for your support! 

In This Issue —

Events:

• Young Dems Meet-Up – Tuesday!
• Experienced Dems Meet-Up 
• Pride Parade in Vienna 
• Fourth of July Party  
• Global Pride Fundraiser in Amsterdam 
• Oktoberfest in Munich 

Issues & Actions:

• Why We Can’t Stop Mass Shootings
• Meet DA Austria’s Youth Caucus Coordinator

Midterm Election News:

• Austria calling campaign concludes
• Battleground States Call Campaigns – Phonebank!
• Your Vote is Your Voice
• Voter Registration Tables

Reviews:

• DA’s Annual Global Meeting

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. However, our next meeting will be held online on: Thursday, June 23, 2021, at 7:00 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Message from the Chair 

Everything is on the line: that’s the slogan we came up with for our June newletter. During 2020, we knew Trump was a threat to our democracy. But the threat is as real as ever.

At our DA Global Annual General meeting last month, guest speaker Senator Cory Booker of NJ spoke of a “real crisis in our country.”

“We are seeing the rolling back of rights, from voting rights to the sanctity of the dominion over your own body. We see threats to our democracy in ways we have not seen,” Sen. Booker said.

He told the story of driving out into Hurricane Sandy in 2012 when he was mayor of Newark. An elderly man in a rain slicker was standing out in the storm with a flood light alterting traffic to avoid downed powerlines. Booker rolled down his window and asked the man what he was doing out in the storm, and he replied, “I’m standing out here to make sure no one gets hurt.” 

Booker said he has spoken both to the president and governor that night, “but the greatness I saw best exhibited that night was the man on a hill, in dark of night, in a savage storm, looking out for other people.” Then, addressing members of DA, he said, “And in many way I see you all out there in that same spirit, and what you are doing here, standing on hill in a storm, standing together to defend and protect, and it means a lot and it makes a difference.”

Let us all do our part in these next months to not only retain Congress, but increase our majority. Let’s believe it is possible. You can do so by making sure you and every overseas American you know requests their ballot to vote. Indeed, everything is on the line. 

–Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria 

Events:

Austria Youth Caucus Pizza and Drinks

When: Tuesday, June 7 

Time: 6:00pm CEST

Where: Pizza Bussi Ciao, Piaristengasse 15, Vienna 1080, Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Experienced Dems Meet-Up

When: Thursday, June 9, 2022 

Time: 6:00pm CEST

Where: Café Museum, Operngasse 7, Vienna 1010, Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Pride Parade in Vienna

When: Saturday, June 11, 2022 

Meet: 12:30pm CEST

Meeting Point: Steps of the University of Vienna, Universitätsring 1, Vienna 1010 , Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Celebrate Independence Day with Democrats Abroad

When: Saturday, July 2, 2022 

Time: 12:00 – 4:00 pm CEST

Where: Meierei im Prater Hauptallee 3, Vienna 1020 , Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Pride Parade in Amsterdam with the DA Global LGBTQ+ Caucus

When: Friday, August 05, 2022 at 06:00 PM through August 08, 2022 at 6:00pm

What: Canal Parade on a Parade Boat, Cocktail Party with Special Guests, Walking Tour, Mimosa Brunch, and more!

Where: Various locations in Amsterdam, Netherlands

RSVP to attend in person

Get in Shape for the Midterms — Get Training!

When: Multiple dates through 2022 

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link 

Oktoberfest in Munich with Democrats Abroad Global

When: Sunday, October 2, 2022 from 11:00am – 2:15pm

What: A fun weekend with othe DA members in Munich!

Where: Festhalle Schottenhammel, Munich, Germany

RSVP to attend in person

Issues & Actions:

Why We Haven’t Stopped Mass Shootings

Frustrated that legislation to stem America’s gun epidemic is going nowhere? How could Democrats fail so miserably despite the momentum gathered after school shootings in the 2010s?

Solidarity Sundays probed this Gordian knot in the wake of January 6, 2021. Frank Smyth, award-winning investigative journalist and author of “The NRA:  The Unauthorized History,” explained a year ago that gun control advocates misunderstand their opponents and what motivates America’s gun rights movement. What’s stopping reform at this point “is neither the gun lobby’s nor the gun industry’s money. It’s the ideology, stupid” – and it’s high time for progressives to challenge it.

Frank advocates for a new approach with former NY Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof on the NYT podcast Sway with host Kara Swisher – here’s the link to the article and podcast episode. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/26/opinion/sway-kara-swisher-nicholas-kristof-frank-smyth.html

Meet DA Austria’s Youth Caucus Coordinator

Hi Austrian Democrats Abroad,

Some of you may know me from our last annual meeting - I wanted to take a second to introduce myself! My name is Sarah and I was raised in Vienna as a dual citizen. I’m 30 years old and have been involved with Young Dems Abroad for close to ten years. This year it’s my turn to make an impact as Youth Caucus leader.

So we’re reinstating regular in-person Young Dems meetups after a two-year hiatus, and our first meetup is this Tuesday at Pizza Bussi Ciao, where the vibes are good and the pizza is better. My goal is to build a network of young Americans living in Vienna, and all are welcome to join. 

So if you’d like to connect with like-minded expats, come join us on June 7th at 6pm. A table is reserved under the name “Sarah” :)

See you on Tuesday!

— Sarah Knaus, DA Austria Youth Caucus Coordinator

Midterm Election News:

Austria Calling Campaign Concludes

A big ‘thank you’ to all our phone bankers who made our May calling campaign a success. We called nearly 1,000 of our members in Austria, speaking to 359 (34%) of you, leaving 319 (30%) messages, and sending nearly all of you a text message. Our question: did you request your ballot yet? Many did, but those who had not thanked us for the reminder to go to VoteFromAbroad.org. Thanks to everyone who picked up or called back! If any of you need further support or have a question, please call or text 0676 447 3418 or send an email to [email protected].     

Battleground States Call Campaigns

Austria has finished calling our members living is Austria, but there are still thousands of DA members who vote in critical battleground states to be called. We need your help to reach them! 

You can only vote once, but calling multiplies your vote and amplifies your voice and helps and empowers others to cast their one vote. In 2020, DA callers made over 600,000 calls! And we needed every one to win the House, the Senate and Georgia Runoffs, and the Presidency.

Be part of the team and get started with a phonebank training. Learn more about training dates in June and July at phonebank training or get in touch with us at [email protected]

Your Vote is Your Voice

One of the DA’s core activities is to help Americans to register and return their ballots. The non-partisan Vote from Abroad website has up-to-date information so voters are best informed about their state’s regulations and deadlines. There is also a voter protection team that works with local election officers and state secretarys to solve issues that disenfranchise overseas voters. 

Every election cycle we hear from overseas Americans and dual citizens who say they didn’t know they had the right to vote in federal and even state elections. Help us spread the word among your family, friends, and colleagues. And if there are Americans on your sport’s team, club, school, or place of worship, we’re happy to come by and help get them registered – regardless of their party affiliation. Contact the Vote from Abroad Coordinator at [email protected] 

Voter Registration Tables

Are you part of a group — a baseball team, church group, book club, company  — or network with American members? Many US citizens and dual citizens don’t realize they are able to vote in federal elections and many down ballot state races. Help us spread the word! VFA’s trained nonpartisan voter registration volunteers are happy to come to your event and help people register and request their ballots. Contact us at [email protected]

Reviews: 

Democrats Abroad Holds 2022 Global Annual General Meeting

DA leaders from around the world gathered virtually on the weekend of May 21–22 for our Annual General Meeting, getting inspired and sharing best practices to get out of the vote for the upcoming midterm elections.

As DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison told us, “Eighty-one million of us, domestically and abroad, stood up in the face of hate and bigotry in 2020–now let’s step it up again for the midterms.”

DA Austria has three voting representatives who participated in the meeting: Richard Miller, chair, Faith Herbold, vice-chair, and Marcy Fowler, secretary and DPCA voting representative.

Besides Harrison, we heard from DNC Deputy Executive Director Roger Lau and Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey. We also gained ideas and inspiration from DA leaders about how they are mobilizing overseas voters. We got a tour of our soon-to-be-launched new DA website (thanks to many generous donations we're just shy of our target) and learned how battleground state teams are working to rally and support Americans abroad. We also welcomed DA Caribbean Islands, as DA’s newest country committee and the first-ever transnational committee!

We passed the following six resolutions:
·         Memorial Resolution Honoring Jim Christiansen of DA France
·         Resolution to Catalogue Our “Standing Resolutions”
·         Resolution on the Climate Emergency
·         Resolution to Establish a Special Committee on Legal Compliance and Implementation

Issues
·         Resolution to Establish a Standing Voter Protection Committee
·         Resolution in Support of Statehood for Washington, D.C.

All in all, it was outstanding to see the commitment and dedication of so many people – all volunteers – making this organization function. At some points, there were about 190 people on the call, some of them waking up in the middle of the night or staying up to the early hours of morning to attend. Next year, the meeting is expected to be in person in Washington, DC.  

–Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria 

Thank you for reading the June Newsletter!

Come join us online on June 30 for our Democrats Abroad Russia Annual General Meeting, and help us fulfill our obligation to hold an annual general meeting every calendar year. 

Your participation helps sustain Democrats Abroad Russia. In 2022, we’ll continue working to strengthen the voice and vote of all our members – where ever you are currently. 

In This Issue —

Events:

• Experienced Dems Meet-Up – TOMORROW!
• Annual Global Meeting
• Youth Caucus Pizza & Drinks
• Get Trained!
  
  

Issues & Actions:

• Austria Calling Campaign
• Anyone Seen My Constitutional Right to Privacy?

Midterm Election News:

• Battleground State Calling Campaign
• Your Vote is Your Voice

Reviews:

• Immigration Law with Dr. Alexander Raidl

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Thursday, May 19, 2021, at 7:30 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Message from the International Chair and Global Women's Caucus Chair –

The Supreme Court’s draft opinion to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaked by Politico, makes unmistakably clear what the Republican agenda is: an unprecedented assault on women and families in the United States.

For more than a generation, the right to reproductive freedom has been the law of the land. When a far-right administration took office in 2016, we knew that this right was in grave danger. Fast forward to 2022, and we now have three more ultra-conservative, anti-choice justices on the Supreme Court. The looming fate of Roe is the direct consequence of the 2016 election.

That many of us saw this coming does not make the blow less painful or severe. But we can fight back. 2022 is also a decisive election year. Together we must put in place both federal and state legislatures that fairly represent the will of the majority. This cannot wait.

Let us not forget in this dark moment that we have the power to elect legislators who will respect the law of the land and the will of the people this November. We must wield it. 34 US Senate seats, all 435 U.S. Representative seats, 46 state legislatures, and 36 state governorships are on the ballot. These are the offices that will determine access to abortion and reproductive health care in the absence of Roe.

REQUEST YOUR BALLOT FOR 2022

What you feel right now—do not forget it. Instead, resolve to turn this moment into collective action. Ways to fight back can be found in this statement from DA's Global Women's Caucus.

Raise your voice. Vote. And bring other people with you.

In Solidarity,

Ann Hesse, DA Global Women's Caucus Chair

Candice Kerestan, DA International Chair

Events:

Experienced Dems Meet-Up

When: May 19, 2022

Time: 6:00pm CEST

Where: Café Museum, Operngasse 7, Vienna 1010, Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Democrats Abroad Annual Global Meeting

When: May 21–22, 2022

Time: 10:00am CEST

Where: Online

Austria Youth Caucus Pizza and Drinks

When: June 7

Time: 6:00pm CEST

Where: Pizza Bussi Ciao, Piaristengasse 15, Vienna 1080, Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Get in Shape for the Midterms — Get Training!

When: Multiple dates through 2022

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link

Issues & Actions:

Austria Calling Campaign

Be prepared for a short phone call from us to check if you have requested your 2022 ballot and if you need any support! Our top-notch phone banking team is starting our Austria-focused calling campaign now with the hope that many of you will happily tell us that you have already gone to VoteFromAbroad.org and requested your ballot! Thanks for either taking our call, listening to our voice message, and/or responding to our text message! Our goal is that at least 90% of our nearly 1,900 members in Austria vote in the midterms. Take a few minutes and request your ballot today!

Anyone Seen My Constitutional Right to Privacy?

We're all well versed in the leaked US Supreme Court opinion gutting Roe vs. Wade and the imminent threat to reproductive and other civil rights. The Court has wiped out "super precedent" before — but it was to add civil rights, not to take them back.

There are no easy answers, no quick fixes. Some expect the decision to galvanize voters ahead of the midterm elections. They hope that traditional midterm dynamics — swing voters moving away from the party in power and higher enthusiasm of the out-party's base — will be upended. That Republicans are focusing on the ruling's leak and not its substance suggests they are worried about this.

It's too early to say how the politics will play out. So let's cut to the chase: the politics are up to us. Where can we be most effective in the next six months?

The Senate: Majority Leader Schumer wants to codify abortion protections into law. Unfortunately, the legislation will be subject to filibuster, and there are only 49 Democratic co-sponsors of the bill — Senator Manchin is a holdout. So what can we do? Double down on expanding our majority in November — reelect our incumbents, and for those voting in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere — you need to elect Democratic senators.

The States: since we can no longer count on the federal government or courts to protect abortion, this fall's most meaningful races will be down-ballot races. Reproductive and voting rights will be decided state-by-state, along the lines of state legislative control. And it takes only a few hundred votes to flip a state chamber.

Think about that. A few hundred votes. We can do that.

The day the actual decision is released, abortion will be illegal across 22 states where Republicans hold governing majorities.

But in Arizona, the GOP holds a single vote majority; in Michigan, they have only three-seat majorities in both state Senate and House. These, and several other state legislatures, are flippable. Without Manchin, without changing the filibuster, we can protect access to abortion for millions of people.

Ways to make an impact in down-ballot campaigns:

• Join a DA State Team to call battleground voters, meet state candidates, and share voting information: [email protected]
• Contact phone-bank coordinator Yvonne Richard to remind and educate DA members about registering to vote from abroad: [email protected]
• Contribute to NARAL or Planned Parenthood, the Democratic Governors Association, and the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee
• Donate to Run for Something

-Tanya Lolonis, DA Austria Member-at-Large

Thank you for reading the June Newsletter!

Midterm Election News:

Battleground State Calling Campaigns

The overseas vote was the margin of victory in Georgia and Arizona in 2020 and we’re going to make sure to do it again in the upcoming midterms. Democrats Abroad phone bank volunteers are continuing to call members in battleground states.

We need your help to reach our members! It’s easy and satisfying. We call DA members who are happy to get the reminder and DA covers the call costs. Also, you can make as many or as few as you like and when it fits your schedule. There are regular trainings to get you started and our DA Austria’s Phonebank Coordinator, Yvonne Richard, will answer your questions. Be part of the effort to fight for our democracy! Find out more here.

Your Vote is Your Voice

One of the DA’s core activities is to help Americans to register and return their ballots. The non-partisan Vote from Abroad website has up to date information so voters are best informed about their State’s regulations and deadlines. There is also a voter protection team that works with Local Election Officers and State Secretarys to solve issues that disenfranchise overseas voters.

Every election cycle we hear from overseas Americans and dual citizens who say they didn’t know they had the right to vote in Federal and even State elections. Help us to spread the word amongst your family, friends, and colleagues. And if there are Americans in your sport’s team, club, school, or place of worship, we’re happy to come by and help get them registered – regardless of their party affiliation. Contact the Vote from Abroad Coordinator at [email protected]

Reviews:

Everything You Need to Know about Immigration Law with Dr. Alexander Raidl

Members gathered at Amerlinghaus and online to give and seek the advice and information provided by Dr. Alexander Raidl. Dr. Raidl has extensive experience helping third-party nationals address legal issues related to living and working in Vienna. Using the example of a fictional couple moving to Austria, Dr. Raidl took the audience through the entire process of Austrian immigration, job, and language requirements. Attendees shared their experiences and asked a wide variety of questions that were fully and expertly answered by Dr. Raidl. If you have any new or additional questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Raidl at [email protected] and check out his website and blog at: https://www.rechtsanwalt-raidl.at/

Please let us know if you would like another event with experts from other related areas/topics!

Thank you for reading the May Newsletter!

In This Issue —

Events:

• Training Tuesdays – TONIGHT!
  
• Salzburg Meet-Up
• Books Abroad
• Global Climate Rally
• Everything You Need to Know about Immigration Law
  
  

Issues & Actions:

• Taxation Task Force
• DA Global Tax Survey

Midterm Election News:

• Are you an Battleground State Voter?
• Battleground States Call Campaigns
• Your Vote is Your Voice

Reviews:

• DA Austria Annual General Meeting
• DA Austria Survey

Members Corner:

• 2022 Midterm Election Overview

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, April 13, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Message from the Chair –

A big thank you to everyone who helped make our Annual General Meeting run so smoothly. It was so exciting to meet many members for the first time in person.

I think a benchmark of success for the meeting was that several people signed up to be phone bankers and others are interested in becoming sustaining donors. A goal of the AGM was to motivate everyone to get out of the vote and ensure that 2022 is not a sleeper year. We know that if Republicans do well in November, they will do everything they can to make it harder for people to vote—and that could include overseas voters.

Please consider joining our dynamic volunteer team by contacting me at [email protected] and be sure to request your ballot today at VotefromAbroad.org.

— Richard Miller, Chair Democrats Abroad Austria

Events:

Training Tuesdays

When: April 5, 2022

Time: 7:30pm CEST

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link

Hosted by DA Germany

Salzburg Meet-Up

When: April 8, 2022

Time: 5:30pm CEST

Where: Krimpelstätter Braugasthof, Müllner Hauptstraße 31, Salzburg 1010, Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Hosted by DA Austria – Salzburg

Books Abroad

When: April 24, 2022

Time: 2:00pm CEST

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link

Hosted by DA Global Women’s Caucus

Global Climate Rally

When: April 25, 2022

Time: 6:00pm CEST

Where: Online RSVP for Zoom link

Co-Hosted by DA Global Progressive Caucus & DA Global Environmental and Climate Crisis Council

Everything You Need to Know about Immigration Law

When: April 28, 2022

Time: 7:00pm CEST

Where: Amerlinghaus, Stiftgasse 8, Vienna 1070 Austria

RSVP to attend in person

Hosted by DA Austria

Issues & Actions:

Help make DA’s website engaging, accessible, and user-friendly!

Having a strong digital presence will be more important than ever for finding and mobilizing voters abroad for critical races in 2022. That’s why Democrats Abroad has prioritized redesigning its website (www.democratsabroad.org) in Spring 2022.

At the top of the to-do list is making our website more engaging, accessible, and user-friendly—something we know needs to be done, but which comes with a price tag of $30,000. Please help us in this longer-term investment so that we can better attract and support our online visitors—and in turn convert site visits into activism and votes.

Thank you for your support!

https://www.democratsabroad.org/website

Taxation Task Force

The Democrats Abroad Global Taxation Task Force is working to provide tax relief for Americans living abroad. As a member of DA in Austria, I am working with them because of my frustration every spring for the past 40+ years when I am required to file US taxes. The US is the only country other than Eritrea that has citizen-based taxation rather than residence-based taxation. My frustration has grown due to the FBAR (Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) and FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) laws which put restrictions on investments allowed to US citizens overseas. The issue is not the reporting, which WE have to do, but what the banks are required to do. Many banks in Austria will not even accept a US citizen as a client at all, particularly with an investment portfolio. We are also not allowed to invest in mutual funds/ETFs outside the US without filing a complicated form each year on each one. The Tax Force is working with legislators to try to get changes in the laws to make our lives easier. It does not provide individual tax advice. Major issues the tax force are working on are:

• A switch to Residency-Based Taxation
• Elimination of FATCA reporting for the financial accounts in the country of residence of Americans abroad
• Exemption from the transition taxes for Americans abroad who own small- to medium- sized businesses
• Reforms to FBAR reporting and implementation
• An accessible and affordable renunciation solution for Accidental Americans
• Supporting the newly formed Seniors Caucus on repealing the Social Security Windfall Elimination Provision and Medicare portability

You can support the work of the taxation task force by keeping an eye out for the DA tax survey that will be coming your way later this month. Please participate in the survey (see below) and make your voice heard.

-Brenda Speck Müllner, DA Austria member

The Democrats Abroad 2022 Tax Survey Has Launched!

The Democrats Abroad 2022 tax survey has officially launched! Click here to take the survey now. Please share with your American friends and family living abroad, and ask them to share it with people they know too. We need as many people as possible to participate to gain a better understanding of the tax and financial access issues Americans abroad are currently experiencing so the more the merrier. You do not have to be a Democrats Abroad member to participate. Survey closes April 30th.

Click here to take the survey: https://demsabroad.typeform.com/taxsurvey

Midterm Election News:

Are you a Georgia, North Carolina, Ohio, or Pennsylvania Voter?

You’ve got a primary coming up! Go to Democrats Abroad 2022 state voting information page to find information on deadlines and to request and return your ballot. Help ensure strong Democratic candidates win in important down-ballot races. Get more information here and request your ballot for all 2022 elections at votefromabroad.org.

Battleground State Calling Campaigns

The overseas vote was the margin of victory in Georgia and Arizona in 2020 and we’re going to make sure to do it again in the upcoming midterms. Starting March 7 Democrats Abroad phone bank volunteers will be calling our members in Ohip, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia — all battleground states.

We need your help to reach our members! It’s easy and satisfying. We call DA members who are happy to get the reminder and DA covers the call costs. Also, you can make as many or as few as you like and when it fits your schedule. There are regular trainings to get you started and our DA Austria’s Phonebank Coordinator, Yvonne Richard, will answer your questions. Be part of the effort to fight for our democracy! Find out more here.

Your Vote is Your Voice

One of the DA’s core activities is to help Americans to register and return their ballots. The non-partisan Vote from Abroad website has up to date information so voters are best informed about their State’s regulations and deadlines. There is also a voter protection team that works with Local Election Officers and State Secretarys to solve issues that disenfranchise overseas voters.

Every election cycle we hear from overseas Americans and dual citizens who say they didn’t know they had the right to vote in Federal and even State elections. Help us to spread the word amongst your family, friends, and colleagues. And if there are Americans in your sport’s team, club, school, or place of worship, we’re happy to come by and help get them registered – regardless of their party affiliation. Contact the Vote from Abroad Coordinator at [email protected]

Reviews:

DA Austria 2022 Annual General Meeting

Many thanks to everyone who attended the 2022 AGM! Around 40 people joined the meeting, either in-person or via Zoom. Special thanks to our International Chair, Candice Kerestan, for coming to Vienna to offer a broader view of the work of Democrats Abroad and rally us ahead of the midterm elections. Congratulations to Marcy Fowler, our DA Austria secretary, who was elected as our third DPCA voting representative, and to Harold Otto and Bruce Murray who were elected as our auditors. Harold and Bruce signed off on our financial statements and commended our treasurer, Diego Heatherman, and Marcy (our former treasurer) for the financial bookkeeping.

The AGM included a recap of our 2022 goals: ramp up our GOTV efforts, boost membership, recruit active volunteers and caucus leaders, and fundraise to support DA Austria and DA Global to get out the vote. Some ways you can help include becoming a sustaining donor for DA Global or DA Austria, joining our phone banking team, helping at our upcoming voter registration tables, or organizing an event! For more information, or questions about the AGM, send an email to [email protected].

Finally, the meeting wrapped up with a phone banking demonstration by Yvonne Richard and Tanja Lolonis and a rap performance by DA Austria Chair, aka, ‘Rap Meister Rich’ of the new VoteFromAbroad Rap. Stay tuned for more opportunities to participate.

DA Austria Member Survey 2022

Sixty of you filled out our DA Austria membership survey, which will help us with some strategic decisions going forward. Here are some of the key findings:

The top three issues for DA Austria members are climate change and environmental protection (91%), voting rights and election integrity (81%), and foreign policy and diplomacy (79%).

The top five sources of information are Der Standard – New York Times (30%), FM4 Radio (24%), Metropole (20%), The Local (18%) and Vienna Würstelstand (15%).

Asked what challenges members face voting abroad, fortunately, most said no challenges (46%), but many reported difficulties with mailing/postal issues (42%) and others reported state legislative changes affecting their ability to vote (15%). Asked what DA activities people appreciated most, members said the monthly DA newsletter (57%), social events (45%), and GOTV efforts (40%).

Thanks to all who participated! We will hold a drawing soon for some prizes.

Members Corner

2022 Midterm Election Overview

There is an abundance of information on the internet and in the press about the upcoming November 8 midterm elections, which fall two years before the 2024 presidential election. It behooves us Democrats living abroad to stay on top of the primaries and get out the vote for the elections.

The following is a summary of some of the crucial gubernatorial, US Senate and US House of Representative races. The nearest internet source for information on election candidates and dates can be found at votefromabroad.org. Click on the State Guide and then choose your state to find the information of most interest to you. Not incidentally, you can also register to vote at the votefromabroad.org link.

READ MORE

Thank you for reading the April Newsletter!

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There is an abundance of information on the internet and in the press about the upcoming November 8 midterm elections, which fall two years before the 2024 presidential election. It behooves us Democrats living abroad to stay on top of the primaries and get out the vote for the elections.  

The following is a summary of some of the crucial gubernatorial, US Senate and US House of Representative races. The nearest internet source for information on election candidates and dates can be found at votefromabroad.org. Click on the State Guide and then choose your state to find the information of most interest to you. Not incidentally, you can also register to vote and request your ballots at the votefromabroad.org link.                                                                                      

In This Issue —

Events:

• Webinar with Valerie M. Hudson
• Black Caucus Book Club
• DA Austria Annual General Meeting

Issues & Actions:

• Annual General Meeting – In person & Online!
  
• DA Austria Survey

Midterm Election News:

• Are you an Ohio Voter? 
• Battleground States Call Campaigns
• Voter Registration Tables

Reviews:

• Black Caucus Open Mic Night

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, April 13, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

Thanks for reading!

Message from the Chair –

We’ve all been immersed in the tragedy unfolding the last two weeks in Ukraine. Some Americans attended recent demonstrations in Vienna against the war, raising their voices on behalf of many of us. What stands out for me is the heroism of the Ukrainian people, men and women willing to stand in defense of their freedom and democracy. It makes me think of the threats to our own democracy in the United States, the ongoing efforts to disenfranchise voters and make it harder for people to carry out that very basic freedom to vote and have a voice in our government. People are literally fighting for their democracy, while some Republicans in the United States try to keep in power by erecting barriers to voting. Our democracy is precious and we have to keep fighting to preserve it. Exercise your freedom and right to vote. The first step is to request your ballot at votefromabroad.org.    

— Richard Miller, Chair Democrats Abroad Austria  

Events:

DAA BC Book Club

Afropean Notes from Black Europe by Johny Pitts Pic

When: March 20, 2022 

Time: 16:00

Where: Online (could be hybrid)

RSVP for Zoom link

Annual General Meeting

When: March 27

Time: 2pm CET

Where: SPÖ Neubau, Lindengasse 64, Vienna 1070

RSVP: DA Austria 2022 AGM 

Issues & Actions:

Annual General Meeting 

DA Austria is required by our By-Laws to hold an Annual General Meeting each year. We also have a quorum requirement to make the meeting valid. Please help us meet these challenges by joining us! Any American 18 or older by the next federal election and residing in Austria may join the meeting, become a member and vote on meeting business. 

At the meeting we'll present brief reports on 2021 and discuss plans for getting out the vote for this year’s midterm elections. We also plan to have a wine tasting event immediately after the AGM with wines from the Seymann Winery. For those who can stay, we would like to organize a no-host post AGM dinner. Details to follow for those who RSVP! 

Your participation, activism, and donations have made Democrats Abroad Austria a strong and vital organization for more than seventeen years. In 2022, we’ll continue working to strengthen the voice and vote of all our members.

Please RSVP for the Annual General Meeting here. 

Thank you for your support,

– DA Austria Executive Committee

Member Survey 2022

Please take a few minutes to fill out our 8 question Member Survey! Your answers will help us to make some decisions as we ramp up efforts to get out the vote in 2022. Take the survey and you may just win one of our prizes, including a Democrats Abroad rainbow Pride t-shirt and other goodies! You will find the survey here.     

Midterm Election News:

Are you an Ohio Voter? 

The maps for Ohio’s new Congressional and state legislative districts are still before the Ohio Supreme Court. So the final shape of the districts, and the candidates running in them, are still unknown. But Ohio is going forward with the May 3 Primary election anyway. 

Overseas ballots must go out by March 18, and the Dept of Defense denied Ohio’s request for an extension. Democrats Abroad is continuing to monitor the situation closely and we’ll let Ohio voters know of any changes. 

But the message to Ohio voters is the same: Send in their registration/ballot request forms now, request your ballot be sent by email, look for your ballot coming on March 18, and mail back your voted ballots right away!

Battleground State Calling Campaigns

The overseas vote was the margin of victory in Georgia and Arizona in 2020 and we’re going to make sure to do it again in the upcoming midterms. Starting March 7 Democrats Abroad phone bank volunteers will be calling our members in Ohip, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Georgia — all battleground states. 

We need your help to reach our members! It’s easy and satisfying. We call DA members who are happy to get the reminder and DA covers the call costs. Also, you can make as many or as few as you like and when it fits your schedule. There are regular trainings to get you started and our DA Austria’s Phonebank Coordinator, Yvonne Richard, will answer your questions. Be part of the effort to fight for our democracy! Find out more here.

Your Vote is Your Voice

One of the DA’s core activities is to help Americans to register and return their ballots. The non-partisan Vote from Abroad website has up to date information so voters are best informed about their State’s regulations and deadlines. There is also a voter protection team that works with Local Election Officers and State Secretarys to solve issues that disenfranchise overseas voters. 

Every election cycle we hear from overseas Americans and dual citizens who say they didn’t know they had the right to vote in Federal and even State elections. Help us to spread the word amongst your family, friends, and colleagues. And if there are Americans in your sport’s team, club, school, or place of worship, we’re happy to come by and help get them registered – regardless of their party affiliation. Contact the Vote from Abroad Coordinator at [email protected] 

Reviews: 

DA Black Caucus 4th Annual Open Mic Night

On Friday, February 25th, we closed out Black History Month with our 4th Annual Black Caucus Open Mic Night! What a turnout! We're honored to have shared the stage with performers from all over the world who shared their thoughts, poetry, spoken word and more -- a huge thanks to everyone who joined, performed and donated!

Up next: Black Caucus Book Club! This month we're reading Afropean by Johny Pitts, an on-the-ground documentary of areas where Europeans of African descent are juggling their multiple allegiances and forging new identities. Join us on Sunday, March 20th from 4-6pm. Please be sure to register online for the Zoom link!

Thank you for reading the March Newsletter!

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We would greatly appreciate it if you would take 5 to 10 minutes to fill out our Democrats Abroad Austria membership survey. Your answers will help us make some decisions as we ramp up efforts to get out the vote for the mid-term elections.

All those who participate will be eligible to receive some DA prizes, like our rainbow Democrats Abroad Pride t-shirt and other goodies! 

Thanks in advance for taking our survey!

Message from the Vice Chair

As we reflect and observe the many accomplishments and contributions of African Americans throughout American history, we recognize that there are still challenges ahead. From voter suppression to the failed passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, African American voters like myself are feeling marginalized, disappointed and just plain old tired. In this moment of discouragement, I encourage everyone to look to our ancestors to lead the way. One lesser known civil rights activist was James Howard Meredith. James Meredith was the first African American to attend the University of Mississippi in 1962. Despite repeated attempts to stop him from attending, Meredith persisted and graduated with a degree in political science. In 1966, he began his March Against Fear, where he attempted to walk from Memphis, Tennessee to Jackson, Mississippi to promote black voter registration. On the second day of his walk, he was shot and injured by an unknown sniper. Other civil rights leaders, including Stokely Carmichael and Martin Luther King Jr. marched in his stead. Meredith recovered and found the strength to complete the last leg of the march.

As we prepare for this challenging year of getting out the vote, I encourage you to gather your strength not only from James Meredith, but also from Shirley Chisholm, Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer and John Lewis.

Happy Black History Month- and remember, Black History is American History!

-Faith Herbold, Vice Chair, Black Caucus Co-coordinator and GOTV Co-coordinator

In This Issue —

Events:

• National Salon with Richard Greene
• 4th Annual Black History Month Open Mic Night
• Solidarity Sundays: “It‘s The Statehouses, Stupid“
• Annual General Meeting

Issues & Actions:

• DA doubled the overseas vote in 2020

Members Corner:

• O Columbia

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, March 9, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Events:

What: National Salon

When: February 17

Time: 7pm - 9pm CET

Where: Zoom. Hosted by DA Switzerland

RSVP: National Salon

What: John Lewis Birthday Celebration

When: February 21

Time: 4pm - 5:30pm CET

Where: Zoom. Hosted by DA State Teams

RSVP:

4th Annual Black History Month Open Mic Night

When: Friday, February 25

Time: 7pm CET

Where: Vila Vida Cafe

RSVP: Open Mic Night

Solidarity Sundays: “It‘s The Statehouses, Stupid“

When: February 27

Time: 4pm CET

Where: Amerlinghaus, 1070 Vienna

RSVP: Solidarity Sunday

Annual General Meeting

When: March 27, 2022

Time: 2:00pm CET

Where: SPÖ Neubau, Lindengasse 64, 1070 Vienna & Online

RSVP: Annual General Meeting

Issues & Actions:

Democrats Abroad is the Margin of Difference!

In 2020, Democrats Abroad doubled the overseas vote in critical battleground states and won those elections. We grew the overseas vote, gained DNC attention, and DA has a strategy to do the same in 2022.

Members Corner:

DA Austria member-at-large Ted France, from Vorarlberg, is a singer / songwriter, with a knack for protest songs. Ted shared with us his latest song, O Columbia:

O Columbia
They’re suppressing the Vote In cities and on the plains

The Voice of the people choked by disdain

Their Gerrymandered districts the Politicians pick

But their choices make our Democracy sick

Rise up O Columbia In you we believe, Help us to pass a Federal fair vote decree

To bind up the union For the 21st Century

Don’t give up on hope, Give the Future its scope, Lay it all down, For your right to vote!

The U.S. Senate becomes a serial crime scene

Where they’re killing votes for things that we need

Republican subversion of the popular will

Lead that old Filibuster right over the hill!

Rise up O Columbia, You enshrine our rights, To assemble, to preach and to strike the

witness of our vote In the halo of your light. Don’t give up on hope, Give the Future its scope, Lay it all down For your right to vote!

And it’s for the Republic That we stand. One vote for every woman, One vote for every man

No matter your religion, race or clan, Liberty and justice we call it, The world watches

how we ballot

Citizens United lets them Buy off all our votes

The Supreme Court Even let it float

Away with our dreams Our hopes seem to fall

Repeal the power Of money’s control!

Rise up O Columbia Hail Democracy E plurbus unum Still sets us free

To seek those sunlit uplands Waiting just up around the bend

Don’t give up on hope Give the future its scope Lay it all down For your right to vote!

– Lyrics by Ted France

Thank you for reading the February Newsletter!

We'll see you in March.

Click here to download the pdf version of this newsletter

From DA International Chair, Candice Kerestan, "On this Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Democrats Abroad seeks to go beyond simply memorializing Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and question what it truly means to uphold his legacy, both at home and abroad. 

Whether you are requesting your ballot from VoteFromAbroad.org, or making phone calls to legislators like those encouraged below, we hope you join us today in active engagement with the memory and work of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We want to share a passage from the statement by our Global Black Caucus to mark this MLK Day. Please take the time to read the full statement, and keep reading to learn how you can take an active role in defending the right to vote, today!

Read the letter to Senators Manchin and Sinema signed by more than 400 DA leaders and volunteers! 

Message from the Chair

It’s a new year and one thing you can resolve to do—and tick off right away—is to request your ballot now for the 2022 primaries and midterm elections at www.votefromabroad.org. Informing overseas voters about their right to vote and the legal requirement to request a ballot each calendar year is one of the most important things we do as volunteers at Democrats Abroad. Please don’t delay. That way, when our phone bank volunteers call you later this year, you can proudly say, “Yes. I requested my ballot back in January!” 

On January 15, we mark International Voter Registration Day! Mark your calendar and be sure to go to www.votefromabroad.org and (re-)register. Spread the word to other Americans you know and share our Facebook posts on that day. Our goal is that all DA Austria members request their ballots so they are ready to vote!  

— Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria   

In This Issue —

Events: 

• International Voter Registration Day
• Texas Voter Assistance 
• DA Austria Black Caucus Book Club
• Why We Can’t Wait: Reparations Justice
• Global Black Caucus Quarterly Meeting
• ProDA: Film Screening and Panel Discussion

In Memory 

• Gregory Blackley

Issues & Actions

• DA Austria in the News
• 2022 Election News
• Vote in the Texas Primary Election
• Voter Registration Outreach
• New Year! New Elections!
• International Voter Registration Day
• New Jersey State Voting Bill
• Tax Advocacy Year In Review

Save the Dates

• Solidarity Sundays 
• February's DAA Black Caucus Book Club

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, January 12, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Events:

International Voter Registration Day

When: January 15, 2022

Time: 24 hour voter mobilisation action 

Where: global

Texans Abroad Voter Assistance 

When: January 16, 2022

Time:  12:00pm CET

Where: Online voter assistance (hosted by DA Germany, Berlin)

RSVP: Texas Voter Assistance Online Helpdesk

DA Austria Black Caucus Book Club

When: January 16, 2022

Time:  16:00pm CET

Where: Austria Online. RSVP for Zoom link

RSVP: DAA Black Caucus Book Club

Why We Can’t Wait: Reparations Justice

When: January 16, 2022

Time:  17:30pm CET

Where: Online. RSVP for Zoom link

RSVP: Why We Can't Wait

Global Black Caucus Quarterly Meeting

When: January 30, 2022

Time:  9:00am CET

Where: Online. RSVP for Zoom link

RSVP: Global Black Caucus Quarterly Meeting

ProDA: Film Screening and Panel Discussion

When: January 31, 2022

Time:  Panel discussion: Jan 31, 19:30pm CET; Screening: Jan 27-31

Where: Online. RSVP for Zoom link

RSVP: Scared to Debt

In Memory:

In Memory of Gregory Blackley

It is with great sadness that we announce the recent passing of a beloved community member, Mr. Gregory Blackley. A dear friend to many, Gregg, also known as Mr. B to his students at the American International School, was an enthusiastic communicator who treasured a good laugh. As a gay Black male elder, his influence extended well beyond his professional and community roles. Gregg was an active contributor to the efforts of Democrats Abroad over several years. He will be dearly missed by his family in the United States and friends here in Vienna. Rest in Peace and Power, Gregory Blackley.

– Faith, Mara, Sharon Ann, Sherri

Issues and Actions:

Democrats Abroad Austria in the News

On January 6, Democrats Abroad Austria’s communication director, Sophie Spiegelberger, appeared on Puls 24. She was part of a panel discussion on the one-year anniversary of the attack on the US Capitol. Our thanks to Sophie for representing Democrats Abroad Austria so prominently in the Austria media. You can watch some highlights from her appearance on YouTube here.

— 2022 Election News —

Vote in the Texas Primary Election – March 1, 2022

On March 1, 2022, Texas is holding its primary to choose the Democratic candidate to represent you in the US House of Representatives. Help choose the Democratic candidates who will be on the ballot for the general election on November 8, 2022!

And you may also be able to vote to choose the Democratic candidates for Governor, Lt Governor, other state offices, and your representatives to the Texas state legislature. It depends on the category you choose when you register to vote and request your ballot:

• If you "intend to return": You are eligible to vote in Texas state elections.
  You don't have to have a set date of return and it doesn't have to be within a set time frame, but you do need to have an intention to return at some time in the future.
  
  
• If your “return is uncertain”: You won’t be eligible to vote in Texas state elections, but you can still vote in the federal election for the US House.

State elections are hugely important! State government is responsible for voting, and state policies regarding climate change, education, health insurance, net neutrality, student loans, and more affect us no matter where we go around the world.

READ MORE

Let’s Get Ready to Register!!

We are hitting the ground running and want to register as many voters overseas as possible. Please help us reach OUR YOUNG PEOPLE. Dates for voter registration tables at universities and high schools are being scheduled now.

YOUR HELP: Please share organizations and groups—sports teams, clubs, etc— that may be interested in having a voter registration table at their events or get in touch if you would like to volunteer at an event. 

Please email Raina Saul at [email protected] for more information or to volunteer.

​​New Year, New Elections! Request Your Ballot NOW for 2022!

As we enter the new year, Democrats Abroad would like to remind you to (re-)register to vote and request your ballot NOW for 2022 elections at www.votefromabroad.org. 

Even if you’ve voted from abroad in the past, we urge all overseas voters to (re-)register and request a ballot at the start of each calendar year. Republicans love to purge voters like you and me from the voter rolls—don’t let this happen to you in such a critical election year!

34 U.S. Senate seats, all 435 U.S. Representative seats, 46 state legislatures, and 36 state governorships are up for grabs in November 2022. From voting rights to climate protection to access to affordable healthcare and education, too much is at stake to sit this one out!

– Candice Kerestan, DA International Chair

International Voter Registration Day

On Jan 15, 2022 Democrats Abroad will mobilize members around the globe to (re-)register to vote and to spread the word amongst their American family, friends, and colleagues to raise awareness that overseas voters are legally required to (re-)register every election year. 

Democracy is on the ballot in 2022. Make sure your vote is counted! Go to votefromabroad.org and request your ballots for every 2022 election.

– Jen Rakow-Stepper, DA EMEA Regional Vice Chair and DA Austria, Member at Large

— Democrats Abroad Advocacy —

Bill to Re-enfranchise New Jersey Overseas Voters

Democrats Abroad has gotten out the vote for every state in the nation, but this year most of our major battles are for state-level voting rights, particularly in New Jersey! Depending on what they fill out on their absentee ballot request, many overseas voters in New Jersey don't have the right to vote in state elections! They used to have it before Chris Christie pushed through a change in the law in 2017. 

This needs to change. Overseas voters are stakeholders in the New Jersey government. State government is responsible for voter eligibility and voting procedures. State policies regarding climate change, education, net neutrality, and more affect us everywhere. New Jerseyan overseas voters deserve a voice at all levels of government, and State Senator Vin Gopal has introduced a bill, NJ S3761, to change that law back and enfranchise voters once again. 

Thanks to DA members this bill has passed the Assembly! Now please help us to get this bill passed in the Senate.

Please call your NJ State Senator and ask them to cosponsor NJ S3761!

– Heidi Burch, Vote From Abroad Coordinator

Dems Abroad 2021 Tax Advocacy Year In Review 

Thanks for your support!

It’s been an enormously active year for Democrats Abroad in the fight for tax relief for Americans abroad.  Our execution around a 5-point strategy for enacting tax reforms that provide consequential tax relief for the vast majority of Americans abroad yielded a bill in the House of Representatives that has a chance of being embraced by the Senate and passed into law. Dems Abroad is proud of our achievements and reaffirms our commitment to the goal of tax fairness for Americans abroad.  

Read on for our annual Year in Review statement and click here for a full accounting of our work in 2021 to achieve tax reform for Americans abroad. Contact the Taxation Task Force at [email protected].

Click here to sign up for the Democrats Abroad Taxation Task Force Newsletter to keep up-to-date on our tax advocacy efforts.

– Carmelan Polce, Taxation Task Force Chair

Save the Dates:

Solidarity Sundays’ Next Leap

Want to help move our country past the tyranny of a radical, anti-democratic minority? We got you. 

Solidarity Sundays Vienna is preparing an exciting project for the next leap forward in our fight to fix our country. Details on the meet-up to follow as soon as it’s safe to meet in person — hopefully by the end of February or early March. Watch this spot for our roll-out announcement — and follow us on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/SolSunEurope/

– Tanya Lolonis

Coordinator, Solidarity Sundays Vienna

Email:  [email protected] 

February DAA Black Caucus Book Club

To celebrate Black History month, we are going back to the classics and will be discussing Women, Race & Class, written by Angela Davis in 1981. Davis is a renowned author, political activist, academic scholar, and philosopher, who currently holds a professorship at UC Santa Cruz. Women, Race & Class is a collection of 13 essays that take a historical look at the Women’s Liberation movement in the United States from slavery to the 1960s. 

Please join us virtually on February 13 at 16:00 CET to discuss (and perhaps debate) this great piece of literature!

-Faith Herbold and Jason Means

Co-Coordinators, DAA Black Caucus

Thank you for reading the January Newsletter!

We'll see you in February.

Message from the Chair

Volunteering for a cause has to be one of the most meaningful actions we can do in life—especially if it is for a cause we believe in. I have done it here and there, from my church soup kitchen to local street clean-ups. But the commitment I see from the volunteers at Democrats Abroad is beyond what I have experienced. Before I became chair of DA Austria, I thought surely there was a paid staff running the show, But no—everyone, I mean every single person, is a volunteer. And in some cases, at the global level, people take a sabbatical to devote all their time to DA. On Sunday, December 5, the world marked International Volunteer Day. I want to say a big thanks to all my fellow volunteers at DA Austria and around the world for your immense contribution to our cause.

— Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria

In This Issue —

Events:

• Vorarlberg – Holiday Happy Hour
• Vienna – Punsching for Democracy
• ProDa – UNFINISHED BUSINESS—Nina Turner on Victories, Lessons Learned, & the Progressive Road Ahead
• ProDa – Monthly Mondays for Your Progressive Minds

Issues & Actions:

• Set a Calendar Reminder! Request your 2022 Ballot
• Call for Sustaining Donors
• Tax Relief Bill

Reviews:

• Solidarity Sundays

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, January 12, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Events:

ProDa
UNFINISHED BUSINESS—Nina Turner on Victories, Lessons Learned, & the Progressive Road Ahead

When: Saturday, December 11, 2021

Time: 3:00 p.m. CET

Where: Online

RSVP for link

Happy Holidays Happy Hour

When: Saturday, December 11, 2021

Time: 7-9:00 p.m.

Where: Online

RSVP to attend

Punsching for Democracy

When: Monday, December 20, 2021

Time: 6:00 pm

Where: Punschstand in 1010 Vienna

RSVP to attend

ProDa

Monthly Mondays for Your Progressive Minds

When: Monday, December 27, 2021

Time: 6-7:30 p.m. CET

Where: Online

RSVP for link

Issues & Actions:

Set a Calendar Reminder! Request your 2022 Ballot

December will be busy. So now is the time to mark January 15, 2022, on your calendar to go to Vote from Abroad to request your ballots for every election in 2022 and automatically renew your voter registration. This is required by law for Americans who live overseas and, as you know, Republicans are in a flurry to keep us from voting.

Call for Sustaining Donors

We greatly appreciate those of you who regularly support the work of DA Austria for our local get-out-the-vote activities. We now need people in Austria to give financial support to DA Global, which will cover the costs of our phonebanking system and other activities that are crucial to our work in 2022 and beyond. Please consider giving a recurring donation of $5,$10, or more a month to DA Global. Every dollar you give supports our work to elect Democrats who will fight to make a better life for ALL Americans. Go to https://www.democratsabroad.org/donate.

We have a Tax Relief Bill!!

Click here to read about the Tax Simplification for Americans Abroad Act.

It will provide consequential tax relief for the majority of Americans living abroad. This is a major achievement in the work of Democrats Abroad to lighten the burden we bear due to US taxation. But to help, the bill needs to be enacted into law THIS YEAR.

YOU can help make that happen.

Call your Representative and Senators in our Congressional CallStorm and add your voice to fight for tax relief for Americans abroad. Click here for how to call and what to say.

Questions? Contact: [email protected]

Give the Gift of Democracy

Having a strong digital presence will be more important than ever for finding and mobilizing voters abroad for critical races in 2022. That’s why Democrats Abroad has prioritized redesigning its website in the first quarter of 2022.

At the top of the to-do list is making our website more engaging, accessible, and user-friendly—something we know needs to be done, but which comes with a price tag of $30,000.

Help us in this longer-term investment so that we can better attract and support our online visitors—and in turn, convert site visits into activism and votes! Please chip in today at www.democratsabroad.org/website.

Reviews:

Solidarity Sundays: Postcard Writing Party

November 28, 2021

Solidarity Sundays’ postcard writing party was canceled due to the national lockdown—our first cancellation in four years. We return to exploring and protecting our democracy on January 30.

A personal Season’s Greetings to DA members who have attended a Solidarity Sundays meetup over the years and those who made extraordinary efforts during the pandemic. In 2021 we pivoted from resisting an antidemocratic administration to inquiring how to support our democracy. We’ve learned a great deal about how our system works. Thank you for your focus, not just on what’s broken but on what we can do to fix it. You inspire me.

With holidays approaching, I‘d love to share a podcast episode perfect for a cold winter afternoon—a conversation with fiction writer George Saunders on what it means to be kind in an unkind world (listen here).

Stay safe, friends, and einen guten Rutsch.

Tanya Lolonis

Co-coordinator, Solidarity Sundays Europe

Email: [email protected]

Thank you for reading the December Newsletter!

We'll see you in January, 2022.

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Democrats Abroad Ireland NEC Announces Elections

The Nominations and Elections Committee (NEC) announces that elections for officer board positions for Democrats Abroad Ireland will be held on Saturday, February 19, 2022, both in person in Dublin, as well as online for those who cannot travel to Dublin. Voting will take place electronically on the day. More information about the time, the nomination process, the full election process, and registration for the event will be forthcoming.

The Nominations and Elections Committee:
Barbara Jacobi, Chair
Edwin Koenck, Sub-Chair
Randolph Cecil, Sub-Chair

As we gear up for the 2022 midterm elections, we are looking for people to build our teams in countries that do not have a Democrats Abroad Country Committee. 

We want to make sure ALL our volunteers and members are engaged in 2022! Your responses to the quick 10 minute survey in the link below will help us to better serve our outreach efforts in your region. Whether you can contribute a lot of time or just a little, you can make a difference in the upcoming midterm elections from wherever in the world you live.

Let me know you'll join the effort by filling out the survey. I hope to hear from you soon!

Best regards,

Jen Rakow-Stepper

Regional Vice Chair for Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA)

Message from the Chair

It may be an off election year for most of us, but our Democrats Abroad phone bankers have been hard at work making thousands of calls. We mobilized overseas voters for the California election and for the past few months have been calling DA members who vote in Virginia and New Jersey. As someone who was an active phone banker in 2020, I can attest that it is one of the most rewarding and impactful forms of activism you can do (I guess I should add, from the comfort of your own home). Yvonne Richard, our phone bank coordinator, and her deputy, Marjorie Rosenberg, have done an amazing job leading a small and dedicated team of phone bankers in Austria. Next year, we will need a bigger team, so I urge you to contact Yvonne at [email protected] and get trained and ready to go. After you get over your first call jitters, you will feel like you and your fellow phone bankers around the world are single-handedly  saving US democracy! And know what? You will be! 

— Richard Miller, Chair, DA Austria

In This Issue —

Events:

• ProDA Monthly Meeting
• Experienced Dems Get Together 
• Black Caucus Book Club
• Thanksgiving Feast with all the Fixings
• Solidarity Sundays — Prosecco, Postcards & Politics
• Global Black Caucus — Global Meeting
• Happy Holidays Happy Hour 
• Punsching for Democracy

Issues & Actions:

• Set a Calendar Reminder! Renew your registration 
• DA Voter Protection update: 2021 issues
• Those emails aren’t from DA

Reviews:

• Wine Tasting Fundraiser
• Solidarity Sundays

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, November 10, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Events: 

ProDA Monthly Meeting

When: Saturday, November 6, 2021

Time: 3-4:00 p.m. CET

Where: Online

RSVP to attend.

Experienced Dems Get Together

When: Wednesday, November 17, 2021

Time: 6-8:00 p.m. 

Where: In-person. Cafe Museum, Operngasse 7, 1010 Vienna 

RSVP to attend.

Black Caucus Book Club — Caste by Isabel Wilkerson

When: Wednesday, November 24, 2021

Time: 6-8:00 p.m.

Where: Hybrid — TBA

RSVP to attend.

Thanksgiving Feast with all the Fixings

When: Thursday, November 25, 2021

Time: 6-9:30 p.m.

Where: In-person, 2G rules. Melker Stiftskeller, Schottengasse 3, Vienna 1010

RSVP to attend.

Solidarity Sundays — Postcard Writing Party

When:  Sunday, November 28, 2021

Time:  4-6:00 p.m.

Where:  In-person, 2G rules. Private home, Vienna 1080 

Email for address:  [email protected] 

Global Black Caucus — Global Meeting 

When: Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Time: 1:00 p.m. (CET)

Where: Online

RSVP to attend.

Happy Holidays Happy Hour

When: Saturday, December 11, 2021

Time: 6:00 p.m. 

Where: TBA in Vorarlberg

RSVP to attend.

Punsching for Democracy

When: Thursday, December 16, 2021

Time: 6:00 pm 

Where: Punschstand in 1010 Vienna

RSVP to attend.

Issues & Actions:

Set a Calendar Reminder! Request Your 2022 Ballot 

December will be busy. So now is the time to mark January 15, 2022, on your calendar to go to Vote from Abroad to request your ballots for every election in 2022 and automatically renew your voter registration. This is required by law for Americans who live overseas and, as you know, Republicans are in a flurry to keep us from voting. 

As the Brennan Center wrote, “In an unprecedented year so far for voting legislation, 19 states have enacted 33 laws that will make it harder for Americans to vote.” Although “access to the right to vote increasingly depends on the state in which a voter happens to reside.” Regardless of what state you vote in, ALL Americans living overseas must register to vote in every calendar year. 

And the benefits? Your ballot will be sent 45 days before the election and if it doesn’t arrive you’ll be able to vote with the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot, which is only available for overseas voters. 

Are there other benefits? Yes! You’ll save DA volunteers loads of time (and money) as they call to remind you, your family members, and friends to Vote Blue in ‘22.

So, open your calendar right now and enter VotefromAbroad.com on January 15, and you’ll be ready for the midterms!

DA Voter Protection Update: 2021 Issues

We are in the throes of the 2021 election season, and 2022 is just a few months away!  DA’s Voter Protection Team wants to keep you informed of some of the voter protection issues that could crop up and we need to be aware of. 

Read more to find out about signature matching, misinformation, voter roll purges, geoblocking, NIXIE issues, and more. If you or someone you know is experiencing these issues or anything else that is stopping them from voting their ballots, please write to [email protected]. 

During the 2020 elections, we handled over 500 cases, helping voters abroad to successfully cast their ballots. Most importantly, don’t delay in seeking help if you’re experiencing a problem and always check for confirmation that your voted ballots have been received by local election officials. Voter protection issues usually crop up unexpectedly and addressing them at the last minute risks missing the election deadline. Let’s help ensure that ALL votes are counted in 2021!

Please be sure to share this information with your networks and colleagues!

– DA Voter Protection Team

Read More 

No, Those Emails Are Not From Democrats Abroad!

I don’t know about you, but my inbox has recently been awash in messages asking for donations from seemingly every Democratic candidate and left-leaning group in the US. And the fact is, I did it to myself by signing a petition or donating to a candidate at some point. But those emails aren’t coming from Democrats Abroad.

Although OTHER groups and candidates loan and give and sell their email lists, Democrats Abroad doesn't. Ever. Period. 

This has been a topic of conversation in some of DA’s channels. So former DAA Chair and current DNC member Katie Solon will again put up her hand at DNC and ASDC meetings and tell those folks that the deluge of fundraising is "breaking" email for the rest of us. 

In the meantime, make sure to stay subscribed to DA Austria emails. We’ve made a promise to only send one per month with our newsletter, which includes all the events and voting information you need! 

And we will never share, sell, or loan your address — ever. Period. 

– Jen Rakow-Stepper, DA Austria Member at Large, RVC-EMEA Region

The IRS Can Do Better with Stimulus Payments!

DA's research survey on the experience of Americans abroad accessing pandemic aid has not received a representative response from Americans in Austria. Please fill out this survey about your experience with the stimulus payments. The research will be used to pressure the IRS to provide better service and support to the Americans abroad community.

Also, on November 15 DA Portugal is hosting a webinar about the work DA is doing to persuade Congress to provide tax relief to Americans abroad in 2021 that is open to the public. 

– Carmelan Polce, Chair, Taxation Task Force

Open Volunteer Positions

Database Manager –  

Do you have an extra hour or two per week to help DA Austria with vital back-end administrative work? Are you computer savvy and personable? DAA is looking for a new Database Manager. 

Time commitment:

• Variable, with more work during the end-of-the-year database-cleanup phase and before the Annual General Meeting, Global Primary, and presidential elections

Requirements: 

• Nationbuilder and GDPR trainings and certification (roughly 2-hour time investment each)
• Signed confidentiality agreement
• Comfortable cold-calling members
• Comfortable using a database

Tasks: 

• Daily/Weekly: Login to Nationbuilder database to approve new members (check their files for missing information / spam / repeated members)
• Monthly: Report to DAA ExCom on membership growth
• Annually: Database cleanup to locate expiring members

This critical role helps DA Austria function at its best. There is so much important work to be done to get out the vote in 2022 in order to keep the House and Senate blue. Please add your skills to the team!

Contact: [email protected] 

Reviews:

Wine Tasting Fundraiser

Great wine, great conversation, a lovely home and hostess — all the ingredients for a wonderful wine-tasting fundraiser. A big thank you to Yvonne Richard for opening up her home to us, and for the organizational support from Josh Friedman. Thanks to everyone who attended, and a special thanks to DA member Nancy Lee Seymann of Seymann winery in Karlsdorf, Austria, for sharing her spectacular wines and her passion for wine making. The plan is to next year, possibly in late spring, hold another wine tasting out at her vineyard. Stay tuned. 

– Richard Miller, DA Austria Chair  

Solidarity Sundays — Getting Real

October 20, 2021

Solidarity Sundays took its first steps out of Zoom in October. A new group met in Paris, France, and a small group of us met up at our old Vienna haunt, Amerlinghaus. 

For those of us in Vienna, it had been a long time. Over drinks, we caught up with each others’ lives, exchanged thoughts on US politics, and shared ideas for the future. It was a very special meetup.

Solidarity Sundays learned about the Democrats Abroad effort to get Americans in Austria registered for next year’s midterms. SolSunners are passionate about voting, fun, and community — so we’re throwing an in-person Postcard-Writing Party to help (details available above in Events). Join the movement to save Democracy — we’re doing it with pens and prosecco.

– Tanya Lolonis, DA Austria Member at Large, Solidarity Sunday Co-Coordinator

Thank you for reading the November Newsletter! We'll see you in December. 

In This Issue —

Events:

• Experienced Dems Get Together 
• Wine Tasting Fundraiser
• Halloween Happy Hour
• DAA Black Caucus Book Club
• Salzburg Meet Up
• Solidarity Sundays 
• Save the Date — Thanksgiving

Message From the Chair

Issues and Actions:

• DAA sends flyers to Virginia voters
• Help us keep our member registration up to date!
• Open Volunteer Positions

Reviews:

• Solidarity Sundays: Democracy State of Mind
• Slovakia Meet & Greet
• 2021 EMEA Regional Meeting – Setting the gears in motion

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held online on: Wednesday, October 13, 2021, at 7 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] to join.

DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!

Events: 

Experienced Dems Get Together

When: Wednesday, October 13, 2021

Time: 6 pm

Where: In-person. Cafe Museum, Operngasse 7, 1010 Vienna 

RSVP to attend.

Wine Tasting Fundraiser

When: Thursday, October 14, 2021

Time: 4 – 6 pm

Where: In-person. Private home (RSVP for address), 1070 Vienna 

RSVP to attend.

Halloween Happy Hour

When: Saturday, October 16, 2021

Time: 6 pm

Where: In-person. Pier 69, Hafenrestaurant Seestrasse 4, 6900 Bregenz 

RSVP to attend.

DAA Black Caucus Book Club

When: Sunday, October 17, 2021

Time: 4 pm

Where: ZOOM. 

RSVP for the link.

Salzburg Meet Up

When: Friday, October 22, 2021

Time: 5:30 pm

Where: In-person. Braugasthof Krimpelstätter, Müllner Hauptstraße 31, Salzburg 05020 

RSVP to attend.

Solidarity Sundays

When: Sunday, October 24, 2021

Time: 5:00 pm

Where: In-person. Stiftgasse 8, Vienna 1080 (RSVP for details)

RSVP to attend.

Save the Date — Thanksgiving

When: Thursday, November 25, 2021

Time: 6:00 pm

Where: In-person. Melker Stiftskeller, Schottengasse 3, Vienna 1010

RSVP to attend.

Message from DA Austria Chair

Time is flying by and soon 2022 will be here! But there are key elections this November in New Jersey and Virginia, and Democrats Abroad Austria has been active in getting out the vote for those statewide elections. Our phone bankers have been busy calling overseas voters from those states and we sent out postcards to voters as well. And let’s take a victory lap for the outcome of the recall election in California—DA was in the thick of that battle too. Thank you to our volunteers! 

A big part of getting ready for 2022 is ensuring our database of DA Austria members is up to date. Without good email addresses and phone numbers, we cannot effectively support our members and get out the vote. We are looking for a new Database Manager (see more below) who can do valuable work such as welcoming new members when they join, ensuring our database is kept current, and reporting on results at our monthly meeting. If interested, please send an email to Richard at [email protected].     

Issues & Actions:

DAA sends flyers to Virginia voters  

Many thanks to Yvonne Richard, DAA Phone Bank Coordinator, for organizing flyers to be sent to nearly 70 Virginia voters living in Austria. Overseas voters from Virginia must return their ballot by post, so time is running short for the November 2 election. Democrats Abroad has proven itself to provide the margin of victory in close races, such as Georgia and Arizona in 2020. That’s why DA Global invested to ensure that Virginia voters living abroad received voting information by post, text, and online! 

Help us keep our member registration up to date!

A clean database means our phone bank volunteers are able to reach more members to help them vote.

A clean database means your donations aren’t wasted on unnecessary postage.

A clean database means you’ve RSVP’d for an event sometime in the last four years! 

Please take a look at the many exciting events and webinars happening throughout Democrats Abroad, such as the October 13 webinar with US Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida on women’s rights and winning in 2022 https://www.democratsabroad.org/da_speaks_with_rep_lois_frankel_on_women_s_rights_winning_in_florida_in_2022

Your RSVP lets us know you’re still in Austria!

Open Volunteer Positions

Database Manager  

Do you have an extra hour or two per week to help DA Austria with vital backend administrative work? Are you computer savvy and personable? DAA is looking for a new Database Manager!  

Time commitment:

• Variable, with more work during the end-of-the-year database cleanup phase and before the Annual General Meeting, Global Primary, and Presidential Elections

Requirements: 

• Nationbuilder and GDPR trainings and certification (roughly 2 hours’ time investment each)
• Signed confidentiality agreement
• Comfortable cold-calling members
• Comfortable using a database

Tasks: 

• Daily/Weekly: Login to Nationbuilder database to approve new members (check their files for missing information / spam / repeated members)
• Monthly: Report to DAA ExCom on membership growth
• Annually: Database cleanup to locate expiring members

This critical role helps DA Austria function at its best. There is so much important work to be done to get out the vote in 2022 in order to keep the House and Senate blue. Please add your skills to the team!

Contact: [email protected] 

Reviews:

Solidarity Sundays: Democracy State of Mind

September 26, 2021

“Republicans are not fighting the Reconciliation bill. They’re fighting other things—critical race theory, vaccines. They’re not attacking this bill because it’s insanely popular.” -- Julie Bordeau-Alderman

Each month, Solidarity Sundays takes a deep dive into an issue confronting our Democracy and takes an action to help. This month, we looked at the states. Julie, a progressive activist and political researcher, surveyed the outlook for Democrats in next year’s midterm elections.

It will be challenging. Gerrymandered maps and new voter suppression laws have put Democrats’ slim House majority in danger. But stellar candidates in every race, together with a very popular agenda, offer substantial opportunities.

Julie pointed out two kinds of messaging that can cut through GOP disinformation—reasons to vote against and reasons to vote for something. Democrats need both. Negative arguments play up the dangers if the other side is in charge. “Don’t let us become Florida!” worked in the California Recall election and will resonate in other states, too. And the Texas abortion ban is animating the swing voters who delivered victories in 2018 and for Biden in 2020.

Positive messaging talks up the Administration’s accomplishments. Two achievements that poll well are money in wallets, with the Child Tax Credit, and vaccines delivered to every American who wanted one.

Solidarity Sundays explored Senate dysfunction in March. Yvonne Richard, DA Austria’s Phonebanking Coordinator, invites you to take action to expand our Senate majority to overcome legislative paralysis and help Biden’s agenda. The most impactful thing you can do? Help Americans living abroad to vote.

“Conversations translate to votes,” she said. Phonebanking is easy to learn and to fit into your schedule, is done from home, and costs you nothing. Contact Yvonne and be part of the movement to deliver the Senate for Democrats.

Slovakia Meet & Greet

DA members in Slovakia turned out for a Meet & Greet event in Bratislava on September 25. We enjoyed some Mexican food (and margaritas) at Los Mexicas, in honor of our organizer, Estela Landeros, who was born in Mexico. Estela has kindly agreed to be our point person for our GOTV efforts in Bratislava next year. We discussed ways to reach more Americans in Slovakia to boost our membership. Also, it was great to meet (in person) Aaron Fishbone, who did an amazing job leading DA’s global communications team in 2020. Thanks also to Victor and David for attending! We look forward to further events next year in Slovakia.

2021 EMEA Regional Meeting – Setting the gears in motion

DA members from across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa met online from Oct. 1 to 3 to help us gear up for getting out of the vote in 2022. We started to work on a regional strategy calendar so we have an overview of what needs to be done over the year in terms of GOTV, fundraising and member recruitment, etc. We also had a preview of our GOTV Rap, performed by your DA Austria chair. Some meeting highlights were talks by special guests DNC Executive Director Sam Cornale, Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland’s 8th district, and Rep. Grace Meng of Queens, New York. Kudos to our own Jennifer Rakow-Stepper, EMEA Regional Vice Chair, for organizing a smooth and productive event! From the word cloud above, you see that we’re raring to go.

Thank you for reading the October Newsletter! We'll see you in November. 

Join the team working on our newest caucus, the new Global Disability Caucus!

We would like to build the broadest possible membership in this new and important team within Democrats Abroad. 

The mission of the Democrats Abroad Global Disability Caucus is to provide a voice for individuals with disabilities across its global membership. In addition to participating in voter and electoral support work the team will collaborate with allies within the Democratic Party and disability rights groups to ensure that all activities and venues are accessible; advocate on proposed legislation addressing disability rights; and educate and empower Democrats Abroad members and leaders about the issues impacting individuals with disabilities.

In addition to Democrats Abroad members with disabilities, we welcome and encourage the involvement of supporters of our members and our issues.  We hope to form an inclusive, diverse, active and effective community which provides fulfilling experiences for all.

**Please note that if you sign up to volunteer with us, you may be contacted directly via email by Chair, Marnie Delaney.