In This Issue –
DA Austria Events:
- Young Dems Online Pub Quiz Night
- CARES Act and You: What It Means for Americans Abroad
- Quarantini Happy Hour
- Virtual Call Hub Party
- Solidarity Sundays
Online Events organised by other DA groups:
- Suppressed Film Screening/GOTV Ideas Discussion
- Earth Day Panel Discussion
- GBC Cafe - III
Issues & Actions:
- Run to be a Delegate at the Democratic Convention
- The Activists To Do List
- Coronavirus Act provisions and implementation for Americans Abroad
- The ACA Is More Valuable Than Ever
Reviews:
- Global Presidential Primary
- Annual General Meeting
Members Corner:
- Special Offer from Seymann’s Winery
Mark your calendars:
- May 16-17: Online Regional Conventions (tentative dates, pending waiver request approval)
- June 6-7: Online Global Convention & Global Meeting (tentative dates, pending waiver request approval)
- Week of August 17: Democratic National Convention
- Nov 3: The moment we've all been working for!
Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. The next meeting will be held online on:
- 7pm Wednesday, April 8, 2020
Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Jennifer at [email protected] for the link.
DAA is making a strong effort to include in our monthly newsletter all the information you need to stay up to date in order to avoid the flood of emails that occurs in an election year. By sending you fewer emails, we hope you will read those you receive. Thanks for reading!
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EVENTS:
Young Dems Virtual Pub Quiz
Join us for our first online Pub Quiz!
Bring your own beer and enjoy democratic trivia accompanied by (some of) the presidential candidates' playlists from the comfort of your own home.
Where: Online
When: 7-10pm, April 10, 2020
RSVP for the link by sending an email to [email protected]
Find this event on Facebook
CARES Act & You: What It Means for Americans Abroad
DA Austria and DA Global are excited to host a fundraising tax webinar to support DA’s phone banking campaign to reach our members around the world!
In this webinar, ex-pat tax expert, Nathalie Goldstein MsC, EA and CEO of My Expert Taxes, will discuss the implications of the legislation on Americans living abroad, how to go about requesting a stimulus check, and other Expat 101 tax basics. There will be plenty of time for a question and answer session.
Please note that Democrats Abroad does not endorse any particular company nor give tax advice.
Where: Online
Donation: $10
When: April 15, 2020 at 7pm CET
RSVP on the Democrats Abroad Website
Quarantini Happy Hour
Grab a glass, mix your favourite cocktail or sip a cup of herbal tea and join our first Quarantini Happy Hour for a relaxing evening get-together to catch up and meet new people!
See you there!
Where: Online
When: April 18, 2020 from 7-10PM
RSVP: Please email [email protected] for link.
Virtual Call Hub Party
Phone banking is the most effective way to reach our members and remind them to register, request, and vote their ballot. It is also easy and fun!
We want to call all our members in the next few months. Help us reach this goal by learning how to use the CallHub program. Join us for an online phone banking party and we will help you get set up and comfortable in no time!
Where: Online
When: April 20, 2020 from 6-7:30PM
RSVP: please email [email protected] for the link
Solidarity Sundays
The most massive emergency aid package in US history is now law, a $2 trillion stimulus package to help the US economy fight the devastating spread of COVID-19. The stimulus package represents a massive financial injection into a struggling economy to help American workers, small businesses, and industries grappling with economic disruption. However, what's really in it? Who really does this package benefit? What's in it for you and your family? Join us at our next Solidarity Sunday to find out.
As we continue to practice social distance, there will no meet up in-person. Please register to receive the video teleconference link to: [email protected] Visit us on Facebook.
Where: Online
When: April 26, 2020 from 4-6pm
RSVP for the link at [email protected]
OTHER DA EVENTS ONLINE:
Suppressed – Film Screening
Our Virtual Film Nights continue with a discussion on the documentary, "Suppressed - The Fight to Vote". This short 38-minute documentary reveals the rampant voter suppression behind the 2018 midterm elections in Georgia.
Watch the film at your leisure on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03DGjnIkTdI) and join us for a discussion with DAB volunteer, Robin Lofton, a social justice writer, historian, and progressive activist who led us through our Black History Month Lunch last month.
Zoom details will be sent when you RSVP - here's to Confinement Cinema!
Where: Online Hosted by DA Belgium
When: April 23, 2020 from 7:30PM
RSVP for the link at Suppressed
Earth Day Anniversary – Panel Discussion
Is Climate Change a gender issue? What are the impacts of environmental conditions on infectious diseases? How can empowering women save the planet from climate collapse?
You’ll be surprised at the answers…
Where: Online Hosted by DA Germany
When: April 21, 2020 at 7PM
RSVP for the link on the Democrats Abroad Website
Global Black Caucus Cafe III
This will be our third GBC Cafe. In this interactive event, we will discuss a topic that is TBD but interesting none the less.
Everyone is welcome to join. We had a great discussion last time and we hope you will join us for what should again be a lively discussion.
This is an online event. You will receive the connection information in an email after your RSVP.
Where: Online Hosted by DA Germany
When: April 28, 2020 at 4-7PM
RSVP for the link on the Democrats Abroad Website
ISSUES & ACTIONS:
Run to be a Delegate at the Democratic Convention
If you (or someone you know) is interested in running to be a delegate candidate, please fill out a nomination form. Forms are due on April 17th. Two delegate candidate workshops are now available on the DA website to answer your questions:
Or, don’t hesitate to contact me at [email protected]with any questions you may have!
A Message from the Affirmative Action Committee —
During the week of August 17th, the Democrats Abroad (DA) delegation will join with others at the Democratic National Convention to formally choose our nominee for President of the United States. This is a great honor and among the most important civic roles one can have as a U.S. citizen living abroad.
We will once again have a fired-up delegation casting our votes with all the other Democratic state parties' delegates in showing support and unity among us. You may recall from 2016 our delegation was prominently shown on media stations around the world!
With great interest in attending the national Convention, this is the moment for all interested Democrats Abroad members to submit their declaration of delegate candidacy. Any DA member is eligible to run, and the Affirmative Action Committee strongly emphasizes the importance of DA members from historically-underrepresented backgrounds to run as delegate candidates in showing the world the diversity of our Party and our members around the world.
Forms to declare delegates’ candidacy are now available online. Please encourage your country committee’s members, state chapters, caucuses, task forces, and other leaders and members to fill it out as soon as possible and return it no later than April 17th.
-The Democrats Abroad Affirmative Action Committee-
Questions or comments? E-mail: [email protected]
The Activist’s To Do List
There are many things you can do while you are at home in self-isolation. Here is a list of a few ideas, but we'd love to hear how you are using using physical distancing for social good. Have an idea? Please let us know and we will add it to this list! For lots of ideas listen to this podcast – What To Do Online Right Now
1. Protect the voting process in the US. Sometimes overcrowded polling places aren’t by design but by too few volunteers. The November election is going to be particularly challenging for states to get vote-by-mail up and running and to make sure there is enough people-power to work at polling centers. Many people who traditionally help at polling locations are retirees and particularly at risk. Now is the time to encourage younger friends and family members at home to volunteer with their local election official. Find out more about this topic in the podcast Campaign HQ with David Plouffeepisode “Will We Vote?” from March 26, 2020.
2. Get trained to phone-bank! We will be calling ALL of our members over the next months to remind them to register and request their ballot and to return it in October. Phone banking is fun and rewarding. You can do just a few calls or hundreds — you decide when you want to call and there is a script so you don’t have to know all the answers. This is proven to be the most effective way to get our members to vote. Join us at the Call Hub Party from 6:00-7:30pm on April 20 or watch the training video, sign on to call hub (the calling platform) and we’ll be in touch as soon as the call campaign begins. We need your help!
Coronavirus Act Provisions and Implementation for Americans Abroad
Americans abroad are clearly very keen to know: if they are eligible for things like the Recovery Rebate; what amount of aid they might collect; and how and when the aid will be delivered. It is fair to say that lockdown-related job and income losses are causing a great deal of stress, with people clearly feeling scared and financially vulnerable.
DA’s Taxation Task Force has published this information about the CARES Act on the Taxation page of the DA Website.
However, there is currently not a lot of clarity available from Treasury about how the aid will be delivered or when it will be received. Those uncertainties are even more profound for Americans abroad.
We are currently drafting a CARES Act FAQs document. But it may not be populated with very useful responses for some days (or longer). We will forward a link to the FAQs document soon and message you when we have material updates.
— DA’s Taxation Task Force
On Its 10th Anniversary, In Midst Of Public Health Crisis, The ACA Is More Valuable Than Ever
Ten years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, the law is more popular than ever. It’s no wonder -- it helped tens of millions of Americans obtain quality affordable health care coverage, made it illegal for insurers to deny coverage over a preexisting condition or charge women more for their health care than men, allowed young adults to stay on their parents’ plans, required coverage of preventative services and essential health benefits, and so much more.
Now -- in the midst of a global pandemic -- the ACA is one of our most critical tools to protect Americans from the consequences of the coronavirus. The protections afforded by the ACA help ensure Americans get the health care they need and aren’t bankrupted just because they caught coronavirus. The Trump administration has been forced to rely on several provisions of the ACA as part of the nation’s response to the virus.
REVIEWS:
Global Presidential Primary
From March 3–10, 2020, the Global Presidential Primary took place at 230 voting centers and hundreds of Ballot Assistance Events around the world. Thank you to all our members who voted in person in Vienna on March 3 or March 7, or came to a Ballot Assistance events in Graz, Innsbruck, or Salzburg, and to all of you who voted remotely either by mail or electronically. I’d also like to give a big thanks to all the volunteers who worked so hard to make these events a success!
Globally, two candidates reached the 15% threshold and will have delegates apportioned to them proportionately — Bernie Sanders received 57,9% of the vote winning 9 DA delegates and Joe Biden won 22.7% of the vote winning 4 delegates. DA has a total of 21 delegates that will go to the convention — the 13 pledged delegates that were proportionately determined in the GPP and the 8 unpledged delegates who each carry ½ vote. There was an important rule change made after the 2016 primary and unpledged delegates will only be able to cast a vote in case of a second round of voting for the nominee.
Anyone interested in running to be a delegate should fill out the nomination form by April 17. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
DA Austria had a 24% increase in voter turnout in 2020 vs 2016. Thank you for casting your ballot for the presidential nominee with Democrats Abroad!
— Jennifer Rakow-Stepper, Chair
Annual General Meeting
DA Austria held its first-ever online Annual General Meeting on March 22, 2020. Despite the challenges involved, thirty-eight DAA members attended — about the number that have attended our in-person AGM’s in past years.
The various Chair, Treasurer and Auditors’ reports showed that DA Austria is an active and growing organization. We were able to cover costs incurred by our many events in 2019 through the generosity of our sustaining donors, a fundraiser, and swag sales.Solidarity Sunday’s room rental costs were covered by a generous donation from an anonymous donor.
DA Austria had a record breaking 259 people who became members between February 1st and March 10th. Most did so in order to vote in the Global Presidential Primary.
Faith Herbold, GOTV coordinator, and Caitlin Ahern, database manager, led an online Get out the Vote training workshop before the meeting. Keep an eye out for future training events to help us get out the vote for November!
Thank you to everyone who joined the meeting and stayed for the nice chat afterwards. You can watch a recording of the meeting here.
— Jennifer Rakow-Stepper, Chair
MEMBERS CORNER:
Special Offer!
Seymann’s Winery had planned to do a wine tasting after our Annual General Meeting, but instead has offered DA Members free delivery on a Spring Fever Wine Tasting Box.
Mix it up, choose your favorite wines in their webshop with the note „DemAbroad“ … 6 bottles or more will be sent by DPD delivery service.
Seymann takes care of the shipping charges #thinkglobalbuylocal