Here's what's happening in DA Austria in December —
Message from the Chair
Upcoming Events:
- Young Democrats December Board Game Night
- Punsching for Democracy – Holiday Meet-up
- January 15 - International Voter Regstration Day
- Happy holidays from Solidarity Sundays!
Event Highlights:
- Punsching for Democracy – Holiday Meet-up
- After Punsch Warm-Up
Inside Democrats Abroad:
- Meet ExCom Member, Elisa Schmidt, just back from COP30 in Brasil
- Democracy Won on November 4
Inside DA Austria:
Issues and Actions:
- Fuel 2026 Wins This Giving Tuesday
- Opposing Violence Is Not a Partisan Issue —Take Action!
Review:
- Young Democrats November Board Game Night
- Solidarity Sundays
- Annual Thanksgiving Dinner
- Thanksgiving Raffle
Our next Executive Committee meeting will be online on Wednesday, December 10, at 6:00 p.m. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Brett Carnito at [email protected] for the meeting link.
DAA is committed to keeping you up to date while respecting your inbox. Our monthly newsletter brings together all the important information you need in one place, so you can stay informed without the extra emails. We appreciate you reading and staying connected!
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Message from the Chair:
Democratic candidates enjoyed tremendous victories in this year’s election, winning the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey, keeping control of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, passing Prop 50 in California, defeating a voter suppression effort in Maine, holding the Minnesota senate, breaking a Republican supermajority in Mississippi, and winning in the New York mayoral race.
Democrats Abroad contributed to these successes: our members mailed, called, tabled, and met with prospective voters to help them register to vote, and to request and return their ballots. I could not be more proud of our volunteers for working so hard to get out the vote!
But time does not stand still; even now DA volunteers are reaching out to voters who are eligible to participate in upcoming special elections in Miami and Texas, and this is but a prelude to next year’s critical midterm elections.
And you too can help. Mark International Voter Registration Day, January 15, 2026, in your calendar and on that day go to votefromabroad.org to request your ballots for 2026. If you have some free time, you can phonebank or join us at a voter registration table. You can spread our message on social media. No time? You can support our efforts by becoming a donor, or even a sustaining donor. Join our events, join our caucuses, bring a friend, we look forward to seeing you!
— Brett Carnito, DA-Austria Chair
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Upcoming Events:
Young Democrats December Board Game Night
When: Sunday, December 7, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: SpielBar, Lederergasse 26, 1080 Vienna
This is our monthly fun get-together for any American in Austria who considers themselves young! Every first Sunday of the month we hang out and play board games.
RSVP
Holiday Meet-Up – Punsching for Democracy
When: Thursday, December 11, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Where: Karlsplatz Weihnachtsmarkt, La Creperie (Stand 38)
RSVP not required.
After Punsch Warm-Up
When: Thursday, December 11, 2025
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Where: Wein und Kunst, Argentinierstraße 18, 1040 Vienna
Please RSVP so we know you’re coming! Limited seats available.
RSVP
International Ballot Request Day
When: January 15, 2026
Remind Me
Happy holidays from Solidarity Sundays!
We’re taking December off to recharge - even political mechanics need a break from tinkering with democracy’s engine. Look for us in January when we’ll be mapping out 2026’s strategic mischief.
In the meantime: rest up, argue gently with relatives, and remember that structural change is a marathon, not a sprint.
See you in the new year!
— Tanya and Jacqueline, Solidarity Sundays
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Event Highlights:
Holiday Meet-Up – Punsching for Democracy
Join your fellow Democrats Abroad members and friends for our annual holiday get together!
This year we'll again be at the Karlsplatz Christmas Market in the 4th district to enjoy some holiday cheer and democratic discussion. Look for us eating crepes and drinking punsch at La Creperie Mobile stand (#38) at the market!
The stand is located on the RIGHT side when facing the Karlskirche, just in front of the church—the closest food stand to the church’s wide front steps. We’ll have a DA/Vote from Abroad banner to identify us.
We look forward to seeing you there! Please call us at +43 681 20702369 if you can't find us. No reservation is necessary.
After Punsch Warm-Up
We’ve reserved a table for 12 people at Wein & Kunst to warm up after the Christmas Market and continue the discussion.
Please DO RSVP if you would like to join!
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Inside Democrats Abroad:
In the News – Meet Elisa Schmidt, just back from COP30 in Brasil
I was at COP30 in Brazil recently as part of my work at Ground Truth Solutions- an NGO conducting research on people’s perceptions of the assistance they receive to cope with the crises they face. This year, we were sharing the views of people in DRC, Afghanistan, Gaza, Chad and Somalia as they face the impacts of war and the climate crisis, and highlighting their advocacy calls to decision-makers to ensure more effective assistance.
One of the big topics of discussion at COP30 was the lack of a US delegation, as the Trump administration refused to send anyone- not even a notetaker- to participate. This is of course unsurprising, since he considers climate change to be a scam. Encouragingly though, 100 elected US officials attended anyway to keep pushing for an ambitious climate agenda and to show continued US commitment to tackling the climate crisis. Notably, Gavin Newsom was there showcasing California’s economic, environmental, and global climate leadership, and criticizing the destructive policies of the Trump administration.
Although many recognized the important message being sent by US sub-national leaders, they did not escape criticism completely as many reminded us of Newsom’s expansion of oil-drilling projects and promotion of climate distraction, like carbon capture.
COP30 definitely showed the importance of celebrating those who are standing up to the current status quo in the US, but also on the need to keep advocating for stronger, more ambitious, and fairer climate commitments from all officials - even Gavin Newsom.
Democracy Won on November 4
What a night for defending democracy and electing Democrats! Around the world, voters delivered a resounding message: Americans choose leaders who fight for us all.
As we look ahead to 2026, Democrats Abroad will keep doing what we do best: helping Americans around the world make their voices heard and democracy strong.
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Inside DA Austria:
Reader Survey
As we prepare to move into the 2026 election cycle, DA Austria leaders are developing our strategy and budget while building our team of volunteers to implement our plans. An important part of this work is to take a look at our current outreach tools and evaluate if they are doing their job.
Take This Short 4-minute Survey
To gauge the effectiveness of the DA Austria newsletter and outreach, we’ve created a feedback survey to gather information from our readers and to help steer us in the right direction going into the 2026 midterms. This survey aims to collect valuable insights from readers to improve the quality and relevance of future newsletters and outreach efforts.
There are 20 short questions, which should take less than four minutes to complete!
Thank you for your participation!
— Jen Rakow-Stepper, DA Austria Treasurer, and newsletter producer
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Issues and Actions:
Fuel 2026 Wins This Giving Tuesday
With the November election behind us, our focus is firmly on 2026! We’ve got lots to do, and we want to make sure you know not only about what we are up to, but about ways you can help too.
As it’s Giving Tuesday, we’re starting with an ask — would you consider supporting DA Austria for our early 2026 voter outreach?
Donate today! $25 can fund 25 voter-assistance calls, $100 funds a month of local online outreach.
Early support makes a huge difference. In January, we will launch our voter-registration and ballot-request push. With traditional digital ads now more restricted and more expensive, we’re building a budget of $1 per person — $12,000 — for local advertisement to reach the 12,000 Americans living in Austria. We made a great start with our 2025 Thanksgiving Raffle — raising almost $1,500!
Thank you for standing with us and for helping us be the margin of victory next year!
— Jen Rakow-Stepper, DA Austria Treasurer
Opposing Violence Is Not a Partisan Issue
On November 18, six Democratic lawmakers, all military and intelligence veterans, posted a video urging members of our military to uphold the Constitution and refuse to follow illegal orders. President Trump lashed out on social media in response and called for these leaders to be executed.
Since then, a serious breach of democratic norms is unfolding in D.C right now. Senator Mark Kelly (Arizona) is being threatened with a court-martial for restating one of the most basic pillars of U.S. military law: American service members must refuse illegal orders.
We ask you to Take Action Now.
Call your Senators and urge them to publicly affirm that service members must refuse unlawful orders, and to reject any political retaliation against Sen. Mark Kelly. Find a script for your call, and numbers below.
— DA News
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Review:
Young Democrats November Board Game Night
At the Young Democrats November board game night, we had a great time. We played a few games - including Cards Against Humanity, Werewolf, Uno, and more, and we had a lot of new faces!
Solidarity Sundays
We had an excited and engaged crowd, including newcomers energized by the elections, join our November Solidarity Sunday to discuss current developments on the political scene. After introductions, we dove into a lively discussion of the current political landscape, focusing on the November election results and the end to the government shutdown, including both Democrat and Republican responses and actions. This set the stage for an engaging debate of structural barriers to democracy, especially the filibuster and its impact on political agendas on both sides of the aisle – how it impedes but also protects democracy. What was particularly fantastic was that all 20 or so who joined the meeting had a view, an opinion, a question, or a concern, which made for a very thought-provoking debate where ideas were exchanged and maybe even a few minds changed!
Looking ahead to 2026, we focused on two key strategic actions we want to take ahead of the midterms:
- Choosing a group with whom to work a postcard campaign based on our October power-mapping exercise, and
- Discussion of what a public pressure campaign is and four key issues we can consider for the focus of the campaign: energy costs, tariff-related inflation, voting access and election integrity, and prescription drug prices.
We wrapped up by confirming our plans to meet again in January (date to follow), when we will finalize plans for the post card and public pressures campaigns – their focus, timing, and fund-raising – accelerating our momentum for the 2026 midterms and taking back Congress! Date for January to follow! Please spread the word, join us, and get fired up for 2026!
Thanksgiving
DA Austria celebrated Thanksgiving this year at the rooftop restaurant of Zoku Vienna, where 130 guests enjoyed turkey, a range of salads and sides, and a spread of homemade desserts—all with views over the Prater amusement park.
The crowd was a welcoming mix spanning the decades: young Americans studying in Austria, longtime community members, recent professional transplants, and even a few tourists who added our event to their Vienna plans. Large family groups and first-time solo attendees connected easily as new friendships formed and old ones strengthened.
Our annual fundraiser raffle was once again a highlight, and this year was our biggest yet: 35 prizes awarded and €1,500 raised. DA Austria Chair Brett Carnito outlined our plans for 2026, including expanded advertising and outreach to boost votefromabroad.org turnout. The energy in the room reflected a clear blue-wave spirit—motivated, engaged, and ready to get to work. This momentum gives Democrats Abroad Austria a strong launch point as we prepare for the 2026 midterms.
It was a night of gratitude, community, and connection—our largest Thanksgiving yet, and a reminder of what we can accomplish together.
Thanksgiving Raffle
We’d like to thank those in the American community who generously donated to our Annual Thanksgiving Raffle. Please be sure to thank them in return this holiday season by supporting their business:
- Beaver’s Brewing Company
- Dazwischen — the sandwich spot
- English Lovers Christmas Show at Theater Drachengasse
- M for Music Academy
Let us know if you have an American-owned company or would like to purchase a gift to donate for the 2026 raffle. We love to support the US community in Austria!
Thank you for reading our December Newsletter!