In This Issue —
Events:
- ProDA Pizza
- Saving Our Democracy Webinars
- DAA-Talks for Earth Day
Inside Democrats Abroad Austria:
- Tell Three Friends to Help DA-Austria Grow
- New DA Austria Executive Committee Members
- Caucus News
Global Presidential Primary:
- Results of the Primary
- Dream of Being a Delegate?
Issues and Actions:
- Take Action!
- Request your Ballot Today
Review:
- 2024 Annual General Meeting
- DAA-Talks with Dr. Eric Frey and Dr. Samuel Schubert
Our Executive Committee meetings are usually held on the second Thursday of the month. However, our next meeting will be held in person and online at 7 p.m., Thursday, April 4, 2024. Members are welcome to join us at the meetings. Please contact Richard at [email protected] for the address and meeting link.
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!
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Events:
Progressive Pizza with Platform Planks and Special Guests!
When: Thursday, April 11, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Where: L’Osteria Florianagasse 55, 1080 Vienna
Saving Our Democracy (a DA Global webinar)
When: April 4, 10, 23
Time: varies
Where: Online
DAA Talks with Andreas Beckmann for Earth Day
Why the US Elections Matter – for the Blue Danube and Region
When: April 29
Time: 19:00
Where: Republikanischer Club - Neue Österreich, Fischersteige 1–7, 1010 Vienna
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Inside Democrats Abroad Austria:
Tell Three Friends to Help DA-Austria Grow
Statistics Austria records that there are currently 9,476 U.S. citizens living in Austria – and all of them who will be 18 or over on November 5, 2024 have the right to vote in the 2024 presidential election!
DA Membership has its privileges. Of course it's free and we don’t share your data with anyone. Membership in DA also means access to tax webinars which discuss topics from filing, to investing, to social security benefits, as well as webinars and in person events with political leaders and thinkers such as Jaime Raskin, Nikki Fried, and Timothy Snyder. Finally, numbers matter. When it comes to advocating and lobbying in both Washington DC and state legislatures for the rights of US citizens living abroad, your membership helps all our voices be heard.
Democrats Abroad is much more than just voting help. Membership has privileges.
Help us grow our numbers abroad and remain the difference in elections and policy at home. Tell three friends, colleagues, or family members about the benefits of being a member of Democrats Abroad!
New DA Austria Executive Committee Members
During the 2024 Annual General Meeting, Hilary Monihan was approved to serve as DA-AT Vice Chair and Brett Carnito and Bill Holaday to fill Member-at-Large positions. The ExCom thanks them for their involvement and leadership!
Caucus News
March was Women's History Month and DA-AT member Lisa Savitt has agreed to restart our local branch of the DA-AT Women's Caucus. Watch for upcoming events!
Join ProDA Austria (Progressive Caucus) for Its Next Progressive Pizza! We will enjoy pizza and refreshments with special guests Michael Wagner and Dan Englund. Michael and Dan were active DA Austria members in Vienna before relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area. They might give us some current scoop on the U.S. political scene--food for thought as we consider what is most important for our 2024 DA platform. Please RSVP here.
Open Caucus Positions
The pandemic shutdown brought about an end to many of DA Austria’s vibrant caucus and social groups. Let us know if you’d be interested to help revive one. These groups can both tie into the global caucuses or work independently to organize and advocate locally. To find out more contact: [email protected].
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Global Presidential Primary:
Results of the Primary
A big thanks to everyone who voted in-person or online in the Global Presidential Primary. Globally, 8618 votes were cast: 6097 for Biden (80.1%), 575 for Williamson (6.6%), 1136 were Uncommitted (13.1%). In Austria, we had a total of 168 votes cast, 126 for Biden, 23 for Williamson, and 19 were Uncommitted.
We’d like to thank our voter center managers Brett Carnito and Hilary Monihan for organizing the GPP in Austria, as well as the many volunteers who worked the polls on Super Tuesday and the following Saturday. We’d also like to express our gratitiude to Webster University for allowing Democrats Abroad Austria to have its voting center at their Vienna campus.
Dream of Being a Delegate?
Democrats Abroad will send 21 delegates to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from Aug 19–21. Have you always dreamt of standing in the big convention hall with all those balloons and casting a vote for the next POTUS? Find out more about the Global Presidential Primary and how you can run to be a delegate here: www.democratsabroad.org/2024primary.
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Issues and Actions:
Take Action!
Now is the time to get trained and get involved to make a difference in the 2024 elections. Important races are happening up and down the ballot which will control seats of power from your local school board to the White House.
DA needs your help! We are an all volunteer organization with hundreds of volunteers around the globe who contribute where and when they can to help Americans living abroad to vote and to advocate for their rights back home.
Join the team. Find out how you can support our efforts—from graphics to tech support, voter registration to voter protection—your skills are needed! Find out more here www.democratsabroad.org/volunteer or contact Richard Miller at [email protected].
Request your Ballot Today
At the beginning of the year we set a goal to get a quarter of DA Austria’s members—that’s 419 members—to request their ballot in the first quarter of 2024. We almost made it! As of the end of March, 356 members have gone to VoteFromAbroad.org to ensure they receive every ballot this calendar year.
Help us save volunteer time and donor money over the next months. Go to VoteFromAbroad.org TODAY and request your ballots for 2024.
Why Use the Federal Postcard Application on Vote from Abroad?
Overseas voters should request their ballot in each calendar year to ensure their vote will be counted. Requesting your ballot with a Federal Postcard Application (FPCA) via Vote from Abroad provides you with state voting information that has been checked to be accurate and up to date.
But the service VFA provides goes even further: trained volunteers at Vote from Abroad provide voter help through our 1:1 voter help Zoom Rooms, DA hires a voter protection expert to work with voters when they think they’ve been disenfranchised or unable to vote, and DA advocates with state legislatures to expand ballot access and voting rights for US citizens abroad.*
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Review:
2024 Annual General Meeting
Thanks to the many members who joined both in-person and online to attend DA Austria’s Annual General Meeting on March 17, 2024. Many thanks to the nearly 30 members who attended. During the meeting, members voted to approve new members of the Executive Committee. We also reviewed our goals for 2024, which include adding 250 new members, building up our volunteer team, and raising $4,000 for our Get Out The Vote (GOTV) efforts. Some key activities will be organizing voter registration tables from April to October, outreach to young voters in study abroad programs in Austria, and a digital advertising campaign. The ultimate goal is to reach the 9,000 plus Americans in Austria and ensure all DA members request their absentee ballot at VoteFromAbroad.org
DAA Talks with Dr Eric Frey and Dr. Samuel Schubert
A lively discussion was held on Saturday, March 9 at Webster University. The panelists discussed the significance of the US election and its broader implications for democracy, both domestically in the US and internationally. Our thanks to our speakers for their insights and our volunteers for organizing the event.