In February—

Events:

• Experienced Dems Meet-up
• St Patrick’s Day Irish Music & Dance
• Annual General Meeting & Elections

Inside DA Austria:

• 2023 Annual General Meeting
• Call for Nominations 2023-2025 DA Austria Executive Committee
• ByLaws Amendments

Issues & Actions:

• Take the Survey of 2022 Voter Experience
• WI Feb 21 Primary State Supreme Court election
• 2022 Report on Tax Issues for Americans
• 2023 Election Watch:Wisconsin

Our Executive Committee meetings are held on the second Wednesday of the month. Our next meeting will be held in person and online on: Wednesday, February 8, 2023, 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

In this month’s newsletter, we want to alert you to our Annual General Meeting next month (see below). It is an important one as we will be electing members to our Executive Committee for the next two years. A Nominations and Elections Committee has been formed (a big thanks to Brett, Renee, Amanda and Hilary for serving) which is putting out a call for people to run for the various positions.

I ran for chair two years ago because I felt that DA Austria was a way I could make an impact on many of the issues I believe in, working to ensure Democrats were elected in the midterms. The stakes will be even higher in 2024. It has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me. Honestly, though, we need more people, people like you (sorry to put you in the spot) to consider running for an elected position or volunteering in some way. As an all-volunteer organization, this only works when many of us feel an obligation to take part and share the workload. Bottom line, we are working to preserve our democracy and to ensure that the issues we care deeply about are addressed by our government. That is something worth volunteering for.

Events:

Monthly Executive Committee Meeting

When: Wednesday, February 8, 2023

Time: 7:00-8:30 p.m.

Where: Online. Contact Richard ([email protected]) for the link.

Experienced Dems Meet-up

When: Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023

Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Where: Café Museum, Operngasse 7, Vienna 1010

RSVP: Experienced Dems Meet Up

The Return of the Progressive Pizza

When: Thursday, March 16, 2023

Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.

Where: L’Osteria, Florianigasse 55, 1080 Vienna

RSVP: ProDA Pizza

St Patrick’s Day Irish Music & Dance

When: Friday, March 17, 2023

Time: 6:00-10:00 p.m.

Where: Orpheum Theatre, Steigenteschgasse 94b, Vienna 1220

RSVP & purchase tickets by Feb. 16, 2023: https://www.democratsabroad.org/73648/celebrate_st_patrick_s_day_with_irish_folk_music_and_step_dancing

2023 Annual General Meeting and Elections

When: Sunday, March 19, 2023

Time: 2:00-5:00 p.m.

Where: Lindengasse 64 , Vienna 1070

RSVP: DAA AGM

Inside DA Austria:

2023 Annual General Meeting

Please join us for DA Austria's Annual General Meeting - either in-person or online! This is quite an important AGM as we will hold elections for our new Executive Committee that will lead us for the next two years.

Consider joining our Executive Committee for 2023-25! We need your drive and talents, your activism, and your desire to preserve democracy to help us to WIN BIG in 2024. Please contact me at [email protected] or members of our Nominations and Elections Committee at [email protected] if you care to discuss running for an elected position.

At the AGM, we will also seek your approval for some necessary changes to our By-Laws, as well as review our actions in 2022 and some of our plans for 2023. We'll bring some wine and snacks to enjoy post-meeting, and then we will arrange to go out for dinner afterward at a nearby restaurant. Details to follow for those who RSVP.

We 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.

Your participation, activism, and donations have made Democrats Abroad Austria a strong and vital organization for more than 18 years. Thanks in advance for supporting DA Austria by joining our AGM and helping to set our direction for the coming two years. RSVP for the Annual General Meeting: https://www.democratsabroad.org/73648/da_austria_s_annual_general_meeting_2023

– DA Austria Executive Committee

ByLaws Amendments

Please keep an eye out for amendments to DA Austia’s ByLaws which will be voted on during the 2023 Annual General Meeting. They’ll arrive in your inbox no later than February 17, 2023.

– DA Austria Executive Committee

Call for Nominations: Democrats Abroad Austria Executive Committee Elections 2023

The 2023-25 Executive Committee will be elected at this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on March 19, 2023. Voting will be conducted electronically or in person at the AGM.

The 2023 Nominating and Elections Committee (NEC) is seeking qualified candidates for the following positions:

• Chair
• Vice-Chair
• Treasurer
• Secretary
• Counsel
• Up to two DPCA Voting Representatives
• Up to three DPCA Non-Voting Representatives
• Up to six Members-at-Large -- In the past, Member-at-Large responsibilities have included: Province Coordinators, Database Manager, Media Contact, Social Media and Communication, and Membership Engagement.

A description of these offices’ responsibilities can be found in the DAA’s Bylaws on the Executive Committee here.

If you are interested in running for any of these positions or would like to nominate someone, please send your name or that of the nominee to [email protected] as soon as possible. Candidates must be seconded via email to the NEC and provide a short bio/candidate statement no later than March 2, 2023. Information about candidates and their platforms will be published in the March issue of the DAA Newsletter. In addition, candidates are encouraged to attend the upcoming meeting/s of the Executive Committee to learn more about the work of the group. Please contact [email protected] for more information.

Key Dates

• No later than February 17: Call for nominations
• March 2: Nominations close
• No later than March 5: Ballots will be sent electronically to all DAA members and will be available on the DAA website.
• March 18: Early voting ends at 23:59
• March 19: Elections are held at the Annual General Meeting. Early votes and those cast during the AGM will be tallied, and the NEC will announce the results.

You can read the full DAA Bylaws (Article 8 covers Elections and Nominations) here and the DAA 2023 Election Rules here.

Our victories in 2022 were a direct result of the actions of committed Democrats around the globe. Please consider how you might contribute to the Party’s future success as part of the DAA leadership team. If you have any questions, please contact the NEC at [email protected].

— Brett Carnito (Chair), Amanda Grossman, Renee McCormack, Hilary Monihan, 2023 Nominations and Elections Committee

We Can’t Do It Without You!

DA Austria is looking to strengthen our teams so we can hit the ground running for important special elections in 2023 and the presidential election in 2024.

Have an hour to spare? We are looking for volunteers in all areas and with any time availability. Find out more information about how to join our team.

Issues & Actions:

Take the Survey of 2022 Voter Experience

The survey is open to U.S. and dual citizens who resided outside of the United States in 2022 and are at least 18 years of age. It is designed to gain insights into the overseas voting community and capture your experiences voting from abroad in 2022.

Ultimately, we're striving to learn from you to make voting from abroad easier in future election cycles -- from reducing administrative barriers to better educating legislators and election officials stateside to providing more robust support to overseas voters.

Please take a moment to fill out the 2022 Voter Experience Survey and share it widely with your networks and groups. Your feedback helps us help all Americans living overseas have their vote count and be counted.

2022 Report on Tax Issues for Americans

The Tax Survey of Americans Abroad was open for responses in April 2022. It was designed to collect up-to-date information on how Americans living outside the U.S. experience U.S. taxation and financial access. The report analyzed the survey responses and presents our findings. https://www.democratsabroad.org/2022_report

2023 Election Watch

The Wisconsin Primary

Are you a Wisconsin Voter? There is a critical State Supreme Court election on April 4, 2023 with the primary on February 21. Wisconsin voters need to request their ballots each year and only voters who mark "intend to return" may vote in these judicial elections. Find out more at https://www.votefromabroad.org/states/WI.

Ballotopedia writes about the Wisconsin State Supreme Court election, “While supreme court elections are officially nonpartisan, the court is considered to have a 4-3 conservative majority. With Roggensack—a member of the court's conservative majority—retiring, this election will determine the ideological control of the court. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Corrinne Hess, "[Mitchell and Protasiewicz] are running as liberal candidates. Kelly and Dorow are running as conservative candidates.” (https://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_Supreme_Court_elections,_2023)

Take a look at the Wisconsin State Team page to find out what DA’s Wisconsinites are up to! https://www.democratsabroad.org/wi-usa

Thank you for reading February's Newsletter!