The 2020 Democratic primary elections are already here – and the general election is fast approaching! Update your voter registration and submit your ballot request now to make sure you receive a ballot for every election you’re eligible for in 2020!

Register and Request Your Ballot Now!

Even if you are already registered to vote, you must submit a ballot request to your local election officials in order to receive your overseas ballot for each calendar year in which you intend to vote. You only need to submit it once to receive all ballots for all eligible elections in 2020, so send it in as soon as possible!

Make a NEW ballot request for 2020 — send your form as early as Jan. 2, 2020.

1. Go to www.votefromabroad.org to register to vote and complete the Ballot Request form (FPCA).
   We recommend that you choose to receive your ballot by EMAIL or ONLINE to get it fastest.
2. Follow the instructions to attach your signature online, or print out the completed form to sign it.
3. Send the signed FPCA to your election official.
   To request an absentee ballot, registered voters can EMAIL, FAX or MAIL the FPCA.

• After you send in your form, be sure to email or call your Local Election Official to verify they received it and will be sending a ballot to you. You can find contact information for your election official using the State Voting Guide on VoteFromAbroad.org or on the instructions printed with your completed form.
• If you use the FPCA to request a ballot, only one form submission is needed to cover all 2020 elections, including the November 3 general election.
• You can expect to receive your ballot 45 days before the election. Send your FPCA as early as January 2, 2020 to get all your ballots as soon as they are available. Mark your calendar: the November ballot will be sent to you by September 19.

 If you have any questions while filling out the form on VoteFromAbroad.org, click the orange chat box button on the lower right corner of the screen to send a question to the Voter Help Desk.

2020 Democratic Presidential Primaries

• To vote in your state’s Democratic Party presidential primary election, go to www.votefromabroad.org and submit your Ballot Request form as soon as possible. If your state’s registration deadline for the primary has not already passed, you will receive your primary ballot as soon as it is available. Make sure to submit it well in advance of the “Received by” deadline.
• State-By-State 2020 Primary Elections Calendar: https://www.democratsabroad.org/2020_primaries
• If it is too late to receive a ballot for your state’s Democratic presidential primary, you can still vote in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary on March 8, 2020.

Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary

 We will host our primaries in Japan on March 8th, 2020, with voting center locations in Kanto, Tokai, and Kansai. 

• Same-day in-person voter registration
• Voting by email or postal mail also available from February 18, 2020
• Even if you vote in the Global Presidential primary, you can still vote in your state’s downballot primary elections! If all positions are listed on the same ballot in your state’s primary, just leave the President field blank and vote only for the downballot positions.

Get Out the Vote!

 Looking to get involved this year? Join our Get Out the Vote (GOTV) team and help register voters in Japan and around the world!

• Attend our Annual General Meeting on February 8th, 2020 for GOTV training and more information about the primaries.
• If you can’t attend on February 8th or want to start volunteering as soon as possible, email our GOTV Chair Rebecca at rebecca.democratsabroadjapan@gmail.com to sign up!

2019 may be winding down, but your Executive Committee (ExCom) is getting fired up! 2020 is a critical election year, with the Global Presidential Primary (GPP) in March and the Presidential Election in November. It is imperative to get Americans living abroad registered and ready to vote for the sake of our democracy. Get Out The Vote efforts are crucial, and we call on our membership to help make this happen.

1. The Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary will be held from March 3rd until March 10th for Americans living abroad to vote for their Democratic candidate. This is essential in giving Americans abroad the opportunity to make their voices heard. In Japan, we will set up voting centers for the GPP in Kanto, Kansai, and Tokai. Running these voting centers successfully requires the support of volunteers, such as greeters, voter registration assistants, and Democrats Abroad registration assistants. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact DAJ Secretary Anna Costello at anna.democratsabroadjapan@gmail.com.

2. As of December 10th, we have achieved 45% of our fundraising goal! Our matching campaign closes on December 27th, so there’s time to double your money and reach our goal of funding a campaign the size of 2008 at 1 million yen! Donations to DAJ will be used to fund the GPP, Get Out the Vote activities, and anything else required to help achieve victory in 2020! Information on how to donate can be accessed here: https://www.democratsabroad.org/daj_fundraising_2019

3. Thank you for attending our Thanksgiving events in Kanto and Tokai! Traditionally, the DAJ Thanksgivings events have been our largest social and fundraising gatherings. This year was no exception, with both events having close to 70 attendees combined and raising over 135,000 yen. We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

4. Women’s March: We need people to set up and manage the DAJ participation on January 18th. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact DAJ Secretary Anna Costello at anna.democratsabroadjapan@gmail.com.

5. The Democrats Abroad Affirmative Action Committee is conducting a diversity and inclusion survey, open to all members of Democrats Abroad. The survey is approximately 3-5 minutes long and can be accessed here: https://demsabroad.typeform.com/to/VGYo1c

Have a happy holiday and get ready for 2020!

Sincerely,
Anna Costello
DAJ Secretary