Pop Quiz: I’ve got three figures from this week that I’d like to share:
• 1516
• $83.3 Million
• 55%
I’m not going to make you guess…
1516 is the number of Democrats Abroad members we have in Portugal - 300 more from one year ago. In January alone, we have certified more than 100 new members. Which means more people we can reach to remind to register and vote. More people who can help us expand our membership. According to 2023 data, nearly 10,000 Americans are living here. I think we can all claim anecdotally that number has increased.
$83.3M - well, sniff sniff. This is the enormous figure a nine-member jury of Donald Trump's peers awarded E. Jean Carroll in the New York defamation case. Justice prevailed FINALLY. An 80- year-old woman had more courage than most elected Republicans in both Congress and around the country. It bodes well - if we can get him in court, his campaign shenanigans just don’t work that well. There’s more of this ahead in 2024.
55% is the 2024 anti-MAGA coalition that political strategist, Simon Rosenberg says is our goal - up from 51.4%, the winning figure in 2020. He says this is the number we need to hit to wake Republicans up and convince them to abandon MAGA as their prevailing strategy. Together we can help make this happen.
That said - Portugal has kicked off Get Out The Vote with an epic bang - Our Porto team organized the first Voter’s Registration Drive of the year, and with four tables, 7-8 people deep - the enthusiasm was amazing! They registered more than 40 people in :90 minutes - and expanded membership by almost the same number. Furthermore, they have organized two additional events, in Matosinhos and Coimbra - and four other organizers have stepped in to do the same around their regions. Look to our events page and our social media for an event near you - or organize one yourself! Please reach out if interested.
We need you to join our Phone-banking and GOTV team - help us reach every member in Portugal - and when we do that, we are going to fan out and help other Country Committees and ultimately the all-important swing states. You will need to get trainings:
And if you haven't already, please request your ballot...don't forget to say YES to receiving your General Presidential Primary ballot!
I have stressed our need for fundraising and donations so that we can reach more voters, make sure our members are registered and requested their ballots, and mount the General Presidential Primary. Thanks to the generous donations of a few members, we are finally on our way to a healthy treasury. BUT, we are just $50 shy of a $1000 matching donation, and need someone to please dig deep to help us deliver!
And the truth is, we have another $1000 matching fund in the wings - Our Donor is waiting for another generous supporter to match him - and then we will look to raise $2000 in matching funds. Imagine what we can do with this! IF you have an idea for a fun fundraiser, please reach out. We have one member who is going to have a fundraising dinner with a silent auction. I’m planning to be there!
ALSO! Don't miss our Annual General Meeting - February 21, 5pm
In less than three weeks, we have our Annual General Meeting - this is when all members can get an update on our work for the past year, including expenses, membership growth, expansion, as well as our vision for winning in 2024 and delivering Portugal overwhelmingly to Democrats up and down the ballot. We also have a special guest speaker: Filmmaker Catherine Hardwicke will be zooming in from California, sharing some thoughts about why we need to get out the vote this year. You won’t want to miss this - please RSVP today.
Super Tuesday - March 5, 2022 - is Day 1of our Global Presidential Primary. Many of you will vote via a ballot that will be emailed to you February 13th - folks in the Lisbon area will have the opportunity to cast your ballot IN PERSON, on two different days, as you do in the States. There is some confusion about the difference in the GPP ballot and your state-issued ballot, or why you should vote in the GPP. please refer to our website for clarification or feel free to reach out directly to me for questions! [email protected] . I don’t like to keep you guessing; the short answer is, it’s about power.
As mentioned, we have several in-person voter’s registration events around the country over the next two months: Matosinhos, Coimbra, Tomar, Caiscais, Anjos, the Algarve, - and many more to come. You can RSVP on our website - and if there isn’t one near you, please consider organizing your own. Again, reach out to me for questions about how to do it! [email protected]
No, no - don't look away! We need to grow our team - Please don’t hesitate - we could use you and frankly, it’s a quick way to make some like-minded friends. What did they teach my son in kindergarten? Many hands mean light work!
Phonebanking volunteers (training required!)
Events organizers
Events volunteers
Social Media posters
The Equal Rights Amendment needs your Love
.....and immediate action. You may be surprised to learn that the ERA Amendment has still not been affirmed as our 28th Amendment, despite having been first introduced more than 100 years ago. Democrats Abroad Women's Caucus has worked hard to make sure it is in the DA Platform going into the 2024 Convention. Please contact your Congresspeople today to say you care (this is for people of ALL genders). It's time for equality before the law.
Please don’t forget to like and share our pages and events as you see them in your feeds. - this is not just performative - we need everyone to help amplify our message to non-members and increase our outreach. Portugal is one of the only countries where American immigrants rely heavily on Facebook and social media for information - let's use it to our advantage!
The Strongest Democratic Party any of us have ever seen - Ezra Klein Show
The Rise of Techno Authoritarianism - by Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic
FINALLY, strangely, with all the negative news and the appalling inevitability that Trump will be the MAGA candidate, I feel hopeful - I have been monitoring engagement since September - and there has been a notable uptick in the past month - notable as in huge. People are reaching out, asking what they can do. Offering to organize, get trained, donate. Dare I say, it feels like momentum. We don’t have the resources to chart real data points, but frankly, this is feeling very good. And we are just getting started. Please join us.
Go Blue!
Sally DeSipio
Chair, DAPT