Democrats Abroad Switzerland (DACH) will elect a new Executive Committee (ExCom) at our Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Basel on Sunday January 15. Now is the time to heed the call for candidates and get involved! We especially encourage those who have some previous experience at any level in DACH registering voters or helping out in some capacity to step forward. Volunteers should be committed to being task oriented team players. We are a grassroots organization with a small budget and no paid staff. We meet monthly via video conferencing, and work and organize between meetings using Slack, an online team communications tool. Willingness to use this tool is necessary. If you enjoy working online, then a national position might be well suited to your skills!
Our primary mission is to use our various skills and enthusiasm to reach out and find Americans living in Switzerland and help them register to vote in upcoming US elections. There are many opportunities for activism and to work on political issues important to our members here in Switzerland and within our international organization (DA). Democrats Abroad has regular in-person meetings in Europe, Washington DC and other member countries that provide opportunities to train for the upcoming elections, to work together with other country committees on the DA platform, policies, and caucuses, and to hear stimulating political speakers. The ExCom guides the DA effort in Switzerland.
PLEASE CONSIDER RUNNING FOR AN OFFICE!
Executive Committee Officers
The ExCom is the leadership of DACH and is made up of twelve officers, of which eight will be elected at the AGM and four sit as ex-officio (Chapter Chairs and previous DACH Chair). Officers are elected for two-year terms and may serve two consecutive terms. Officers are members like you who volunteer their time and skills to represent and organize Democrats across Switzerland. The elected positions are listed below.
DPCA Voting Representatives
In addition to electing the ExCom at the AGM, we will elect three voting representatives to the Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA). This is DA at the global level, which is part of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Each country committee, eg. Switzerland, sends reps to vote at DPCA global meetings. In 2023/24, we estimate that DACH will send five, of which our Chair and Vice-Chair are two. The three others are elected from among the DACH membership. You may run both for an ExCom office and to be DPCA Voting Rep.
Nominations Timeline
To run for a position, inform the Nominations Committee via email before the deadline of December 11th. Include your name, address, telephone number, email address, and a brief statement of intention to run. By December 21st we will distribute candidate names, short bios, and voting procedures to all members by email.
Elections will be held during the 2023 AGM on Sunday January 15th, from 2 to 5 PM, Clarastrasse 34, 4058 Basel. At the meeting, additional nominations will be allowed from the floor as described in our Bylaws. Be sure to attend the meeting and vote for your new ExCom!
| By December 11, 2022 | Members who wish to run for office shall inform the Chair of the NEC in writing (email) |
| December 21, 2022 | The NEC will distribute to all current members of DACH a notice regarding the election meeting. The notice will include the names of all candidates and a brief summary of their qualifications |
| January 15, 2023 | AGM and Elections |
Officer Descriptions
You can follow this link to see excepts from the DACH Bylaws that describe the positions available.
In addition to officers at the DACH country level, we will also have elections this Spring for officers in the Basel, Suisse Romande, and Zürich chapters during their AGMs, so you can also run for local chapter positions.