The House has passed the Bad Budget Bill by 4 votes. It passed the Senate by 1 vote, with JD Vance casting the deciding vote. This is unfortunately a 4th of July we'll remember.
This 4th of July we ask you to:
- Be Ballot Ready - request your overseas ballot at www.votefromabroad.org
- Take 5 min to reach out to friends and family in the States and remind them to vote in state and local elections this year! Know anyone turning 18?...You can use the buttons on the DNC's Organising Summer page to send messages to family and friends in the States
- Help us find all eligible US Voters in SA so we are well prepared for 2026! Encourage them to join DASA - for voting info, community and to stand together in resistance - www.democratsabroad.org/join
Leader Jeffries closed his recordbreaking 8+ hour speech during the budget bill debate by paying tribute to Civil Rights leaders including Congressman John Lewis and Dr. King, and reminding us to "Press On". This month marks 5 years since Congressman Lewis' passing and a coalition of organisations is planning the next mass mobilisation for Thursday 17 July under the banner of Good Trouble Lives On.
The Democrats Abroad Global Black Caucus is planning a virtual event that day - we'll update you as plans develop. If you'd like to host an in-person event in Joburg or Cape Town let us know.
Pulitzer Prize winning writer, Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote a sobering essay in the New York Times Magazine last week, "How Trump Upended 60 Years of Civil Rights in Two Months: An assault on federal protections may bring about a new era of unchecked discrimination." I encourage you to set some time aside to read it and watch her discuss it with Charles Coleman Jr. on MSNBC.
As she says, history and rights are again being erased. In front of our eyes. As a white American I know I need to keep educating myself every day, this is American history and our collective society. I also recognise my responsibility as an individual, know that this is my fight, and needs to be our collective responsibility as Americans, our collective fight as Democrats. As we honour Congressman Lewis and Make Good Trouble this month and always, let's keep reminding ourselves of our country's history, including the moments of it we are living now, and make every decision and action consciously.
Liz O'Leary, DASA Chair
Happy July 4th???
Oh, the tales of woe from this administration - from the recent SCOTUS birthright citizenship decision and now the passage of the very ugly budget bill. For me, I lost my USAID job on July 1.
Republicans “Flooding the Zone” leave many feeling overwhelmed. That is the point. Countering this is the work of Democrats Abroad and DASA, like Take Action Tuesdays, in-person resistance, or the planned “Good Trouble” in mid-July.
Finding motivation for pushing back against menacing political forces is personal. For some the sense of direction is instantaneous; for others it requires exploration. A fantastic Substack group “Friends of USAID” shared an article to commemorate our coming demise. Outlined within are steps to guide and inspire people to act. Concrete, simple and effective, consider these tips a roadmap to individual empowerment.
Outline of steps from the Friends of USAID article.
Read it and yes, make some Good Trouble to save our nation.
- An anonymous DASA member
VOTING IN 2025!
EVERY OFFICE ACROSS THE STATES IS CRITICAL
The AZ-07 Special Congressional Federal Primary is coming up 15 July (already underway). Every seat is critical!
Do you vote in VA, NJ, or PA? You have state elections coming up!
There are also Special Elections for Congressional seats in AZ-7, TX-18 and VA-11.
Additional Special Elections may be called! There are also state and local elections which some may be qualified to vote in if you select "Intend to Return" on your FPCA. If not...remind friends and family to vote! Go to www.votefromabroad.org for info and to request your ballot.
DEMOCRATS ABROAD RESISTS
Democrats Abroad's Resistance Advocacy
Click the box below to read more, sign up for Take Action alerts, and find ideas to implement!
Thanks to Thabo Kornegay for hosting our No Kings, No Tyrants Democracy Braai in Joburg and to Carl Lindemann for hosting our Meet & Greet in Cape Town!
FIND THE FIGHTERS PROFILE: Indivisible
Check out the recent Democrats Abroad Blue Vote Cafe Podcast with Indivisible's Ezra Levin and Debbie Weiss.
https://indivisible.org
SPEAK UP: Write to your State Leaders
Keep these contacts handy and please keep up the pressure on all of our elected officials - pressuring them to do more and of course giving thanks where it is due! Remember to mention that you are an overseas voter in South Africa and a member of Democrats Abroad.
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Accessing Social Security Using ID.me By DASA Member Lloyd Forrester |
Several of our members have shared recent challenges with Social Security. Let’s help each other out! Lloyd Forester and his wife Teresa have shared their recent experiences and have written up a step by step guide on the Verification Process to claim Social Security retirement (which you can do 3 months before your 62nd birthday). If you only have a South African cell number, use ID.me.
This process requires that you already have an online my Social Security account.
To access your account you can no longer sign into Social Security using your old password and email but will have to have an ID.me app account and sign in through their app.
Go to the social security website at https://www.ssa.gov/ and find the Sign In button on the upper right corner
You will see two options to either sign in through login.gov or ID me. If you do not have a working U.S cell number forget about Login.gov, it will not work as we tried this first and you have to be able to receive a verification pin though to your U.S number. Note: Voip numbers like Google voice will not work.
Assuming you only have a South African number Click on sign in through ID.me, you’ll see sign in or Create an account with ID.me. Click Create an account with ID.me and follow the prompts.
Look out carefully for the button which says I’m outside of the United states and click on it.
At some point you will see a drop down menu with countries and international dialing codes. Find South Africa on the drop down menu and input your number including the zero.
You’ll be asked to provide two or three forms of identification. You can provide only two but three will ensure a quicker and cleaner verification process.
My wife Teresa used her Social Security card, U.S passport and driver’s license.
You’ll be prompted to take three photos of your IDs and a selfie. Save these in your phone for later and upload them when prompted.
After you have completed the application process keep the page up and prevent your laptop from timing out so as not to lose your info.
At the end if the verification process you’ll be prompted to accept a video call from an Id.me representative to do the final verification. This usually takes about twenty minutes or so.
A rep will call you, ask a few questions and have you hold your three forms of ID up to the screen so that he/she can confirm they are the same as what you uploaded.
Once they are satisfied you are who say you are that’s it, you’re now verified and can close out the website then go back to My Social Security, proceed to sign in through ID.me and access your “My Social Security” page.
VOLUNTEER
THANK YOU!
This month a Special Thank You to volunteers Tiwana Merritt and Keshia Bedard who have both left South Africa this past month after living here for several years.
Tiwana has facilitated our Vote From Abroad interactions with the American Intl School of Joburg (AISJ), hosted DASA events, shared regularly with GDC and AISJ communities, and served on the Nominations and Elections Committee. Tiwana, thanks for your ongoing involvement, support and friendship too!
Keshia joined more recently but jumped right in to volunteer with our Take Action Tuesdays, researching and connecting us with organisations leading the resistance in the States, sharing info and resources here, and participating in our events in Joburg too! Thank you Keshia, we know you’ll stay involved and also join forces with DA Germany! 💙
Thank you both for being part of the DASA family!
Thabo, Tiffany, Liz and Tiwana at the American Intl School of Johannesburg in June.
Tiffany, Keshia and Liz at Stand Up in Joburg 19 April
Volunteers make it all possible! Click on the red button above for the DASA volunteer interest form or email [email protected]
EVENTS
We’d love your input!
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Have ideas for DASA events or venues to use? Please take a minute to share ideas CLICK HERE
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Interested in hosting an event or have an idea on finding American voters in SA? Let us know [email protected]
Good Trouble Lives On Mass Mobilisation 17 July
https://goodtroubleliveson.org
We'll share info on a Democrats Abroad virtual global event as plans develop. If you'd like to host an in-person event in Cape Town or Joburg please let us know [email protected]
Join us in Taking Action!
DASA is currently running weekly 30 minute action-focused sessions on Zoom where we share critical actions and provide members with a weekly timeslot to follow through on these or other actions of interest.
Tuesday 8 July 5-5:30pm
Info & RSVP HERE
Tuesday 15 July 5-5:30 pm
Info & RSVP HERE
Tuesday 22 July 5-5:30 pm
Info & RSVP HERE
Tuesday 29 July 5-5:30 pm
Info & RSVP HERE
Save The Date: 9 August Women's Day: Plans are under way for a Women's Day gathering in Cape Town thanks to Tej Rae!
If you'd like to host a Women's Day event in Joburg let us know at [email protected]
PLEASE CONNECT TO STAY UPDATED & SHARE!
US Citizens in South Africa are invited to get in touch and get involved, contact us at [email protected]
It's time to build and prepare!
Please consider Donating Directly to DA South Africa
Can you contribute $25, $250 or $2500 toward our voter mobilisation work in South Africa? We're a volunteer led organisation but still have expenses in getting out the vote. We'll greatly appreciate your support. Thank you!
Thank you - Democrats Abroad SA