August – it’s Crunchtime

Did you know that only about 3% – 5% of eligible US voters living overseas vote in US elections. So if you are one of the 17 % of our roughly 5,000 Dems Abroad members living in Berlin who have requested their ballot and made a plan to vote this cycle, you can pat yourself on the back. But if we are going to move the needle at the mid-term elections towards a democratically controlled house and perhaps senate, we need to reach more eligible voters and we need your help to do it.

Following are some action items, both big and small that you can do to help our efforts. 

Recent EU regulations mean we can no longer advertise on social media. That has made it harder and more expensive to reach overseas voters than in past cycles — so this year, our outreach depends on people, not ads. With only 90 days left before the November election, that means we need your help. 

First, the most important voter to help is yourself. Visit VoteFromAbroad.org to register and request your ballot for this year — and choose email delivery when asked. Already registered? Visit the Your State Rules page to confirm your voting status is still active, so you don't get caught up in any voter roll purges. If you want to get help in person, our Berlin help desks are listed below. 

Here are four ways to help, in about 15 minutes total:

1. Join our Signal amplification group
   Every other day Angela Fobbs, Germany's GOTV coordinator, will drop links to posts across Threads, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn, and BlueSky. Just click, like, comment, and share — and follow her on each platform while you're there to help spread the message.
   👉 Join the Signal group ⬇️Download Signal
2. Amplify on Substack
   If you have an account, restack my posts or write your own about why requesting a ballot matters. Here’s a Stackpost to share. You should join the Signal Group too. There will be more posts to share.  👉 Join the Signal group ⬇️Download Signal
3. Get the word out offline
   Print and post VoteFromAbroad.org tear-off sheets anywhere people gather: cafés, schools, churches, community boards, expat meetups. Download a printable tear-off sheet here.
4. Make a 30-second video
   Tell people why voting from abroad matters to you, and remind them to request their ballot today and choose email delivery — it's faster and more reliable. Here are instructions on how to make a video. We are having two events to help people make videos. Event 1 - August 9, Event 2 - August 30. Also, consider doing a FB/IG Live with me. Sign up here.

Ads used to do the heavy lifting. Now it has to be us. Every share, every tear-off sheet, every video reaches someone who might otherwise miss their deadline.

The Double Your Impact Donation Drive 
There is one additional way you can help us get the word out:

We are fundraising in Germany to pay for advertising in the remaining channels available to us such as podcasts, online English language newsletters and billboard ads, but we need to raise an additional $8,000 by September. If you have the capacity, we are grateful for any amount you can give. However, if you donate $50 or more, your donation will be matched double up to a limit of $3,000. That means a $50 donation from you would be worth $100 towards our effort Click here to go to the donation match ad campaign challenge and help us reach our goal.

Request a ballot from Vote from Abroad 

If you haven’t requested your ballot for the upcoming Mid-term elections yet, and only about 17% of our Dems Abroad members in Berlin have done so to date, drop by one of our voter Help Desks with no RSVP required. Vote from Abroad wants to show you how easy it is to request your ballot. Here in Berlin we offer Help Desks at various locations around the city. Use this link Voter Help Desks – which we update regularly – to find one near you. You can also sign up for a group zoom call or make an appointment with one of our online experts Online Voter Assistance

Voter Help Desks in August: 

Charlottenburg – Dufte Kulinarisches Kaufhaus

• Saturday, August 8 from 13:00 – 15:00
  Kantstraße 127, 10625 (S-Bahnhof Charlottenburg or U7 Wilmersdorfer Str.)
  and
• Saturday, August 29 from 13:00 – 15:00  
  Kantstraße 127, 10625 (S-Bahnhof Charlottenburg or U7 Wilmersdorfer Str.)

Pankow-Weissensee-Prenzlauerberg – Kollwitzplatz Wochenmarkt

• Saturday, August 8 from 10:00 – 15:00
  Kollwitzstraße south of Wörther Straße, 10405
  (U2 Senefelderplatz or Tram M2 Marienburger Str.)
  and
• Saturday, August 22 from 10:00 – 15:00
  Kollwitzstraße south of Wörther Straße, 10405
  (U2 Senefelderplatz or Tram M2 Marienburger Str.)

Kreuzberg-Neukölln – Markthalle 9

• Saturday, August 29 from 10:00 – 15:00
  Eisenbahnstraße 42/43, 10997
  (U1 Görlitzer Bahnhof or Bus 140 Wrangelstraße)

If you have a suggestion for a voter tabling event in your Kiez or at your organization, drop our Berlin GOTV Coordinator an email. 

Meetups in Berlin 

Below is a listing of some of our meetups in August. Be sure to check our DA Berlin Events Page regularly to see if a Berlin event has been added to our calendar!

🍻🗳️Political Pub Night August 🗳️🍻

Join Nick and Stacy on Tuesday, August 18th to hoist a beer and discuss the exciting candidates running for office this cycle. Let’s strategize about helping Dems in Berlin to request their ballots for the mid-terms. If you have any questions about requesting your ballot, someone will be able to help.
The fun starts at 19:00
When: Tuesday, August 18 at 19:00
Where: Schleusenkrug, Müller-Breslau-Straße 14b, 10623 Berlin
RSVP:  for Political Pub Night

Kiez Events

Kreuzberg Kiez Meetup at the Südblock
Emily and Powen will be at the Südblock on August 19 from 19:00 – 21:00 to enjoy a beer and strategize about registering our 5,000 members in Berlin to request a ballot for the mid-term elections. As always if you have any questions regarding voting or requesting your ballot, someone will be able to help.
When: Wednesday, August 19 from 19:00 – 21:00
Where: Südblock, Admiralstraße 1–2, 10999 Berlin
RSVP: for Kreuzberg Kiez Meetup

Dog Days in Neukölln!
Wednesday, August 26th is International Dog Day and Amanda is celebrating by parading her pooch in the Hasenheide Dog Park. She would love it if you would bring your mutt or your purebred and join her there. It is going to be a dog-gone good time.
People without dogs are also welcome!  We will meet up to chat politics, help with registering to vote and request ballots, or simply to get to know other dog owners – while our dogs do the same.
When: Wednesday, August 26 from 18:00 – 20:00
Where: Dog Days in Neukölln at Hasenheide Dog Park, Hasenheide 82, 10967 Berlin
RSVP:  for Dog Days 

—-------

Kiez Captains–across Berlin, we have volunteer-run neighborhood groups. They brainstorm fun events, and outings like potlucks, discussion groups, game nights, hikes, tours, postcard coloring meet-ups and lots more. Share your ‘hood with likeminded DA friends, suggest good locations for voter registration. Want to organize an events in your Kiez, join our Kiez Captain Chat on Signal

As always, a voting expert will be on hand to help you with your FPCA-Form if you haven't already requested your ballot.

Volunteers! Dems Abroad Berlin wants you!

If you want to find out what volunteer opportunities are currently available head over to our  Volunteering with Dems in Berlin blog. We’re gearing up for a big season of community events and registering voters for the midterms. Please join us! Events with our members and Get Out the Vote (GOTV) actions are great ways to meet people and do something to lift your political spirits. We always need members to volunteer for our Voter Help Desk Events. Alix Christie our, Berlin GOTV Coordinator the person to contact. Or ask to join the Signal VfA Voter Helpdesk Volunteers Chat

If you want to dip your toes into phone banking, we are starting a new training group now for campaigns that begin in August. Phone banking has great reach and once you know the ropes, you can help out at times that suit your schedule. If you would like more information – without commitment – send a request to join our phone banking chat Signal Phone Banking Dems (Berlin)

Online and Virtual Events

Volunteering Opportunities: If you have talents you would like to share or want to be more involved, check out: our Volunteer with Democrats Abroad

Resist: If the No Kings Protest has not satisfied your desire for fighting back, check out:  DA Resists

Online live voter assistance training: Voter Assistance Training

Caucasus: Our caucasus have something for every interest: DA Caucasus

Dems Abroad Oktoberfest 2026

The Oktoberfest is a lot of fun! Join us in Munich! Interested in joining us? Scan the qr-code or Click here for Oktoberfest 2026 Info

Check with our DA Berlin Events Page or the Berlin Voter Assistance Blog for new venues and dates. We are continuously updating Voter Helpdesk Outreach.  If you have a suggestion for a voter tabling event in your Kiez or at your organization, drop our Berlin GOTV Coordinator, Alix Christie, an email. Or ask to join the Signal VfA Voter Helpdesk Volunteers Chat

Online and Virtual Events

Volunteering Opportunities: If you have talents you would like to share or want to be more involved, check out: our  Volunteer with Democrats Abroad
Resist: If the No Kings Protest has not satisfied your desire for fighting back, check out: DA Resists
Online live voter assistance training: Voter Assistance Training
Caucasus: Our caucasus have something for every interest: DA Caucasus

Become a Sustaining Donor

Democrats Abroad is a 100% volunteer-run organization. DA Germany is dependent on donations to ensure we can mobilize the many Americans living in Germany to vote in the vital mid-term election in 2026. Click to find out more about how you can make a one-time donation, become a sustaining monthly donor, or donate to be decked out in some awesome DA or Vote from Abroad merch. To see what is available contact Katie (merch) Bathgate .

Donations of any size for Democrats Abroad Germany or Democrats Abroad Global are greatly appreciated as we seek to boost our voter outreach efforts around the world. If you have questions about how we utilize donations, do not hesitate to ask us.

Volunteer & Action Signal Group

Be the first to learn about new volunteer opportunities by joining our Signal Super Volunteer & Action group. Email  Stacy Hyer with your phone number or Signal name and the subject line "Please add me to the DA Super Vols Signal group." You will need to have the Signal App on your phone.

DA Germany-Berlin Region
https://www.democratsabroad.org/