Haven’t received your official Ballot yet? Concerned your official ballot won’t get to you in time to meet the ballot return deadlines?

Overseas voters can VOTE NOW using the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (“FWAB” or Back-up Ballot)!

STEP I. Did You Send in Your Ballot Request Form (the Federal Post Card Application) for 2018?

If you vote in AZ, CO, ME, MN, MS, MT, OR, SC, UT or WA, you can skip this step. On the FWAB, you can check the box to submit your Ballot Request at the same time. (Go to Step II).

All other voters: Verify with your Local Election Official (LEO) that they received your Ballot Request form for 2018 and have sent out your official ballot. You can find the contact information on the State Voting Guide: www.votefromabroad.org/states

• If your LEO has sent out your official ballot, but you are concerned you won’t receive it in time to meet the deadline to vote, send in a FWAB to preserve your vote. (Go to Step II). _You should also find out why you didn’t receive your official ballot in time, so you don’t have this problem next election. _
• If your LEO hasn’t received your ballot request form–or you haven’t sent it in yet–go to www.votefromabroad.org to fill out your form and send it to your LEO right away. Then go to Step II. The deadline for the Ballot Request form is earlier than the deadline to submit a FWAB, but most states will accept it by Email or Fax.

Photo courtesy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Feeling anxious or alone and thinking about suicide are some of the signs that a Veteran may be in crisis. No matter what you are experiencing, there is support for getting your life back on track. A trained responder will answer your call, text, or chat and ask you a few questions. You can decide how much you want to share.

Veterans Crisis Line - Call If You Need Help

The Military Crisis Line is staffed by caring, qualified responders from VA. Many are Veterans themselves. They understand what Service members have been through and the challenges that members of the military and their loved ones face.

• In Europe call 00800 1273 8255 or DSN 118 *.  In Europe, toll-free service may not be available through all carriers or in all countries.
• In Korea call 0808 555 118 or DSN 118
• In Afghanistan call 00 1 800 273 8255 or DSN 111

Dial 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 to reach Veterans Crisis Line may work in some areas, dependent on location and phone carrier.

Dialing the local US Embassy and request a transfer to the Veterans Crisis Line

Online: Through Veterans Chat, 24/7. Veterans may chat online with a Veterans Crisis Line Responder; or, if preferring to speak on the phone, he or she may provide a phone number to the Veterans Crisis Line Chat Responder and a Veterans Crisis Line Phone Responder will call him or her directly.

Text (838255) It may work in some overseas areas but depends on the carrier and location.

For more information here: https://www.veteranscrisisline.net/ActiveDuty.aspx 

As activists, we know how crucial the November 6th Mid-term elections are for our futures. Every glance at the news brings new outrage and feelings of despair. We also know that the best way to combat that helpless feeling is to do something to fight back.

But what can we do now? Well, you don’t have to lead the whole parade to be an activist! The most valuable work we can do right now is to reach out to each other! Democrats Abroad is making an extra push to have our members personally call fellow members and remind them to register to vote.

Everyone who signs up to phone bank is automatically entered to win. The top 4 call makers in September will receive a prize. Sign up today, help us win in the midterm election. You will be talking to your fellow Democrats, so most people will be happy to talk you. Phone banking it the most efficient way to get people to request a ballot. It's not cold calls. It's calling like-minded people. Many of them will miss the deadlines because they forget. Calling our members is the best way to ensure they request their ballots and vote.

It is not too late, we still have hundreds of calls to make to reach all DA Germany members! You can choose from the “DA Germany Non-Berlin” or the “DA Germany-Berlin” campaign in the DA CallHub and talk directly to other DA members reminding them, not only to register to vote and request their ballot but to join the local chapter or precinct next meeting and events.

DA uses an online system that lets you make no-cost calls from your computer. There is even an on-screen script for you to use. Please click below for a step-by-step guide on how to get started. Even 5 quick calls from each of us will go a long way in powering the blue wave that will transform Washington in November! Give it a try! Sign up for phone banking.

Note: You will need Google Chrome to use Callhub. Download it here.

If you have any questions please contact the international team at [email protected] or
Beverly at [email protected]  or Katie at [email protected]

Thanks for helping!

Happy Democrats Abroad Day!

Mark your calendars and help us celebrate: The first annual Democrats Abroad Day will take place around the world this Saturday, September 8!

Democrats Abroad Day is an annual celebration to show off your Democrats Abroad pride, wherever you are.

If your local chapter is hosting an event, we hope you’ll join. But to celebrate with as many of you as possible, and to tell the world that we represent the 9 million Americans overseas who are engaged and VOTE, we’re asking you to join our virtual party, too.

Want to help make the blue wave happen? Here are four things you can do in your home:

1. Remind your Democratic-leaning friends abroad and in America to vote in the midterm elections.
2. Share the three memes in this post on your social networks. If you belong to any online groups, share the meme with them too. In this election, everyone counts. 
3. Ask your stateside Alma Mater to help study abroad students Vote From Abroad. It’s easy to do and you can find all the information you need to do it here.
4. Sign up for Phone banking and do it. The best way to get people to vote is to call them and remind them to vote. It is not too late, we still have a few hundred calls to make to reach all DA Germany members! You can choose from the “DA Germany Non-Berlin” or the “DA Germany-Berlin” campaign in the DA CallHub and talk directly to other DA members reminding them, not only to register to vote and request their ballot but to join the local chapter or precinct next meeting and events.

• To log in to your Callhub account, go to https://callhub.io and click on "login" in the upper right corner. When you get to the next screen, enter your Username (example: DE-Beverly-Seebach) and your password. Note: You must use Google Chrome to phone bank.
  
• If you don't remember your password, just click on "forgot" in the corner of the password box and we'll email instructions how to set up a new password.

* * * * *

And please be sure to review the Updated Phone banking Training Materials for a full explanation of recent updates to the Phone banking system:

UPDATED GOTV Phone banking Introduction (June 2018).  Please review all, but especially new slides 17, 18 and 21-25

UPDATED 2018 Phone banking Do's and Don'ts (June 2018)

If you have any questions please contact the international team at [email protected] or Beverly at [email protected]  or Katie at [email protected]

There are 96 days until the midterm elections but there’s even less time until the cutoff date for overseas voters to request their ballots. If you have not registered to vote/requested your ballot, now is the time. Go to Votefromabroad.org and do it today! If you are already registered, it doesn't hurt to check your registration at https://iwillvote.com/. This election is extremely important, don’t get disenfranchised by Republican tricks. Also, if your state's primary has already occurred and you didn’t receive a ballot for that election, you might not be registered.

Need information on the candidates running in your state's elections?  You can use Ballotpedia’s Sample Ballot Lookup Tool. All you need is your voting address and you can find out who’s running in the various elections. There are links to the candidates' website’s, information on ballot measures and more. If your state has not had it’s primary elections yet, you can get information on primary candidates there too.

Democrats Abroad Germany will have stands and march in many pride events across Germany this year. If you are interested in marching with us in the parades or working at one of the stands contact: [email protected] Come join us or just stop by and say hello. We need to stand together now more than ever.

Date and Location

08 July, Cologne (March and Stand)
14 July, Munich (March and Stand)
21 July, Leipzig (Stand)
28 July, Berlin (Stand)
28 July, Braunschweig (Stand)

28 July, Stuttgart (March)
04 August, Hamburg (Stand)
11 August, Mannheim (March and Stand)
25 August, Bremen (Stand)

It's a great time to get involved with Democrats Abroad Germany (DAG) Veterans and Military Families Caucus.

We need members and leaders! We encourage all interested Democrats Abroad Germany members to join the caucus. To join, just fill out this form. If you are interested in being on the steering committee please also indicate that on the form. 

Currently, the caucus has only two serving officers, Kirk Samson, who is leaving in August for the US, and Michael Lee, so we really need your help. A robust caucus ensures that Democrats Abroad Germany remains a key player in issues involving the U.S. military presence in Germany and helps to support veterans and family members’ issues that are unique to our overseas constituency. 

Please join us!

Also, if you are a veteran residing in Germany, we recommend that you keep an eye on the VA Benefits Bulletin

Thank you,

Kirk Samson and Michael Lee

Co-Chairs, Germany Veterans and Military Families Caucus
DA Germany

There are 158 days until the midterm elections. If you have not registered to vote or requested your ballot, now is the time. Go to Votefromabroad.org and do it today! If you are already registered, it doesn't hurt to check your registration at https://iwillvote.com/. This election is extremely important, don’t get disenfranchised by republican tricks. #VotingMatters

It looks and feels like we have quickly moved into summertime in Germany. We hope that everyone is staying cool, eating lots of ice cream, and able to still enjoy the sun (don’t forget your sunscreen)! To provide you with some cool thoughts, you can already start to think about fall and our  10th Annual Oktoberfest Extravaganza on Sunday, October 7th. If you sign-up before July 1st, tickets are only 65€ and this includes a reserved seat in the “Gallerie”, a half roasted chicken (vegetarian options are available), 2 liters of Spaten beer (there are other beverage options, too), and a 10-euro coupon for other purchases. Make sure you sign-up now because starting July 1st, tickets will go up to 75€.

June - Upcoming Election Information

California’s primary election on June 5 will be one of the most important –and bizarre - contests of the entire primary season. The Golden State is crucial to Democrats’ effort to retake the House and Republicans currently hold seven districts which Hillary Clinton won in 2016. With so many Democrats running, and because of the state’s “top two” open primary system, there is a risk that the vote will be split, allowing Republicans — who have fewer candidates — to dominate some primaries. Watch this video to learn more about the California primary system and the problem this year

If you are a California voter, make sure you have a choice in November and vote in the Primary on June 5th!

For more details about What is on the Primary Ballot for the June 12 State Primaries and June 19 and June 26 Primaries on the DA website Voting blog.