10 ACTIONS TO TAKE NOW to Elect Dems UP and DOWN the Ballot on November 8th!

1. Request your ballot at Vote From Abroad (VFA) 
   

2. Add VFA to your email signature

3. Share VFA & voting info on social media

4. Send an alma mater letter 

5. Phonebank with Dems Abroad

6. Get trained to help voters (on Intercom)

7. Get active with your local chapter or join a State Team, as a voter or ally

8. Adopt a campaign (see list) & push on social media

9. Help 3 people get ballots & get them to help 3 more

10. Donate to get out the overseas vote

Support the Bill for All New Jersey Overseas Voters to Vote in State Elections

Democrats Abroad has gotten out the vote for every state in the nation, but this year most of our major battles are for state-level voting rights, particularly in New Jersey! Depending on what they fill out on their absentee ballot request, many overseas voters in New Jersey don't have the right to vote in state elections! They used to have it, before Chris Christie pushed through a change in the law in 2017.

This needs to change. Overseas voters are stakeholders in New Jersey government. Issues like climate change and net neutrality affect us everywhere. New Jerseyan overseas voters deserve a voice at all levels of government, and Assemblywoman Joann Downey has introduced a bill, NJ A5306, to change that law back and enfranchise voters once again.

Please help us to get this bill passed! If the New Jersey Legislature approves the bill, overseas voters will be able to vote in the New Jersey state and local elections on November 2nd, 2021.

**Update May 6: Your calls and emails are working--we have added more cosponsors to the bill this week!**

Please call Speaker Coughlin's Office and ask him to put NJ A5306 on the voting schedule for the Assembly!

Also call Assemblyman Mazzeo, State & Local Gov't Committee Chair, and your 2 NJ Assembly Reps! Ask them to co-sponsor the bill!

Find Them Here:

Talking Points/Script:

• Hi my name is --------    
  
  
• I am a New Jersey voter, voting in ---------- County, and I currently live in [Current Country]   
  
  
• I live overseas but I regularly vote by absentee ballot.    
  
  
• (If asked for an address) Would you like my voting address?    
  
  
• IF CALLING SPEAKER COUGHLIN: I am calling to ask Speaker Coughlin to support Assembly bill A5306 and put it on the Assembly schedule.
  
  
• IF CALLING YOUR ASSEMBLY REP: I am calling to ask Assemblyperson ---------- to support and co-sponsor Assembly bill A5306.

• The bill allows overseas voters to vote in state elections even if there is uncertainty regarding their return. Many overseas voters check the box on their absentee ballot request, “return uncertain,” without knowing that they will lose their voting rights in New Jersey state and local elections by doing that. Whether US citizens have plans to return to New Jersey or not we are stake holders in state government on many issues such as Climate Change, Net Neutrality, and of course, our voting rights.
  
  
• We do have some protection under federal law, but, like most things, much is left up to the state. We formerly had the right to do so in 2017 and are looking to restore this voting right.     
  
  
• The majority of states in our country believe that our voting rights should be taken with us when we move abroad. NJ is one of the small handful of states that denies us the right to vote, even though we are US citizens and have a stake in state government.      
  
  
• Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you for supporting voting rights for ALL New Jersey voters! If you have any questions, please email us at: [email protected]

And don't forget to request your ballot for 2021--just to go www.votefromabroad.org, click Start and follow the prompts to fill out and submit your Ballot Request form.

If you would like to make a donation, please click here!

H.R.1280 - George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 passed the House on March 3, 2021 and now needs to be taken up by the Senate. This bill addresses a wide range of policies and issues regarding policing practices and law enforcement accountability. It increases accountability for law enforcement misconduct, restricts the use of certain policing practices, enhances transparency and data collection, and establishes best practices and training requirements. 

Call or email your Senators today. Tell your senators that you support the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021 and ask them to support it. Then ask your friends and family to make those calls too.

Because now is the time for action! We must make sure justice is available to everyone. It is important for the safety of African Americans and for the well-being of our nation that we end police violence. 

#BlackLivesMatter

Tips: 

• Look up your Senators' phone numbers and contact forms here
• If you contact your senators by web form, use your US voting address in the contact address field.
• If the phone number field in the web form* is sensitive, try adding 011 at the start of your abroad number.
  

* Senate offices use a variety of web form contact systems, unfortunately not all will accept abroad numbers.

Having a Congress that understands and supports the Americans abroad community is essential to building critical Congressional support for our reform recommendations. That's why we are working to increase membership in the  Congressional Americans Abroad Caucus - a group of Congressional leaders motivated to address the unique issues of the Americans abroad community.

Invite your Congressperson today to join the American Abroad Caucus. Call, email or postal mail them using our scripts below, then let us know about your outreach! 

The Americans Abroad Caucus is currently chaired by Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY12), Rep. Maria Salazar (R-FL27) and Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV01). The caucus helps guide us when we have reforms to present, problems that require government support or questions that relate to the federal government. They are critical to our work to provide tax relief for Americans abroad, plus expand voting rights, address our immigration issues, and so much more. Many members of Congress are not aware of the Americans Abroad Caucus and so your outreach will help build its profile AND its membership.

Contact Information  
http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Any questions please write [email protected]

***********
Call Script
[When you speak to an operator, provide your name, US State voting address, overseas residential address and overseas phone number].

My name is  _________ and I vote in your district since it was the last place I lived before I moved abroad.  I live in/ am calling from  [name of city/country].

There are 9 million Americans like me, living outside the United States, and we struggle to get Congress to pay attention to us.  We are very proud U.S. citizens.  We vote and we pay attention to U.S. politics as much if not more than the average American. 

I care very much about  [voting access; environmental policy; gun violence; police misconduct; gender equity; civil liberties; labor rights; or other] and I send/will be sending messages to Rep [name of Representative] when I have something to say. 

There are some issues that affect Americans living abroad uniquely, such as taxation.  We are subjected to taxation in both the US and the country where we live.  We need relief but it’s a difficult fight.  We need friends in Congress to help us.

I am calling today to ask Rep [name of Representative] to join the Americans Abroad Caucus.  The Americans Abroad Caucus takes a special interest in the issues impacting Americans abroad. The Americans Abroad Caucus co-chairs are Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Rep. Maria Salazar and Rep. Dina Titus. Can I give you the contact information for the aides in their office who manage the Americans Abroad Caucus? 

In Rep Maloney's office contact Eric May - 202 225-7944

In Rep. Salazar's office contact Josh Duncan - 202 225-5965

In Rep. Titus's office contact Joel Cohen - 202 225-3931   

Thank you very much for your time, your service to Rep [name of Representative] and for your help getting this message to him/her.

Let us know about your outreach! 

***********
Email or Postal Letter Script

Writer’s Name 
Address
Date
The Honorable Representative [Name of Representative]
Address

Dear Rep. [Name of Representative],

Re:  Urging you to join the Americans Abroad Caucus

I live in [name of city, country] but I vote in your district and I am urging you to join the Americans Abroad Caucus.

There are 9 million Americans like me, living outside the United States, and we struggle to get Congress to pay attention to us.  We are very proud U.S. citizens.  We vote and we pay attention to U.S. politics as much if not more than the average American. 

The issues of greatest importance to me personally are [voting access; environmental policy; gun violence; police misconduct; gender equity; civil liberties; labor rights; or other].  [Explain why you have these concerns and what you want lawmakers to do about it.]

There are some issues that affect Americans living abroad uniquely, such as taxation.  We are subjected to taxation in both the US and the country where we live.   We have been working for many years to persuade Congress to change the laws and eliminate double taxation, remove barriers to banking, saving and investing and simplify filing.

[You can tell your story here if you want to include something personal.] 

Americans abroad need tax relief but it’s a difficult fight.  We need friends in Congress to help us.

I and the your other constituents living outside the U.S. need you to join the Americans Abroad Caucus.  The Americans Abroad Caucus takes a special interest in the issues impacting Americans abroad. Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Maria Salazar and Dina Titus are the Americans Abroad Caucus co-chairs.  I urge you to contact them about joining the Americans Abroad Caucus.

In Rep Maloney's office contact Eric May - 202 225-7944

In Rep. Salazar's office contact Josh Duncan - 202 225-5965

In Rep. Titus's office contact Joel Cohen - 202 225-3931   

Thank you very much for your service.

Kind regards,

Name and Voting address

Let us know about your outreach! 

***********
Postcard Script

Hi Representative [name of Representative,

I vote in your district and I live in [name of country]. There are 9 million tax liable Americans like me living outside the United States.  We vote and we pay close attention to U.S. politics and policy.  But we struggle to get Congress to pay attention to us. We need friends on Capitol Hill and I hope you will become one of them by joining the Americans Abroad Caucus.  Please contact Eric May in Rep Carolyn Maloney’s office for more information.

Thank you for your service,

Name
City and Country

Let us know about your outreach! 

Support H.R.1 - For the People Act of 2021

HR1, "For the People Act of 2021", protects voters from state voting list purges, expands and standardizes early voting, provides for automatic voter registration, ends gerrymandering, removes dark and foreign money from politics, and provides many other protections that will transform our voting landscape. It will, in many cases, reverse the Republican attacks on voting happening now at the state level across the United States. And it is getting voted on today, March 3, in Congress. 

The Action:
Call your Representative immediately and let them know that you support HR1.
Look up your Representative here.

Sample Script:
Hi, I'm {Name} and I am a constituent of {insert person's name}. I support HR1 and hope you will do everything you can to pass the strongest possible bill to support voting. 

More information and call tips:  
Due to the pandemic, many Congressional staff members are working remotely and you may need to leave a message. Be prepared before your call with your voting address in the United States, including your zip code.  

Bill text: https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1/text

The Senate will shortly be voting on whether or not to convict Donald Trump - your US senators need to hear from you now. 17 Republicans and every Democratic and independent senator need to vote to convict Trump, or he will walk free for inciting domestic terrorism. 

The Action:
Call, text or email your Senators and demand that they act to convict Trump immediately.

Look up your Senators' phone numbers

Send an email via democracy.io

Sample script : 

Hi, I'm {Name} and I am a constituent of {insert person's name}. I strongly believe that Trump must be convicted by the Senate. His actions put democracy at risk, threatened hundreds of lives, and killed five people. He must not be allowed to ever hold office again. 

There’s lots of new activity on the Equal Rights Amendment now that it’s a new year and we have control of the Senate.  YOU CAN HELP.

Call to Action 1 - Send a postcard to both of your Senators asking them to co-sponsor ERA bill SJRes 1. This resolution removes the deadline from the ERA passed in 1972 so that it can finally be added to the U.S. Constitution.  You can find instructions, addresses, and text by going to https://www.democratsabroad.org/era_senate. 

Call to Action 2 – Call both of your Senators asking them to co-sponsor ERA bill SJRes 1. You can find instructions, phone numbers, and a sample script by going to https://www.democratsabroad.org/era_senate. 

Call to Action 3 - Write a Letter to the Editor/Op-Ed to your local paper back home in support of ERA.  You can find instructions and sample letters by going to ERA Special LTE - Democrats Abroad.  We hope to have letters published in every state.

Call to Action 4 - Tell your story.  Head to our ERA Stories page and add your story to the page. You can also make a video and send in the link! More details there. 

Please share this information with your friends.

Thank you for helping make 2021 the year women are added to the U.S. Constitution – a long 245 years after men.

No one should be above the law, and inciting domestic terrorism is arguably an act of treason. Congress members are now calling on Pence to invoke the 25th Amendment, and others are working on Impeachment articles. Regardless of the legal course of action chosen, Democrats Abroad urges our Congressional representatives and senators to insist on full accountability immediately. We encourage you to reach out to your Rep and Senators too.* 

The Action:
Call your Senators & Representative and demand that they act to remove Trump from office immediately.

Look up your Representative here.
Look up your Senators here.

Sample script : 

Hi, I'm {Name} and I am a constituent of {insert person's name}. Trump incited terrorists to attack the Capitol. He should not be President one day longer. Remove him immediately.

*****

Reminder: please be kind and respectful to the staff that you speak with; they have just experienced a very traumatic event.

* Indivisible explains the importance of constituents calling their Representative and Senators. 

On Wednesday, Jan 6th, the 117th Congress will hold a joint session to accept the results of the Electoral College and certify Joe Biden & Kamala Harris as President and Vice-president elect. Currently, 140 GOP House & 12 Senate members have stated they will not accept, or will challenge the votes from some states. 

Democrats Abroad is outraged by this seditious behavior. With the release of the Trump Tape it is clearer than ever that Trump is trying to get people to do literally anything they can to steal the election for him. Even if this sedition will fail, it happening at all is damaging to our democracy. Let's do everything WE can to help Congress stand up to him, end the reign of this would-be autocrat, and help us turn the page on this awful chapter in our history. 

The Action:
Call your Senators & Representative and ask that they support the Constitution and state elections, and accept the results of the Electoral College vote. 

A) If your Senators or Representative have stated they will challenge the Electoral College results, call them to demand they stop. They are participating in an attempt to steal the election, disenfranchise and invalidate the votes of American citizens, and support Trump's baseless accusations of fraud. 

List of Senators in the #SeditionCaucus*
Tommy Tuberville, Alabama
Mike Braun, Indiana
Roger Marshall, Kansas
John Neely Kennedy, Louisiana
Josh Hawley, Missouri
Steve Daines, Montana
James Lankford, Oklahoma
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Bill Hagerty, Tennessee
Ted Cruz, Texas
Ron Johnson, Wisconsin
Cynthia M. Lummis, Wyoming

(A full list of Congressional members is not available, but 2/3 of Republican Representatives have stated they will challenge the results.)

B) If your Senators or Representative have not spoken up, or have said that they do not support this sedition, call them to let them know you support their decision to defend the Constitution and support the will of the people. 

Look up your Representative here.
Look up your Senators here.

* Note: this is a developing story and this list is changing in real time. 

Sample script for seditionists: 

Hi, I'm {Name} and I am a constituent of {insert person's name}. I'm calling about Wednesday's joint session to certify Joe Biden as President elect. I strongly support {insert person's name} accepting the results of the Electoral College vote, and believe that it is sedition to not do so.  

Sample script for others: 

Hi, I'm {Name} and I am a constituent of {insert person's name}. I'm calling about Wednesday's joint session to certify Joe Biden as President elect. I appreciate {insert person's name} accepting the results of the Electoral Collect vote. 

To protect our votes, Americans abroad need to draw attention to the importance of counting each and every one of them. 

We are asking all members to organize social distanced photo events around the world. Tell your voting story, and help raise awareness of who Americans abroad are as voters. Share your images on your social channels, and share your pics with us at [email protected] Details below:  

Safety: Please be COVID cautious and follow all local regulations. If you are participating with others, please practice appropriate social distancing.

Organize a stand alone demonstration 

1. Identify an iconic location near you, or a background that is clearly abroad 
2. Print or make a sign (here are samples) and organize a selfie or portrait of yourself (or a group, location permitting) with the sign and the iconic location behind you.
3. Go live on FB or Instagram and tell the story of why voting from abroad and ensuring your ballot counts is important to you
4. Make sure you share your pictures and videos across your social channels - tag @demsabroad and add hashtags: #CountOurVotes #DAResists 
5. Email your selfie pic to [email protected] and join our online demonstration

Sample Script 

• My name is ____ and I live in ____ and vote in ____ . 
• This year (talk about your voting experience, any challenges that you had, how you tracked your ballot). 
• I followed the rules, I sent my ballot on time. 
• I demand that my vote is counted and my voice is heard. 
• Trump cannot call the election. 
• We have a legacy of free and fair elections in this nation, and this election should be no different.
• Count Our Votes! 

Tips for Pics and Video

• Avoid standing with your back to the sun
• Look directly at the camera
• Hold the #CountOurVotes poster or place it on a ledge/wall/table so it’s visible in the image 
• For videos, set up your camera in front of you and film (a selfie video is ok too)