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Tiny Action: Your Midterm Ballot
As of Monday, all 50 states have sent midterm ballots to their overseas absentee voters. Have you received yours yet?
With ballots out, that means we’re now in the most critical phase of the 2018 elections. Over the next month, we need to work harder than ever to help every American abroad request their ballot and VOTE, and we need your help today.
Even on a chaotic day amid a chaotic week, we must remember that the most powerful action we can take is exercising our right to vote this year and every year. But if you’re as outraged over the Kavanaugh nomination as we are, you can use our script to call your Senators about this — after you’ve completed the latest Tiny Action below.
This week’s Tiny Action: Tell us where your ballot is. Then take small, easy steps to help others VOTE.
1. So that we can focus on those voters who need the most support, let us know your status by selecting one of these options:
- I received, completed, and returned my ballot!
- I requested my ballot but have not returned it yet.
- I have not requested my ballot yet. There’s still time, but not much. Send in your ballot request before it’s too late.
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I have questions.
Urgent Tiny Action: Kavanaugh is unfit to serve on the Supreme Court
Only a few weeks ago, Republicans talked about the Kavanaugh nomination as an easy win. Since then, it’s become all the more obvious why Republicans are so eager to push through this nomination: The more we learn about Brett Kavanaugh, the more problematic he becomes.
This week’s Tiny Action: Demand the FBI investigate the accusations against Brett Kavanaugh and tell your Senators to vote NO on the SCOTUS nomination.
Call/Email Script:
Hi my name is [NAME] and I’m a voter from [CITY/STATE], but I am calling from [COUNTRY] where I live and where I vote from abroad.
I am incredibly concerned of what has transpired both during and since the Kavanaugh hearings of the Senate Judiciary Committee. There is absolutely no reason to rush the vote of this lifetime appointment to the highest court in the land, particularly given what we have recently learned.
The allegations brought by Dr Blasey Ford include a number of issues that should be investigated by the FBI, in light of the precedent that George H W Bush set when he asked the FBI to investigate the Anita Hill allegations against Clarence Thomas. If Judge Kavanaugh is innocent, why wouldn’t he want this? If the Senate is truly interested in voting for the strongest possible nominee for the Supreme Court, why wouldn’t they want to? This is absolutely in line with the FBI’s jurisdiction if the President asked for it. The Senator must pressure the White House to do so.
I am tremendously disappointed in the Republican party’s response to Dr Blasey Ford, who at best suggest that she’s “confused” and in many other cases vilify her. Victims who come forward deserve our attention and our respect.
I believe an FBI investigation is critical for full transparency, but the findings will not change how I, and the majority of the country, feel about Judge Kavanaugh.
He is unfit to serve on the Supreme Court. I am asking the Senator to firmly vote no. Regardless of what happens over the next week, Kavanaugh has categorically misled the Senate while under oath. He received and forwarded stolen documents - marked as such - and then lied about it. He pretended not to recognize the name of a law firm where a close friend works. And he refused to offer any answer of substance during his hearing.
Over the past week, Kavanaugh has only doubled down in demonstrating his true character.
Our next Supreme Court Justice must aim for truth and justice above all else. Judge Kavanaugh could have demonstrated this by saying he would speak with the FBI. He did not.
Our next Supreme Court Justice must believe that women’s voices - not just those who are well-dressed law clerks but also those who are victims, those who have been marginalized and those who have been wronged - deserve to be heard, and that violence against them is unequivocally wrong. Judge Kavanaugh could have demonstrated this simply by asking his supporters not to attack, threaten, and spread lies about Dr Blasey Ford. Judge Kavanaugh remained silent.
This is not the best candidate for the job of Supreme Court Justice. The Senator must vote no.
Thank you.
[Provide your full voting address if leaving a message]
WHY IT MATTERS
The next Supreme Court Justice will decide cases that could easily impact the United States for decades to come.
Republicans in the Senate (and the White House) have had one clear priority: To get Kavanaugh on the bench at any cost, rushing the confirmation of a nominee with a disturbing record on the issues that matter most.
During his hearings, we saw Judge Kavanaugh lie under oath and refuse to answer a single substantive question, while GOP Senators praised his basketball coaching skills.
Since then, we have read of Dr Christine Blasey Ford, her credible sexual assault allegations against Kavanaugh, and the backlash she has received from the public and GOP leadership alike.
Kavanaugh’s supporters oscillate between calling it “rough horseplay” and “youthful indiscretion” to denying he was even there. GOP leaders said the timing of the news was nefarious, rather than out of respect for her anonymity. They suggested that other women supporting Kavanaugh meant that Blasey Ford was not credible. They even claimed to know better than her, saying that she (not Kavanaugh) was misremembering.
They are also refusing to pressure the White House to request an FBI investigation, consistent with precedent and requiring Dr Blasey Ford and Kavanaugh to speak under oath, going so far as to say that it is outside the FBI’s jurisdiction - completely false. Instead they are asking her to testify in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is still under negotiation as of today.
We believe victims.
But regardless of what may transpire over the next week, what has already been revealed is Kavanaugh’s true character. He issued a statement stating that he wants to defend himself, but has not offered to speak to the FBI and made no attempt to ask his supporters to cease the death threats being made to a woman for speaking up about her sexual assault. He also enjoys the full support of a president who yesterday said, “if the attack was as bad as she says, charges would have been immediately filed.”
It’s clear why Republicans are trying to push this through at breakneck speed. The more we learn about Brett Kavanaugh, the more reasons we have to vehemently oppose his nomination.
MORE INFO
Read moreTiny Action: Students Abroad can VOTE abroad!
Young voters are INSPIRED and ACTIVE this year, helping to register fellow new voters across the country. But, for the thousands who will study abroad this fall semester, far too many won’t know how to vote from abroad, or even if they can.
This week’s Tiny Action: Ask your stateside Alma Mater to help study abroad students Vote From Abroad!
- Search online for [your alma mater] + [study abroad] + [contact] to find the right person to reach out to.
- Use the script below to call or email.
- If you choose to call them, please then send their contact details to help@votefromabroad.org.
Thank you to the many volunteers who helped us connect with American universities when we first asked about alumni/ae contacts in June! Now that the fall semester is nearly here, we’d like to make one more push to help reach as many students as possible. If you missed the action in June, or if you reached out and didn’t get a response, now is the time to get in touch!
Call/Email Script:
Hello! My name is [NAME] and I am a [YEAR] graduate from [INSTITUTION; DEGREE PROGRAM].
Currently, I live abroad in [LOCATION]. As an international alumni, I wanted to reach out to you about a resource that has been really valuable to help me vote from abroad, that could be just as valuable for your study abroad students, too.
Vote From Abroad (votefromabroad.org) is a nonpartisan website that helps Americans living and studying overseas to register, request and return their ballots in each election. It’s 100% volunteer run and helps voters request a federally-protected overseas absentee ballot (FPCA), which offers options not available to those who request a general absentee ballot.
I really want to be sure every [INSTITUTION] student that wants to vote, can vote, this and every year. That's why I volunteered to reach out to you.
I’m also providing a couple things for your reference:
- Sample letter to students so they know how to register to vote before or after they’ve left for their study abroad term.
- The front and back of an informational handout we’ve created recently. We’d be happy to do something similar for you.
Helping your students vote from abroad not only offers them the information they need to be able to vote, but also provides them a unique experience to add to their bucket list while abroad. As well, many of your study abroad students will develop a new appreciation for American democracy, and why their right to vote is fundamental to that enterprise.
If you’d like to find out more, please just send an email to help@votefromabroad.org, and a volunteer from their team will get in touch.
**If you are calling instead of emailing, please write down their email address and send to help@votefromabroad.org**
Please note that as this is US voter registration, it must be 100% non-partisan.
Thanks very much for your time.
[NAME]
WHY IT MATTERS
Study abroad students aren’t exposed to the same voting reminders their peers get on American campuses. Amid classes, travel and new experiences, they also have fewer opportunities to meet groups such as Democrats Abroad. This means they’re likely to be missing out on the chance to vote this year. We can change that.
At the same time, study abroad offices at American universities don’t know what we know - that requesting a ballot from abroad is easy, but that it doesn’t happen without a little effort. They also may not know that nonpartisan sites like Vote From Abroad can offer free resources for their students. We can change that, too, with the help of a few of their alumni/ae (YOU!).