What to Do Wednesday
Your Weekly Guide to Staying Politically Active—From Abroad
Wednesday 20 May 2026
🗳️ We Have the Power. Now Let's Use It.
The 2026 midterms are not a distant abstraction, they are now. Congress is on the line. The direction of our country is on the line. And whether you live in Rome, Milan, Florence, Sicily, or anywhere in between, your vote counts, your voice counts, and your network counts more than you may realize.
We want to share something that stopped us in our tracks: a recent piece by political strategist Antonia Scatton titled "We Have the Power. We Have Had It All Along." Her argument is simple, research-backed, and deeply relevant to what we do every day as Democrats living abroad.
Here's the core idea: the single most effective tool for winning elections isn't money, ads, or algorithms, it's you talking to the people you know.
💬 Word of Mouth Wins Elections
Research going back to the 1940 Presidential campaign established that nine out of ten voters make their decision based on the recommendation of a friend or neighbor. Eighty-five years of additional research has confirmed this. The Wharton School of Business concluded that word-of-mouth is ultimately how all persuasion works and it's not about the ad or the algorithm, it's about the conversation.
Now think about what that means for us.
We are Americans spread across Italy. Our networks span two continents. We have family and old friends back in the States and we have fellow Americans right here in Italy: colleagues, neighbors, the American parent at school pickup, the expat you see at the English-language bookshop, the friend of a friend you met at a DA event last year.
Every single one of those connections is a potential vote.
Big money can buy ads. It cannot buy authenticity. That asymmetry is our superpower.
🌍 You Are a 1-in-10 Influencer
Political scientist research confirms what strategists call the "one-in-ten" theory: if every engaged voter genuinely influences just ten others, we can move elections. You don't need a campaign office or a war chest. You just need a list of ten people both here in Italy and back home, and the willingness to have a real conversation about why this election matters.
Can you name ten people right now who might need a nudge to request their ballot?
Think about:
- Family members and old friends in the US who may be disengaged or distracted
- American colleagues, neighbors, or fellow expats here in Italy who are registered but haven't requested their ballot
- Americans in Italy who don't even know they can vote from abroad and could be registered with just a little help from you
- Italian partners, spouses, or friends who know Americans that we don't yet and can make that introduction
If you can name ten people across those circles, you're already a political force.
📬 The Ask: Three Things This Week
We are asking every DA Italy member to take three concrete steps before the end of May:
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If you haven't already done son, request YOUR ballot now.
Visit votefromabroad.org to request your overseas ballot. Don't wait, just get it done today. -
Reach out to 10 people in your network both here AND back home.
Text a cousin in Ohio and message the American you met at your kids' school in Parioli. Email a former colleague in Chicago and drop a note to the expat friend you haven't seen since that DA aperitivo in February. Ask them all the same question: "Have you requested your ballot yet?" You don't need talking points. You need to be you, a real person who cares. That's enough. -
Forward this newsletter to every American you know in Italy.
We all know someone who is registered to vote but disengaged, or someone who doesn't even know they can vote from abroad. One forward could generate a vote. Do it today.
Democrats Abroad Italy is not a spectator organization. We are part of a global network of Americans who vote, who organize, and who refuse to sit on the sidelines because we happen to live outside the country. Our votes count in battleground states. Our conversations in Italian cafés, at expat gatherings, over dinner with friends matter just as much as conversations happening back home.
Democrats Abroad Italy Events
Be the reason an overseas voter votes in November! Join us for our Voting Assistant Training Sessions!
Sign up here to learn how to support US citizens to Register and Request their overseas ballots Tuesday May 26 @18:00
Sign up here to learn how to support US citizens to Receive & Return their Voted Ballots Wednesday 27 May @18:00
Check below to find out more about Democrats Abroad Italy Events:
Participate in a Democrats Abroad Italy monthly Country Committee meeting. Join us to find out about what is happening in each region and how you can get involved. Meetings are held monthly and last one hour. Friday 12 June @09:00
Join Democrats Abroad Italy for a special national fundraising event in the heart of Florence. Saturday May 30th @16:00.
It's fun. It's historic. It's a scavenger hunt in Milan! 6 June @14:40 YES. WE. VOTE. MILAN'S IWC SCAVENGER HUNT!!
Live near Venice? Join the Triveneto Precinct team as we staff a Vote From Abroad (VFA) station at the Santa Lucia Train Station in Venice 12 Jun Vote From Abroad outreach, Venice
✊ In Solidarity
The 2026 midterms will be won or lost in conversations over text messages, at kitchen tables back home, at a bar in Trastevere, on a walk through the Navigli, at the school gate in Florence. Those conversations are happening with or without us.
Let's make sure they happen with us.
We have the power. We have always had it. Now let's use it, together, from right here in Italy.
With energy and gratitude,
Leyani Redditi
Chair
Democrats Abroad Italy
P.S. 15.5% of our members have already requested their ballots. Are you one of them? If not, help us get to 25% by the end of May!! Click the link below to go to Vote from Abroad or let us know you've already requested your ballot, or need some help. We’re here to make sure your vote counts!