Democrats Abroad: The Blue Vote Café

Annika Krovi and Henry Pahlow, National Chair and Vice Chair of High School Democrats of America, join David and Rachel to talk about engaging voters and potential voters when they are still enrolled in high school.

Neither Annika nor Henry is eligible yet to cast their own votes, but they speak like veteran political operatives about canvassing, phone-banking, and participating on campaigns--and about their success in bringing a resolution to the Democratic National Committee meeting and have it approved.

We talk about expanding the membership of USDA, about the opportunity Annika and her grandparents will have in 2024 to cast their votes for the first time, about Henry's research and initiatives to involve rural voters, and--it must be said--about dad jokes.

For more information: https://hsdems.org/

Rachel and David make social media darling Brittlestar laugh at his own jokes, and discourse seriously (and at least semi-intelligently) with his alter ego Stewart Reynolds on his recent book (Welcome to the Stupidpocalypse: Survival Tips for the Dumbageddon); on the objective perspective on the U.S. afforded to Canadians and to American citizens living outside the country; and on the challenge of learning to interact maturely with the big dumb, nonstop, in-your-face electronic bulletin board that is social media.

Ashley Houghton, FairVote's Senior Director of Programs and Policy, sat down with David and Rachel to talk about election reform in general, and ranked choice voting in particular. FairVote is a nonpartisan organization that researches and advances voting reforms in the hope of making democracy more functional and representative.

A former chair of Ohio Democratic Party, David Pepper is the author of several books, including Laboratories of Autocracy and Saving Democracy. You may have caught him in a short segment with Rachel Maddow or Morning Joe. The day after Issue One was defeated in Ohio in August, 2023, he joined Rachel and David on the pod to talk about how the Democrats' strategy differs from the Republicans', how that must change, and how you can help.

For more information: savedemocracy.us

And don't forget to register and request your ballot EVERY YEAR at votefromabroad.org

What you need to know when you find out that the President of the United States is coming to your town!

Wisconsin voters Liz Blackbourn and Annie Graul explain the importance of this current election.

They outline why they are supporting liberal Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz.

March 22, 2023 will mark 100 years since the Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced.

And it still has not been passed.

Tricia Augustine-Hamilton picks up the story where John Baumlin left off (listen to "The quest to restore New Jersey's overseas voters' rights, with John Baumlin" to hear Part One). Tricia shares with David and Rachel the inside story on how a team from around the world worked for three years to see legislation through to passage. She pulls back the curtain on Candice Kerestan's first action as DA's International Chair. And she touches upon the topic of trailing spouses, lauds the people and grassroots power of DA, and discusses the fact that lobbying and voter protection ≠ gravy.

Three weeks into the job, Jarryd shares with David and Rachel what he hopes to accomplish as DA's new Executive Director. Amongst the cat talk and the banter about who is whose boss, Jarryd's role is distilled into "tending, water, and weeding--but not mowing--DA's grass roots." The conversations also explores voting as an expression of values, DA's Africa Task Force, relational organizing, Wisconsin's Supreme Court election in April, and upcoming state races in November.

Democrats Abroad State Teams are working to make sure that everyone gets their ballots.

If you're a Georgia voter living outside the U.S., here is all the information you need about the upcoming runoff election. Georgia voter Deirdre O’Brien and Democrats Abroad Vote from Abroad Coordinator Heidi Burch sit down with David and Rachel to talk about how to vote from abroad, where to get help if you need it, and the need for speed. Hear about complications stemming from the new legislation, the three categories of Georgia voters living outside the U.S., and why this election is so important.

If you follow PoliticsGirl, you know where Leigh McGowan stands. But do you know how she got there? Leigh sits down with Rachel and David to talk about how her love of democracy led to the creation of her persona as Politics Girl. She talks about how her early non-partisan blog posts about basic civics made that her realize that when people understand what's going on, they get engaged. She traces the path that led to the daily TikTok/IG/Twitter rants she delivers today (with her trademark sass) that--along with her podcast and YouTube channel--are followed by hundreds of thousands of people. The conversation touches on health care, power-hungry Republicans, and the careening Car of Democracy that we can only tip back to stability by voting in numbers in the 2022 midterms. PoliticsGirl wants the 6 to 9 million Americans who live outside the country to feel their transformational power and VOTE!
https://www.votefromabroad.org/
https://www.politicsgirl.com/

Two weeks into her job as DA's Director of Voter Protection, Elizabeth Hahn sat down with David and Rachel. She discusses the three things she'll be looking for in the lead-up to the midterms: the obstacles to voting that face Americans abroad, what countries it's most difficult to vote from, and what states it's most difficult to vote in. Liz talks about getting friendly with her volunteer Voter Protection force, and forging connections with her state party counterparts and the DNC. 

The Reparations Task Force is looking for Democrats Abroad members who are motivated to jump into the fight for full reparative justice for Black Americans.

We are looking for volunteers who wish to support H.R. 40 and all other American reparative legislation at the local, state, and national levels.

If you are interested in getting involved in this fight for justice, please send an email to reparations@democratsabroad.org.

A tale of intrigue from John Baumlin, former DA Japan chair and newly elected rep to the DNC for DA Asia Pacific. John tells David and Rachel about his knotty five-year quest to re-enfranchise New Jersey voters living outside the country. With gratitude for a silver mine of DA knowledge, and side trips into internet philosophy, and the ins and outs of game translation.

A solid Get Out The Vote (GOTV) campaign is an important part of every election.

Request your ballot at www.votefromabroad.org

Get general help at info@democratsabroad.org 

Get specific voting help at gotv@democratsabroad.org 

Send your questions directly to Stephanie at gotv@democratsabroad.ca 

What are Robert’s Rules of Order?

Why does Democrats Abroad use them in the AGM?

Rob Carolina gives us the history plus the pros and cons.

As Democrats Abroad prepares for an upcoming global meeting, Will Bakker explains the role of the Resolutions Committee (Carol Adamson in Sweden, Farid E. Ben Amor in Japan, Kent Getsinger in Australia, Beverle Lax in Kenya, past chair of the committee Susan Vaillant of France, and Rick Wicks of Sweden). How do resolutions get brought to the governing body? What sorts of resolutions are considered? What difference do they make? Who gets to propose and vote on them?

Chatting with Dana Freling and Dash Nesbitt from the Environment and Climate Crisis Council.

Jen explains the challenges of coordinating Democrats Abroad across more than 20 countries.

United States citizens around the world are supposed to file their taxes every year but don't do it.

Getting all the details on why the caucus was created and its goals.

A lively and fun discussion about this new caucus that focuses on the rights and protections of Americans with disabilities around the world.

Steve Nardi explains how Democrats Abroad is organised around the world.

"Ballots in boxes!" is the central preoccupation of Democrats Abroad's Vote from Abroad coordinator. Heidi Burch joins David and Rachel to talk about votegfromabroad.org, the non-partisan voter registration portal operated by Democrats Abroad. Heidi outlines multiple reasons for registering via votefromabroad.org instead of directly with your state, what it takes to keep the site up-to-the-minute in the face of changing regulations, and how easy it is for overseas voters to get help in registering. Plus, you'll learn who does the snow shovelling in Rachel's house, what David has against librarians, and what it means to unremember personal information "the European Way."

The history of the Global Veterans & Military Families Caucus and the new problem that vets have when trying to use their education benefits around the world.

Understanding the challenges of the Democrats Abroad Global Hispanic Caucus with Carlos Colao, Edgar Lopez and Amerika Garcia Grewal.

Learning the history and the future of the Democrats Abroad Progressive Caucus.

More information can be found at https://www.democratsabroad.org/pc

Follow the Progressive Caucus Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/prodacaucus/

The newly appointed chair of DA's Global Black Caucus joins David and Rachel to talk about issues, changes, and plans. Overseeing a team of 22 people, Jazz is working to ensure that the GBC is tackling a host of issues with a new deputy structure designed to avoid damage to the team and burnout. Jazz discusses growing issues of advocacy such as reparations and artificial intelligence, as well as the importance of justice and peace, taking down barriers and borders, and letting people be heard. Jazz briefly details upcoming events such as Spill the Beans: the GBC Cafe, and highlights the Power to the People podcast and the GBC's poet laureate's circle.

Nicholas Gordon, one of the three new Regional Vice Chairs elected to DA's Executive Committee, is David and Rachel's guest. Nicholas represents the Asia-Pacific region, which includes the Pacific Islands; East, Southeast, South, and Central Asia; and Australia and New Zealand. The conversation touches on the diversity of cultures and communities in the area, its growing presence and power in American politics, the role of the regional vice chair in supporting members who don't belong to a country committee, and how to engage "Secret Americans." Nicholas describes how casting his first in-person vote in DA's 2016 Global Primary led to becoming RVC---with a brief diversion into whether or not there is still a bottle of vodka in the freezer at his U.S. voting address.

Orlando Vidal is the newly elected International Counsel for Democrats Abroad.

With side forays into game design and encroaching thunderstorms, David and Rachel chat with Beth about the role of DA Secretary. Beth shares the perspective of someone who hasn't lived abroad very long, yet has contributed at all four levels of DA (local, country, regional, and now inernational). Beth reveals a passion for dotting i's and crossing t's, and talks about bringing on deputies for Secretary and other ExCom officers, creating a DA handbook, and staying hydrated and cool as a delegate to the DNC. One of these undertakings revealed an answer to a question posed in our conversation with Chair Candice Kerestan!

Quyen votes in Iowa, lives in Columbia, and got swept into leadership in the Columbia chapter after her second DA meetings. Our new International Treasurer shares thoughts about contrasting aspects of her job, from the behind-the-scenes procedural matters to her goals to make DA's financial picture easy to understand and to ensure that members are excited about the numbers. David shares how to acquire a tan in Winnepeg, Rachel's Zoom profile pic inspires a metaphor, and Quyen presents a persuasive case for destination weddings in Iowa. Members interested in becoming sustaining donors (even to the tune of $1.00/month) should visit democratsabroad.org/donate .

Art tells David and Rachel about the transformation of infrastructure from boring to popular, DA's growth over time, and his own political beginnings at the age of 5. Namedropping both stadiums and people, he talks about the big impact various celebrities have had in helping DA raise its profile worldwide. Complete with a digression into rakia and quinces.

Candice shares her thoughts with Rachel and David about ensuring that DA is understandable and accessible to both its members and its leaders. We talk about what DA's Executive Committee plans to focus on in the lead-up to 2022 and 2024, and about going climate neutral in both policy and operations (including an invitation to DA members to share tips!). And we dip into some of the things Candice learned about DA that excited her as she campaigned.

Candidates Joshua Van der Ploeg and Orlando Vidal answer seven questions from David and Rachel. 

Visit https://www.democratsabroad.org/ for information about all of the candidates running for global office in the May 2021 elections.

Candidates Parikshit (Pari) Bhaduri and Beth (Elizabeth) Landry share their answers to seven questions from David and Rachel. 

Visit https://www.democratsabroad.org/ for information about all of the candidates running for global office in the May 2021 elections.

Candidate Quyen Nguyen shares her answers to seven questions put to her by David and Rachel. 

Visit https://www.democratsabroad.org/ for information about all of the candidates running for global office in the May 2021 elections.

A conversation with Martha McDevitt Pugh and Tre’Shawn Griffin-Noordermeer who are the co-chairs of DA’s Global LGBTQ+ Caucus.

Our guests is this episode are Emily Lines and Cory Lemke.  They are the Co-Chairs of the Democrats Abroad Global Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus.

Alex Rehbinder speaks to Rachel and David about the experience of stepping up from the country-committee level to revive DA's Global Youth Caucus, which he now co-chairs. The conversation touches on DA as a guilty pleasure, getting past the shyness of campaigning, and the YC's goal to field at least one young'un as a candidate for each global office in DA's internal elections. They talk about the YC's plan to formalize the mentoring of younger DA members by veteran DA members, the progression from holding the hat to putting your name in it, and how all issues--especially climate change--are youth issues. 

Meet Ann Hesse and Christina Skovsgaard from the Global Women’s Caucus. We discuss what a caucus is, the Women’s Caucus’s seven Action Teams, and Event Pizzas. We trace the line from John Adams to the ERA; touch on Ann’s view of DA members as part of a vast global laboratory of policy experiments; and note how much fun it can be to work to create a better world—all under the eyes of goddesses.