Democrats Abroad
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Founded | 1964 |
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| Office location | 430 South Capitol Street SE Washington, DC 20003 |
| Website | DemocratsAbroad.org |
Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party for United States citizens living permanently or temporarily abroad. The organization is given state-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee.
Democrats Abroad currently has 60 committees, with 32 full status and 28 committees in formation. There are chapters in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania. These committees are formally represented by the Democratic Party Committee Abroad. Some countries with particularly large concentrations of Democratic expatriates even have local chapters. Young Democrats Abroad represents Democrats Abroad in the functions of the Young Democrats of America.
Democrats Abroad are represented on the Democratic National Committee by eight members. These are:
- Michael Ceurvorst, International Chair
- Christine Schon Marques, International Vice Chair
- Robert Checkoway, International Secretary
- Stanley Grossman, International Treasurer
- Joseph Smallhoover, International Counsel
- Meredith Gowan LeGoff, Vice Chair for the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Region
- Gary Suwannarat, Vice Chair for the Asia-Pacific Region
- Leo Minaya Perez, Vice Chair for the Americas Region
- Sharon Manitta, Communications Director
One of the prime functions of Democrats Abroad is to assist U.S. citizens abroad in voter registration, often through its proprietary online voter registration software, VoteFromAbroad.org.
Various country committees of Democrats Abroad have local caucuses representing groups such as Young Democrats, minorities, women, and the GLBT community.
[edit] History
Democrats Abroad was started with two small committees in London and Paris after Lyndon B. Johnson defeated Barry Goldwater in the 1964 U.S. presidential election. Its original leaders, Toby Hyde and Al Davidson, raised funds and formed committees, and pushed for state-level recognition of Democrats Abroad. DNC Chairman John Bailey allowed Democrats Abroad to send nine non-voting representatives to the Democratic National Convention in 1972; in 1976, the group was granted the status of a state committee, with voting delegates in the Convention.
Over the years, Democrats Abroad has worked for securing the full citizenship rights for Americans living abroad. In particular, the group worked for overseas voting rights issues, supporting the Voting Rights Act of 1975, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act in 1986, and the Federal Emergency Write-In Ballot. Democrats Abroad switched the method of determining convention delegates from a primary to an open caucus in 1992.
Democrats Abroad sends a delegation to the Democratic National Convention every four years and has done so since 1976.
In the 2004 Democratic presidential nomination, Democrats Abroad held their global convention in Edinburgh, Scotland (ahead of Toronto and Amsterdam, other cities considered). Local caucuses were held from February 6 to February 9, country caucuses from February 20 to February 23, and regional caucuses on March 27. At the global convention on March 28, the results were:
| Candidate | Popular vote | Popular vote % | Hard total % (delegate vote) | Floor total % (delegate vote) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Kerry | 1254 | 56 | 50 | 100 |
| Howard Dean | 422 | 18.8 | 27.8 | 0 |
| Wesley Clark | 226 | 10.1 | 0 | 0 |
| John Edwards | 211 | 9.4 | 0 | 0 |
| Dennis Kucinich | 108 | 4.8 | 0 | 0 |
| Al Sharpton | 12 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| Joe Lieberman | 6 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 |
| Uncommitted | 0 | 0 | 22.2 | 0 |
| Total | 2239 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
22 delegates and two alternates went to the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Media
- "Campaigns Look Overseas For Votes." Associated Press: May 17, 2004
- Campbell, Blake. "Democrats gathering 'to put US back on track'." The Standard: February 9, 2004.
- Cover-Messenger, Jonathan. "The other caucus: Democrats Abroad." Democratic Underground: February 6, 2004.
- Cox, Christopher. "Some Dems go extra miles to beat Bush." Boston Herald: July 29, 2004.
- Higham, Will. "Don't get angry, get even." Progress: January/February 2004.
- LaBelle, G.G. "Americans around world play role in DNC." Associated Press: July 27, 2004.
- Nelson, Fraser. "Democratic battle coming to Scotland." The Scotsman: February 11, 2004.
Informational
- Associated Press profile of 2004 delegates. Includes names and country of residence.
