Dear Florida Democrats,
Last weekend in Sumter County, I was thrilled to speak with an overflow crowd of 430-plus energized Democrats at The Villages Democratic Club — the room was so full the fire marshal had to close the doors at 400, with 30-plus in the overflow room! Villages Dems may be outnumbered, but the Rs don’t hold a candle to them when it comes to enthusiasm and hard work! They are canvassing, calling, postcarding, signing up VBMs, and registering new voters, including a number of Rs to Ds who say they can’t take it anymore! Thank you to Club President Chris Stanley, Sumter County DEC Chair Cathie Hardy, and all the great Sumter, Marion, and Lake Democrats who are holding (and expanding) the fort in red territory.
All over the country we are seeing people of faith standing up to this president, and our new Democrats of Faith program will help ensure that Florida’s faith voters understand that the morality of our country is at stake in this election. To participate in Democrats of Faith in your community, see below.
This weekend through Tuesday, we are working to make sure every American in the state of Florida has the opportunity to register to vote and be heard at the ballot box. We are thrilled with the outpouring of over 800 volunteers who are excited to register voters and organize for the general election to make Donald Trump a one-term president! The energy around the state is palpable. Registering 200,000 voters, achieving our target numbers for Vote By Mail, and having strong Voter Protection teams through our Voter Protection Program are all key to winning in November.
As of Sunday, February 16, there are exactly 261 days — 8 months, 18 days — to November 3, 2020.
Forward Terrie Rizzo Chair Florida Democratic Party
Presidential Preference Primary Key Dates
- February 14-16: FDP statewide Voter Registration Weekend of Action & FDP Faith Weekend of Action
- February 17: Last day for DEC Chairs in counties with optional Early Voting days to designate Early Voting Poll Watchers to the SOE
- February 17, 2 p.m. EST: @FlaDems Voter Registration Twitter Town Hall
- February 18: Last day to register to vote or change parties
- February 22: Last day for DEC Chairs in counties with only mandatory Early Voting days to designate Early Voting Poll Watchers to the SOE
- March 2: First day of optional Early Voting
- March 3: Last day for DEC Chairs to designate Election Day Poll Watchers to the SOE
- March 7: Last day to request a mail ballot
- March 7-14: Mandatory Early Voting in all counties
- March 13-15: FDP statewide Voter Registration Weekend of Action
- March 17: Election Day
- March 19, 5 p.m.: Deadline to file ballot cure affidavits or evidence of voter eligibility
Faith Weekend of Action
In advance of the voter registration deadline for the Presidential Preference Primary, we are launching “Democrats of Faith” with a goal of organizing voters of faith and faith communities who oppose the immoral personal behavior of President Donald Trump and the cruel policies of the Republican Party. This weekend we are asking people of faith to request 3 minutes during the announcement portion of their worship service to discuss the importance of voting. Our Faith Day of Action Toolkit includes a script, a #DemocratOfFaith photo petition, and other helpful resources. If you will be able to make an announcement during your worship service this weekend, please register your house of worship here.
In the lead up to the general election, our “Democrats of Faith” program will visit more than 200 churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship to promote voter registration and to organize, educate and turn out people of faith who oppose Trump and the Republican Party’s cruel and immoral behavior and policies.
2020 Voter Protection Law School Bootcamp
The Democratic Party is launching the Voter Protection Law School Bootcamp to train the next generation of voter protection staff and volunteers. The program for second and third-year law school students will run from February 28 through mid-April 2020 and will require two classroom hours per week. Participants will also be required to conduct at least one voter-engagement or volunteer-engagement program. To apply, law school students must complete the online application and email their resume, short writing sample, and a personal statement to vopro@dnc.org by February 21.
Democratic National Convention
National Convention District Delegate filing forms are now available on our website! The application deadline is noon EST on Saturday, March 7.
Last week, we hosted a Facebook Live briefing with details about becoming a Florida Delegate. You can view and share the Facebook Live event here. We also have a slide show presentation you can share at your meetings. To ensure our delegation is as diverse as our state, please make sure your members and constituencies know about the National Convention, how to run to be a delegate, and the timeline. Use our #DemConvention Toolkit for social media posts, email drafts, and graphics.
Congressional District (CD) Caucuses will be Saturday, April 4, with some Early Voting locations on Thursday, April 2. The CD Committees for each district are working on securing caucus locations in each district, and the final list will be added to the website next week. Visit floridadems.org/convention for more details.
FDP Photo Competition
Now through March 31, submit your volunteer and voter engagement photos and help us build our stock photo library. We want to see volunteers with clipboards, knocking doors, on the phones, and having conversations with voters. Submissions will be judged by our Creative Director Ali Kurnaz, and the person with the winning photo submission will win a Google Nest Mini smart speaker. Send your photos to Ali@FloridaDems.org.
2020 DCCA Retreat
The 2020 DCCA Retreat is March 27-29 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Jacksonville Riverfront. The retreat weekend will include important trainings and information sessions for Party leaders, as well as committee and caucus meetings.
You can book your room online by clicking here or by calling 1-800-222-8733. Be sure to mention you are attending DCCA Retreat.
We look forward to a terrific annual retreat with DEC Chairs and Party leaders. You can RSVP using this form to suggest training and programming for DCCA Retreat weekend.
For ADA requests, please email rachel@floridadems.org.
Training Resources
The VAN committee-transition training for DECs is now available at FDP University. To access FDP University, email your first and last name, county, and Party position to training@floridadems.org. Voter Protection, VAN 101 and Cyber Security courses are also available at FDP University.
Here are DNC training opportunities available in the next two weeks:
- DNC’s Best Practices Institute: Rural Field Implementation Wednesday, February 19 at 4 p.m. EST
- Team Blue Pipeline Program: Cultural Competency and Outreach pt. 12: Seniors and Retirees Wednesday, February 26 at 4 p.m. EST
FDP Department Office Hours
FDP staff is available to help you. You can reach these departments during their dedicated office hours:
- Finance Department – Fundraising Tuesday 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. EST Call (347) 455-9560 PIN: 155 739 124# or Join Google Meet
- Voter Protection Thursday 9 a.m. – 11 a.m. EST(850) 610-2173
- Data Team – VAN, Mobilize, Send Dem Monday, Wednesday, Friday: 3 p.m. – 4 p.m. EST Tuesday, Thursday: 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. EST Call (805) 946-0563 PIN: 868 988 057#or Join Google Meet or submit a Data Ticket anytime
Organizing Corps
We will take part in Organizing Corps 2020 1-week Bootcamp and 5-week Immersion paid training programs. We are working with Organizing Corps 2020, Florida Young Democrats, and Florida College Democrats to recruit and train 200 diverse Florida college students to be the next generation of organizers for the general election.
If you know of good candidates in college, have them apply at www.organizingcorps2020.comYou can also find applications at @orgcorps2020 on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. The deadline to apply for the Bootcamp Training has been extended to February 18.
Voter Registration
We had our biggest voter registration week ever with 988 voters registered this week! Upon launching our voter registration efforts in June of 2019, Florida Democrats were registering 28 voters per day. As of today, we are averaging 321 voters registered per day — and the rate of growth is increasing each month. At this pace, we will reach our goal of 200,000 voter registrations before the end of summer!
Remember Tuesday, February 18 is the deadline to register to vote or change parties to vote in the Presidential Preference Primary. Join a February 14-16 Weekend of Action voter registration event near you.
Blue Bench Training
There was a full house last Saturday for the Blue Bench Candidate Training in N. Palm Beach, including participants from as far away as Okaloosa County in the Panhandle! These free, in-person trainings focus on fundamental aspects of running a campaign, including fundraising, messaging, digital communications, and field operations.
This Saturday we hosted our Blue Bench Training in Miami Springs. Save these dates for upcoming trainings: Saturday, April 4 in Gainesville and Saturday, April 18 in Leesbur
Vote-By-Mail Enrollment Chase
About 150,000 vote-by-mail (VBM) enrollment forms were mailed to Democrats at the beginning of January. We need volunteers to help us contact these Democrats to encourage them to return the enrollment form. A virtual phone bank (VPB) is available at m.floridadems.org/Phonebank.
We know voting by mail is the easiest way to make sure Democrats cast a ballot in this year’s elections. Another mailer will be sent this month to those who didn’t return the first mailer. To help us maximize our return, please jump on the VPB with us to encourage Florida Democrats to return their VBM enrollment forms. This is also an excellent training opportunity for volunteers as we prepare for GOTV ballot chases during the election cycles.
VAN Spanish Support
VAN now features Latin-American Spanish translation options for Open Virtual Phone Bank for those whose desktop browser or phone is set to any version of Spanish. MiniVAN will be available in Spanish in March. You can find full details in “Supporting Spanish-speaking volunteers” in VAN Help Docs.
