Dear Florida Democrats,
My heartfelt thanks go out to all of our organizations and volunteers who are doing an amazing job during this unprecedented health crisis. You continue to do the important work of talking with voters, enrolling them to vote by mail, recruiting volunteers, and conducting necessary business – all while heeding the advice of health professionals and doing this work remotely from home. As we move through this new landscape, we are adjusting our goals and programs. Stay tuned for additional details. There is no stopping our incredible team, and we will get through this challenge together.
We want to note that ten years ago last Monday, President Barack Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law, helping give millions of Floridians quality, affordable health care. Today’s coronavirus pandemic has made the ACA, and the coverage and protection it provides Americans, even more important.
Unfortunately, last week also marked the one year anniversary of Trump backing the lawsuit to repeal the ACA, continuing his work to undermine this important legislation without coming up with a plan for the millions of people who would lose coverage if it is repealed. Trump continues his failed response to the spread of the coronavirus by refusing to take any responsibility, blaming and attacking others, contradicting experts and his own administration officials, repeating falsehoods, and downplaying the severity of the crisis. His failed leadership and mismanagement of the coronavirus outbreak has endangered Americans and significantly worsened a severe public health crisis. We must hold him accountable today through Election Day.
As of Saturday, March 28, there are exactly 220 days — 7 months, 8 days — to November 3, 2020.
Forward,
Terrie Rizzo Chair Florida Democratic Party
P.S. I know the newsletter is very long, but we have so much important information to share. Please read to the end for essential information and updates. Depending on your email provider, your letter may be clipped with a link to view the entire message.
Issue ID Phonebanks
With a new focus on digital outreach to voters, it’s more important than ever that our messaging is deployed effectively. In order to better target voters online, we’ve developed Issue ID virtual phonebanks for each county, easily found on our website:
CLICK HERE TO START MAKING CALLS
The Issue IDs are needed to help us identify the issues most important to persuadable voters in your county. These phonebanks will allow us to engage our volunteers while face-to-face voter contact is unsafe, and will define county specific messaging to move persuadable voters in your county.
We need to make at least 40,000 calls to collect enough data to build an accurate model for creating content and scripts that can persuade NPA voters to vote for Democrats.
Need help convincing your volunteers that phonebanking can be fun? Share our Virtual Phonebank Bingo card!
Emergency Rule of Procedure
To help DECs, Caucuses, and Clubs continue to conduct business as needed during restrictions on public gatherings, Chair Terrie Rizzo has issued the following Emergency Rule of Procedure, pursuant to Article 1, Section 2.2 of the FDP Bylaws:
Authorizing DECs, Clubs and Caucuses of the FDP to utilize communications media technology, such as telephonic and video conferencing, to conduct business required under the Charter and Bylaws of the FDP and/or the respective Bylaws of the County DEC, FDP Party Caucus, or Democratic Party Club during the duration of the declared state of emergency for the State of Florida. Consistent with this authorization, all other requirements, including quorum and vote requirements, applicable to DECs, FDP Party Caucuses, and Democratic Party Clubs’ activities remain in effect.
Read the memorandum from Chair Rizzo here.
If you are conducting votes during your virtual meetings, be sure you have the means to identify who is attending the meeting (to ensure there is a quorum) and to document vote counts. Robert’s Rules recommends ratifying votes taken during virtual meetings at your next in-person meeting. If you have any specific questions, please contact PartyAffairs@FloridaDems.org.
See below for remote meeting resources.
Digital Actions to Take Today
While our top priority is for everyone to stay safe during this pandemic, our work to elect Democrats up and down the ballot is still urgent. We know a lot of people are home and looking for meaningful activities. Be proactive and help people join our digital organizing movement! Here are steps you can take and share to support our organizers and our mission while practicing social distancing:
- Complete and share our Digital Organizing Interest Form
- Follow and retweet @FlaDems and @VamosDemócratas on Twitter
- Follow and share FlaDems and VamosDemócratas posts on Facebook
- Join Democratic Organizing Facebook Groups:
- FDP Regional Organizing Groups
- Project Battleground: Florida
- Democratic National Community
- DNC Voter Protection
- Share your story on social media (video, picture, or words) of why you’re supporting Democrats. Tag @FlaDems and @TheDemocrats on Twitter and Facebook. (You can also help us build our storytelling library – see the DefeatTrumpFL details below.)
- Sign and share the petition to protect health care coverage
Democratic National Convention
Applications for our 81 Party Leader and Elected Official (PLEO), At-Large, and At-Large Alternate delegate spots remain available on our website through May 5.
In an abundance of caution for our Democratic volunteers and voters, we have received DNC approval to amend our Delegate Selection Plan and reschedule Congressional district caucuses for May 16, with early voting on May 14. Our Congressional District (CD) Chairs are working to confirm locations. We will share the updated caucus locations once they are confirmed in mid-April. We will continue to closely monitor federal and state advisories as they relate to COVID-19. Updated information on delegate selection events will be shared via email and posted to floridadems.org/convention.
As per our Delegate Selection Plan, the Presidential candidates eligible for delegates are reviewing the list of district-level delegate applicants and are in the process of getting their approved list of delegate candidates to us. Once we receive those lists, we will share delegate candidate names for each Congressional district.
Here are some helpful documents for delegate candidates:
Hosting Remote Meetings
Here are tools to help your organizations meet remotely:
Zoom is a conference call tool that allows you to host video and phone conference calls. You can share your screen and utilize the raise your hand feature for those who have questions.
Pro Tip: Zoom has both free and paid versions. In the free version, you can host phone and video conference calls, but you can only host 40 minute meetings for up to 100 people.
Skype
Skype offers free conference calls. You will be able to generate a link to share with your participants.
Pro Tip: Skype allows you to record your meeting and store it for up to 30 days.
Google Hangouts offers free group conversations for up to 150 people or video calls for up to 10 people. You can share a link with attendees or invite them by their contact information.
Pro Tip: Hangouts works best on Chrome or Safari browsers.
UberConference.Com offers free conferences, allowing participants to join via phone or computer. Due to COVID-19, their free program allows longer call duration and up to 50 participants. A paid service is also available.
Pro Tip: The free service includes screen and document sharing plus call recording options.
FDP Photo Competition
Do you know someone who would really appreciate a Google Home Mini smart speaker right about now?! There are just a few days left in our photo competition. Submit your volunteer and voter engagement photos by March 31 and help us build our stock photo library. Now is a great time to review your photos of past events and submit your timeless favorites. Don’t forget to send photos of volunteers phone banking from home. Submissions will be judged by our Creative Director Ali Kurnaz, and the person with the winning photo submission will win a Google Home Mini smart speaker. Send your photos to Ali@FloridaDems.org.
VoteRiders
VoteRiders is a public-facing nonprofit organization which runs a nationwide program to help people get an ID for voting.
If a prospective voter needs transportation to obtain an ID, the organization provides it. If the person cannot afford the cost of an ID, the organization pays for it. If an individual cannot legally apply for an ID because of a state or local law that prohibits it, the organization will file a lawsuit against the government and cover all of the litigation costs.
Go to the VoteRiders website for additional information, including their Voter ID Clinics in Florida.
2020 Census
The 2020 Census is now available and can be completed online, by mail, or by phone. The U.S. Census determines everything from your representation in Congress to the federal resources allocated to support your area, and it’s critical that every household completes it. Please spread the word about the importance of the decennial census and ensuring every resident is counted.
Democracia al Día
Tune into our Spanish-language radio show “Democracia al Día” every Saturday:
11 a.m. ET on Acción 97.9 FM and 810 AM in Orlando
12 p.m. ET on 1040 AM in Miami
The program features community leaders and local elected officials speaking on issues important to the Latinx community such as healthcare, the economy, voting protection, the work of Democratic leaders, and the failed policies of the Donald Trump administration.
Monthly Incentive Grants
We are pausing our Incentive Grant program for March as we refocus our efforts amid the COVID-19 pandemic. We hope to reinstate the program soon with new goals – most likely focused on virtual phone banks and patch through vote-by-mail enrollment calls.
Training Resources
DNC’s Digital Organizing 101 Training – Sunday, March 29 at 3 p.m. ET and Thursday, April 1 at 1 p.m. ET
FDP’s Digital Organizing 101 – Monday, March 30 at 2 p.m. ET. Learn best practices for using social media and how to recruit volunteers digitally.
DNC’s Digital Organizing 201 Training – Tuesday, March 31 at 1 p.m. ET and Wednesday, April 1 at 6 p.m. ET. Dive deeper into digital organizing techniques.
How to Perfect your Selfie Video: a DNC Video Training – Friday, April 3 at 1 p.m. ET. Best practices for recording videos from your cell phone camera – perfect for recording your personal story for why you are working to elect Democrats!
Tech for Campaigns’ Campaigning During Coronavirus – a detailed guide to help campaigns transition to remote activities, including social media, fundraising, and volunteer engagement.
Com Solutions’ Webinar for Political Campaigns – recorded webinar on how to use digital tools and strategies in the wake of the coronavirus.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) and Association of State Democratic Committees (ASDC) Best Practices Institute (BPI) is launching the 2020 Train the Trainer (T3) Webinar Training Program. T3 is a free, six-week, twelve-part webinar course, covering several aspects of grassroots campaigning. Trainings are Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7:00-8:00 p.m. ET April 7 through May 14. The deadline to register is Sunday, April 5 at 11:59 p.m. ET. Click Here to Register for T3 today, ask two Democrats to join you, and help us take our country back in 2020!
T3 participants must complete all 12 sessions in order to receive certification. All training sessions will include a skills test to track retention and participation. Trainings will be recorded and made available following each session via a weekly wrap-up email.
Additional training opportunities are listed here.
DefeatTrumpFL Storytelling Website
OurDefeatTrumpFL.com website is the place for voters to get facts about what’s at stake in our 2020 election, grab tips for taking the fight to social media, find volunteer opportunities, and add their stories of why they’re fighting to defeat Trump. Trump has left Florida’s families with nothing but empty promises and toxic policies, and we are telling that story. Our first ever storytelling website encourages Floridians to use their voice to defeat Trump in 2020. Share ourDefeatTrumpFL website and help us collect more stories by letting everyone know there are three ways to share stories:
- Upload videos
- Download our photo petition in
