This week we saw some of the best and the worst in our country. We saw thousands of people around the county and around the nation come out in solidarity with our Black brothers and sisters and demand justice and an end to police brutality. We also saw the impeached president use force to clear a crowd of people who had gathered in front of the White House to exercise their First Amendment rights, simply so he could have a photo op holding up a bible in front of a church.
We also heard from former president Barack Obama, who reminded us that the most important elections when it comes to the issues protestors have been raising are our local elections: mayors, city and county commissions, elected prosecutors. “To bring about real change, we both have to highlight a problem and make people in power uncomfortable, but we also have to translate that into practical solutions and laws that can be implemented.”
And so, we can’t take our eyes off the prize. We can’t take the eyes off of our democracy, and protecting it. We can’t take our eyes off of the work we have to do to help our fellow citizens of all ages, and backgrounds exercise their right to vote, and stay safe during this pandemic. Mail-in ballots for the August election will start to be mailed out to voters in Miami-Dade County in fewer than 40 days.
Do you have a plan to vote? Have you signed up to receive your ballot at home? (You can sign up both for ballot alerts and also enroll in the Vote-By-Mail program at www.votefromhome.miami).
Help Your Fellow Citizens Vote
What you may not have noticed this week amidst everything else that is going on, is that the Supervisor of Elections started mailing out reminders to households across Miami-Dade County. These reminders have information on enrolling in Vote-By-Mail and include an application that voters can fill out and send back in.
This is a great opportunity for us to remind our fellow citizens that Vote-By-Mail is a great option. We don’t know what in-person voting will look like, we don’t know if all of the normal polling places will be open, and so signing up for Vote-By-Mail is a great option to make sure you always have a way to vote.
Sign up to help us make calls to our fellow Democrats in Miami-Dade to remind them to sign up. We have virtual phone banks scheduled throughout the month of June. We do trainings for anyone who needs it!
Saturday, June 6 – Phone Bank with Miami-Dade Dems
Wednesday, June 10, Phone Bank TRAINING
Wednesday, June 10 Phone Bank with Miami-Dade Dems
Saturday, June 13, Phone Bank with Miami-Dade Dems
Wednesday, June 17, Phone Bank TRAINING
Wednesday, June 17, Phone Bank with Miami-Dade Dems
Saturday, June 20, Phone Bank with Miami-Dade Dems
Wednesday, June 24, Phone Bank TRAINING
Wednesday, June 24 Phone Bank with Miami-Dade Dems
And you can always see these events and much more at www.miamidadedems.org/events.
Postcards to voters
Not comfortable on the phones? We also have an extensive postcard writing campaign, and we have many more postcards to get through. If you’re interested in joining the program, you can purchase a postcard packet for $10, and it comes with 25 postcards, a list of addresses, and postage included. You can purchase it from our website here, and arrange pickup with our Field Director, Ariel Sepulveda.
DEC Committeeman and Committeewoman Elections
We’re looking for people to run for the DEC committeeman and committeewoman this year. What is the DEC? The Democratic Executive Committee is the governing body of the Democratic Party in Miami-Dade County.
On August 18, on the same ballot where we’ll be electing a new county mayor, we will also elect a committeeman and a committeewoman to represent Democrats at the DEC from 55 different districts around the county. This is a change from years past, when individual precincts would elect DEC members. We’ve now moved to a district system, where district committeemen and committeewomen will represent around 15 precincts, and will be in charge of organizing and increasing voter turnout in those precincts.
- Find out which district your precinct is in by clicking here.
- Not sure of your precinct? Find it here.
The qualifying period is from June 8 to June 12 and forms can be submitted starting now. There is no fee or petition requirement. In order to qualify, two forms must be submitted to the Supervisor of Elections (SOE). These are the committeeman / committeewoman oath form and the certification of access to the Handbook and Election laws forms. There is a third form that must be submitted if money is expended for your campaign. These forms can be downloaded here:
- CANDIDATE OATH – Committeemen and Committeewomen (This form needs to be notarized, but if you take it to the Supervisor of Elections during office hours, they will notarize it for you).
- Access to Handbook and the Election Laws of the State of Florida
- Campaign Treasurer’s Report – Miami-Dade County Electronic Filing Requirements (only required if you plan on raising money for your campaign)
Signed and completed forms can be sent attached via email to qualifyingdocuments@miamidade.gov.
Sign up for the Voter Protection Team
One of the missions that we have in the Miami-Dade Democratic Party is to protect the right of our citizens to vote. The Miami-Dade Democratic Party’s Voter Protection Committee, chaired by Wayne Brody is looking for volunteers to help with this mission.
We don’t know what in-person voting will look like in August or November, but we do know that we need lawyers, activists, and problem solvers to help recruit, work the polls, and troubleshoot remotely. If you are up to joining the fight to save the vote, click here to sign up.
In the News:
We condemned Trump’s anti-democratic behavior this week. Our Chair, Steve Simeonidis issued a statement saying, “For many Miami-Dade residents who fled dictatorships in Latin America, Donald Trump’s behavior is an awful reminder of what they left behind.” Read the full statement here.
Become a Sustaining Donor
We are starting to see the fruits of our field program and our extensive digital program already. Vote-by-Mail signups are up among Democrats in Miami-Dade County, and we know that will be a big key to winning important races in August and November. We couldn’t run this field program without your support.
Can you become a sustaining donor of $7, $10, or $20.20 today?
We know this is a tough time for many of us right now, so please know we appreciate you staying involved in any way that you can. Thank you for all you do.
Onward,
Christopher Richmond
Executive Director
Miami-Dade Democratic Party
http://www.miamidadedems.org/
Coronavirus Resources: We’ve collected resources on drive-through testing, grocery store hours, unemployment and small business aid, and more here at miamidadedems.org/covid.
Are you a sustaining donor? Even $5 a month makes a big difference.
The local Miami-Dade Democratic Party is a self-funded, membership-driven organization of dedicated volunteers.
We are the largest Democratic county (600K registered Democrats) in the biggest swing state. We have a plan to win in 2020 and remove Trump from office, and it involves paid staff, increasing efforts in voter registration, outreach, events, and marketing. Support our work with a monthly donation of any amount here: https://www.miamidadedems.org/sustaining
Miami-Dade Democratic Party · 1951 NW 7 Ave, 6th floor, Miami, FL 33136, United States
