Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – As Americans living in Mexico, we know how deeply connected we remain to the future of our country. The following message comes from Clint Harris, the Chair of Democrats Abroad Costa Banderas, written to fellow citizens with an urgent call to stand up for our rights, our values, and our democracy.
To Our Fellow American Citizens: Our way of life is under attack! Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and even your fundamental right to vote and to have representation in the government are on the chopping block. Already women’s healthcare, public education, and right to due process are being abridged. Marriage equality is being challenged.
MAGA has literally waged war on diversity, equity, and inclusion and they have been very successful in taking us back to a very dark time where racism, sexism, and homophobia are accepted, if not praised. To do it, they have annulled our Constitutional protections, upended justice and the rule of law, and stifled truth and the Fourth Estate.
Our last best chance to stop them was this past November. Here in Costa Banderas, we had over 250 members and other local residents register/request their ballots through VoteFromAbroad.org that is 2.5 times what we did in 2022. We helped 150 citizens in VFA centers in Puerto Vallarta and Bucerías and that does not count our help by phone, through email, and by appointment in restaurants and in their homes. That also doesn’t count phone banking, personal emails, and media and social media outreach.
Our intrepid volunteers worked hard and long – I know literally day and sometimes long into the night, week after week. Sometimes, lining voters up one after another, sometimes just waiting and waiting for someone to show up.
However, they were there, trained, certified, and available to help. I am going to call them out now – Lorraine Howes, Joyce Kinnear, Sue Fornoff, Shashanda Trujillo, Mike Wieland, and Joe Wosik. We all owe you tremendous thanks for your hard work and perseverance.
The sad truth is that we still lost the 2024 elections. It was our best opportunity and it has passed. Here is more truth: our next opportunity is 2026 and we at DACB cannot do more than we did in 2024 to Get Out The Vote unless we have more volunteers who are committed!
This is not an easy ask, but it is critical to mount effective resistance to MAGA. Being able to help our citizens navigate the increasingly complex and often confusing breadth of obstacles to make their vote count requires training. Also special situations arise often and that requires knowing where to go for accurate help in real-time. DA has the resources to train an army of Voter Assistants. We are going to need a big one!
That said, we have important elections this year, also:
- TX-18, NYC mayoral Nov 4
- NJ, PA, and VA state Nov 4
We are especially concerned with PA and VA and will need help phone banking.
Are you able to defend your way of life, your Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, women’s healthcare, civil rights? Your country needs you; democracy needs you; truth needs you. Here is how you can help right now:
- Join Democrats Abroad if you have a residence outside of US
- Members can Volunteer to be Voter Certified Assistant
- Volunteer for Phone Banking
- Join Resistance Team (do not have to be a member) Send an email requesting to join or for more information to DACB.Membership(at)gmail.com
- Volunteer elsewhere (do not have to be a member) Send an email pledging to help or requesting more information on Get Out The Vote, Welcome Wagon Forum (November), Membership, Fundraising/Stewardship, Leadership development to DACB.Membership(at)gmail.com
Here in the Banderas Bay area, we have seen the difference that committed volunteers can make, and we know how powerful our overseas voices are when united. As we look toward 2026, let us continue to work together, expand our reach, and do everything we can to protect the America we believe in.
With country committees and local chapters in over 80 countries around the world, Democrats Abroad is the official Democratic Party organization for the millions of Americans living outside the United States. For more information about the Costa Banderas Chapter of Democrats Abroad, click HERE or contact Chapter-Chair Clint Harris at Info-MX-CostaBanderas@democratsabroad.org.