Dear Democrats, 

I hope you have all seen the announcement of our blockbuster line-up for our Leadership Blue Gala. Joe Biden, DNC Chair Tom Perez, Congressman Jim Clyburn, and Commissioner Nikki Fried are champions of our values, and we’re so excited for them to join us. This year’s Gala will be unlike any other – not only because we are hosting our Democratic nominee and former Vice President Joe Biden, but also because this is our first entirely virtual Leadership Blue weekend.

Although we wish we could be celebrating together in person, we are proud of the incredible and innovative steps our staff, volunteers, and county parties have taken to keep Floridians safe in this challenging moment. Together we will flip Florida blue! Read more below on the many ways everyone can participate in this year's Leadership Blue weekend.

We have a BIG update announcement coming Monday about our Vote by Mail progress. Stay tuned - your (blue) socks are going to be knocked off!

As of Saturday, July 11, there are exactly 115 days -- 3 months and 23 days -- to November 3, 2020. We are only 10 days away from the July 20 deadline to register to vote or change party to vote in the August Primary, and ballots began mailing this past week.
Forward,
Terrie Rizzo
Chair
Florida Democratic Party
Leadership Blue Virtual Gala
We are so excited to welcome Vice President Biden back to the state of Florida and to our annual Leadership Blue Gala! Vice President Biden will join Chair Terrie Rizzo on Saturday, June 18 at 6 p.m. ET along with House Majority Whip Representative Jim Clyburn, DNC Chairman Tom Perez, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, and FDP First Vice Chair Judy Mount.
While the Main Track of our Leadership Blue convention will stream live on Facebook , Twitter, Twitch , and YouTube throughout the weekend, the Leadership Blue 2020 Virtual Gala is a separately ticketed event. All funds directly benefit critical FDP programs to help us create the electorate we need to win up and down the ballot on November 3.
Leadership Blue Virtual Convention
Have you seen our new LeadershipBlue.com website?

It has everything you need to plan your July 17-19 Leadership Blue 2020 weekend. You can purchase your Gala ticket and access the full weekend schedule of special events, trainings, and Caucus meetings.
Our program has multiple ways to participate!

Events in the Main Track will broadcast live on Facebook , Twitter, Twitch , and YouTube . Click "Remind" to sign up for reminders for the events and trainings you don't want to miss.

The Second Track and Caucus Meetings will be hosted live in individual meetings utilizing virtual meeting platforms like Zoom. Be sure to sign up for the trainings and meetings you want to attend in order to receive your meeting links.

Our Leadership Blue 2020 Virtual Convention has events and trainings for all Democrats, including new volunteers, candidates, and seasoned Party leaders. FDP's Digital Team has prepared a Leadership Blue 2020 Toolkit to help you promote this event and make it our largest ever. The toolkit includes sample posts for you to share across your social media channels, tips for creating your own content, and more and has been updated with our new LeadershipBlue.com website and Virtual Gala graphics.

We are committed to providing a Leadership Blue 2020 experience that is accessible to the widest possible audience, regardless of circumstance and ability. That is why we will be providing automatic captions on our Facebook and YouTube live streams when viewed on a desktop computer, iOS, or Android device. You can turn on these settings by following the instructions available from Facebook and YouTube . If you require additional accommodations, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected].
Magic Show for Joe
Take a break and check in with your fellow Biden supporters from across the country on Saturday, July 11 from 8-9 p.m. ET . The event will kick off with an interactive magic experience hosted by one of the best magicians in the world! The show is family friendly and for all ages. Plus, you may learn a cool magic trick you can do on your own!

The primary objective is to check in on each other and have some fun, but after the show, there will be a discussion about Vice President Biden's vision and his key priorities followed by a Q&A session with a Biden organizer. Register for the event here .
Todos con Biden Las Comadres Charla with Reps. Mucarsel-Powell, Escobar & Garcia & Jill Biden
Join Jill Biden and Congresswomen Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, Veronica Escobar, and Sylvia Garcia for a virtual Todos con Biden Las Comadres Charla on Tuesday, July 14 at 6:30 p.m. ET. RSVP Here .
Florida Women for Biden Kickoff
Over 1,600 joined Monday's launch of Florida Women for Biden, including Congresswomen Val Demings and Donna Shalala, Commissioner Nikki Fried, State Senator Audrey Gibson, State Representative Amy Mercado, and Chair Terrie Rizzo.

Join the Women for Biden National Call Thursday, July 16 at 7 p.m. ET featuring Stacey Abrams. Biden for President hosts this bi-monthly call series every other Thursday, July 2 to October 29. Register for the calls here .
Virtual Fundraiser to Benefit our Voter Protection Program
Last year, FDP became the first state party in the nation to invest in a full-time Voter Protection Department. Since then, our program has saved hundreds of thousands of Florida voters from being illegally purged from the rolls in red counties, won groundbreaking voting rights litigation, and worked to set up voter protection teams of trained attorneys in every single one of FL's 67 counties.

Join us on Tuesday, July 21 at 5 p.m. ET for our virtual fundraiser featuring special guests US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo, and FDP Voter Protection Director Brandon Peters. RSVP or Contribute Here .
Democrats Abroad Global Black Caucus: Fighting White Supremacy
The Democrats Abroad Global Black Caucus is hosting a summer series, "Fighting White Supremacy." Below are details on their upcoming webinars:
  • Saturday, July 25, 9 a.m. ET: On the Strategic Value of U.S. Reparations - Antar Keith will provide a brief overview of the history of reparations, including an outline of other forms of reparations and redress extended to minority groups during the 20th century.
  • Tuesday, July 28, 1:30 p.m. ET: Black Lives Matter and COVID-19 Webinar - Dr. Nicole Hirschfelder will lead a discussion focused on the situation of the black community in the USA, reflecting on the current effects of COVID-19, widely publicized cases of police brutality that led to worldwide protests, and the urgent need for structural reforms.
  • Thursday, August 6, 1:30 p.m. ET: Film Night: American History X - A screening of the film "American History X" followed by a discussion.
Cuban and Venezuelan Leaders' Roundtable
Friday, ahead of Donald Trump’s Florida visit, Cuban and Venezuelan leaders Liz Rebecca Alarcon, Founder and Executive Director of Pulso; Dr. Frank Mora, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for the Western Hemisphere; and Leopoldo Martinez Nucete, DNC Member and Latino Victory board member, participated in a roundtable on Facebook Live to condemn the Trump administration’s foreign policy failures and how they have harmed the Venezuelan and Cuban communities and those who have fled dictatorships. These leaders also addressed the GOP’s continued hypocrisy on Cuban and Venezuelan foreign policy and their refusal to authorize Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Venezuelans seeking refuge.  View the discussion here .
Vote by Mail
Data shows more voters are likely to cast their ballot when they are mailed a ballot in advance. Historically, the party that is able to harness the power of VBM has a major advantage because barriers to voting are removed, allowing more voters to exercise their right to vote. Plus campaign get-out-the-vote efforts improve when voters have ballots in hand a month in advance, as there are fewer voters left to persuade to vote on Election Day.

Since April 1, we've made over three million VBM call attempts!
Incentive Grants
Congratulations to these counties who met their June Incentive Grant goals!
  • Bradford
  • Broward
  • Charlotte
  • Duval
  • Escambia
  • Flagler
  • Franklin
  • Hernando
  • Lake
  • Miami-Dade
  • Okaloosa
  • Osceola
  • Palm Beach
  • Pasco
  • Pinellas
  • Polk
  • Santa Rosa
  • St. Lucie
  • St. Johns
  • Volusia
Monthly incentive grant goals are based on the number of volunteer calls made into the county's FDP vote-by-mail virtual phone bank . These county-specific phone bank targets include cold and warm Democrats with high support scores and cell phones who are not enrolled in VBM. The script includes a Joe Biden ID, vote-by-mail ask, and a request to forward the call to the local SOE's office. Because these are patch-through calls, these phone banks should only be used during SOE business hours. Additional guidance, including instructions for how to patch-through calls to the SOE, are included in our Incentive Grant Program Guide .
 
July's Incentive Grant Goals remain the same as June's. County DEC phone banks are available at m.floridadems.org/phonebank . Caucuses should contact [email protected] for incentive grant phone bank links.
Voter Registration
Voter Registration for Florida's August Primary closes Monday, July 20. Share the online Voter Registration link widely to encourage people to register to vote or change their Party to Democrat before July 20.

Despite the need for social distancing during this ongoing coronavirus pandemic, we are still finding creative ways to register voters. Here's a look at some of our most recent efforts:
  • We've used new geofencing platforms to serve voter registration ads to Black Lives Matter protesters via Snapchat.
  • By working with data scientists and analysts, we've developed a model to find unregistered Puerto Rican voters living in Florida, using cell phones and voter files from the island. We mailed 240,000 voter registration mailers to those households last week, testing two different pieces.

As of April 30, we have a 276,804 voter registration advantage over Republicans. 
Training Resources
In addition to the over 20 trainings offered during Leadership Blue 2020 , FDP is hosting trainings in both English and Spanish throughout July. Here's what's coming up in the next two weeks:

FDP's State Voter Protection Training Director Henry Burden is providing Voter Protection Program Training each week, Tuesdays and Saturdays , through the end of October. These trainings are open to anyone interested in assisting with voter protection this election cycle. To receive the Zoom meeting invitations, please email Voter Protection Deputy Director Herly Rosemond at [email protected] . Those not already connected with a county voter protection team should complete the Voter Protection Interest Sign Up form .

FDP's Voter Protection team is also providing Canvassing Board Training on Wednesday, July 15 at 6:30 p.m. ET . Anyone interested in attending should email Voter Protection Deputy Director Herly Rosemond at [email protected] .

The Democratic Women's Club of Florida is hosting a presentation on understanding and engaging the Black church as a vital pathway to the African-American electorate.
  • Tuesday, July 14, 6 p.m. ET: Campaigning in African-American Houses of Faith - Pastor Johnnie Jones III from Fountain of Life Church in Gainesville will share with participants the historical and social significance of the Black church as well as how to initiate contact, gain entry and navigate the complex landscape of these faith communities.

The National Democratic Training Committee (NDTC) has several virtual live trainings scheduled to help you increase your online success:

The Team Blue Pipeline Program (TBPP) professional development training program is a collaboration between the Best Practices Institute (BPI) and DNC Talent Bank. Their Organizational Stability series of webinar trainings is dedicated to building organizational stability during the time of social distancing.

Building Bridges 4 America mobilizes networks of relational grassroots organizers to support pragmatic progressive campaigns and causes. They are hosting a weekly discussion series, diving into different election topics to help organizers mobilize and train grassroots volunteers to widen the tent of the Democratic Party and expand voter participation.

DNC National Convention
In addition to choosing the Party’s nominees for president and vice president, during the August 17-20 Democratic National Convention, the Party also adopts the official Democratic Party platform as well as the rules and procedures governing Party activities. The DNC Platform Drafting Committee hosted public hearings last week, and you can view those on the DNCC's YouTube channel . The full Platform Drafting Committee will meet on July 15 to finalize their draft to present to the Platform Committee. This week the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Forces also provided recommendations to the Platform Committee. The Platform Committee will meet virtually on July 27. Add your voice to the 2020 Platform by submitting a video with the ideas, values, and beliefs you want to see reflected in the 2020 Party Platform.

The principal responsibilities of the Rules Committee are to adopt the Procedural Rules under which the Democratic National Convention will operate, adopt the Convention Agenda, select the permanent officers of the Convention, and adopt the nomination process for presidential candidates in the next election cycle. The Rules Committee will meet virtually on July 30. The Credentials Committee is responsible for resolving questions concerning the credentialing and seating of delegates and alternates to the Democratic National Convention. They will be meeting virtually on July 31.
Democracia al Día
Tune into our Spanish-language radio show every Saturday:
  • 9 a.m. ET on La Mega Tampa Bay 101.1 FM and 1110 AM
  • 10 a.m. ET on La Zeta 105.3 FM and La Numero Uno 99.1 FM and 1280 AM in Tampa
  • 11 a.m. ET on Acción 97.9 FM and 810 AM in Orlando
  • 12 p.m. ET on Actualidad 1040 AM and 103.9 FM in Miami

Each show is also available as a podcast on Apple Podcasts and Google Play .
FDP on Social Media
Now there are more ways than ever to join us online. Follow FDP on these platforms and share our content:
Reminder: Send Us Your Updates
Is your DEC or State Caucus planning your large, annual event to be held virtually? Be sure to send [email protected] the details so we can add them to our Party Calendar .

As campaign season heats up, we know our amazing DECs, Clubs, and Caucuses may have many very exciting and important (virtual!) events planned. If there is an event you would like to request Chair Terrie Rizzo to be a part of, please fill out this request form .
FDP Is Hiring!
FDP now has 230 staff members and is continuing to expand our team. Help us spread the word and direct talented individuals to apply for these positions:
  • Downballot Elections Press Secretary (Ft. Lauderdale)
  • Small County Organizing Coordinator (Tallahassee)
  • Municipal Victory Program (MVP) Deputy Director
  • Graphic Design Associate (Ft. Lauderdale)
Job descriptions are available here . Please have applicants send their resumes and references to [email protected] with their name and the position they are applying for in the subject line.
Voter Protection: Poll Workers
For our upcoming elections, not only is it important that we are recruiting voter protection volunteers , but it is also important that we are encouraging Democrats to become paid poll workers. WorkElections.com is a nonpartisan online organization that has compiled poll worker requirements and applications for local election jurisdictions in seven states, including Florida. Their aim is to recruit younger, more multilingual and computer-proficient candidates to work elections -- a critical need in the face of this pandemic. Please share the WorkElections.com website with your networks.
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