Dear Democrats,

As we start the new week on the countdown to Election Day, we wish all those who are observing Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, an easy and meaningful fast. G'mar Chatima Tova!

Last week we marked another tragic milestone in the coronavirus pandemic, surpassing 200,000 deaths in the U.S. We mourn with those who are grieving a loved one. Tragically, our loss did not have to be so great. President Trump knew this would be a deadly pandemic, but ignored the warnings and refused to prepare us for a threat experts saw coming — and we are seeing the heartbreaking consequences of his continued inaction. A president’s ultimate job is to protect the people, and Donald Trump failed. We must hold him accountable in November.

Now Republicans are trying to rush through a Supreme Court nomination. For Floridians, this nomination is about the future of our health care, our rights, and our environment. In the midst of a deadly pandemic, this nomination brings Donald Trump closer than ever to taking health care away from millions of Floridians, including our loved ones with pre-existing conditions. Amy Coney Barrett disagreed with Chief Justice John Roberts’ majority opinion upholding the ACA in 2012 — sending a chilling message about what she would do on the Supreme Court. Millions of Floridians have already been sent their ballots for the November election and their voices should be heard in this critical decision.

We are now under 40 days to "E-Day," and Democrats across the state are fired up like never before. With all the events of the past several weeks, everyone realizes the stakes and the importance of Florida in determining the outcome. Thank you to all of you for all your incredible work in getting ready for this moment. See below for updates on many of our programs and new initiatives, including the Personalized Voting Guides, Down Ballot Elections, and Vote By Mail. NOTE: Please spread the word that volunteers are especially needed for the VBM Day of Action and Voter Protection teams -- see below.

For the next 36 days (1 month and 6 days) we must keep our foot on the gas and continue to enroll voters to Vote by Mail, provide education on how to properly complete and return ballots, and protect every vote so we can put true leaders in the White House, in Washington D.C., in Tallahassee, and in every district throughout the state!
Forward,
Terrie Rizzo
Chair
Florida Democratic Party
FDP Personal Voting Guides
The 2020 FDP personal voting guides are now live on Sunshine.Vote! These voting guides will allow Florida voters to enter their voting address to see a full list of Sunshine Slate Democratic candidates appearing on their specific ballots!

Now through Tuesday, November 3, we'll need hundreds of volunteers around the state to text our Democratic voters and encourage them to vote for our Sunshine Slate candidates all the way down the ballot. You can join our statewide texting campaign by signing up below — we need all hands on deck:
Please sign up for a texting shift and share the Mobilize link with your Democratic networks! Each shift will kick off with a live meeting at 11AM EDT.
Down Ballot Days of Action
On Saturday, October 3 at 10 a.m. ET, we need volunteers who are bilingual in English and Spanish to sign up for our Down Ballot Election Hispanic Outreach Day of Action /Día de Acción!

We will kick off the day with a Zoom meeting with FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo, DNC Chair Tom Perez, Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, and Dr. Frank Mora, Director of the Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center and Professor of Politics and International Relations at FIU. This will be followed by a short training, and then volunteers and candidates will jump on the phone and call Hispanic voters across the state to identify supporters and provide voter education around voting by mail and voting early this election cycle! 
Vote by Mail
Our Vote by Mail (VBM) enrollment margin continues to grow! As of Monday, 2,401,779 Florida Democrats (45.5%) are enrolled in VBM compared to 1,647,893 Republicans, expanding our historic VBM enrollment lead to 753,886!

Keep up the great work and continue to enroll our supporters to VBM, educate these new enrollees on how to successfully VBM, and work to turn out every allied voter.

Important VBM dates:
  • October 5 - deadline to register to vote
  • October 19 - ballots not returned by mail by this date should be dropped off at SOE sites
  • October 24, 5 p.m. - deadline to request ballot be mailed to voter
  • November 3, 7 p.m. - SOE must receive completed ballots from in-state and absent stateside voters
  • November 5, 5 p.m. - deadline to cure ballots with signature mismatches
  • November 13 - SOE must receive completed ballots from overseas voters
Voter Education
Nearly one million of Florida Democrats enrolled to Vote by Mail are new or infrequent voters, and we need your help getting voter education information to them! From now until Election Day, we will be pushing out voter education messages for you to share.

This week’s Voter Education Social Media Toolkit includes sample posts and tweets focused on how to return VBM ballots plus an educational video from Brandon Wolf, Pulse Nightclub Shooting Survivor and Gun Violence Prevention Activist, for you to share across your social media accounts.

We also launched a digital ad campaign this week asking Democrats to vote all the way down the ballot. These ads will run on Connected TV, Facebook and YouTube. Additionally, full-page ads are running in Spanish and African American newspapers across the state with voter education messages.
Debate Pre-Program and Watch Party
On Tuesday, September 29, Joe Biden will go head-to-head with Donald Trump to debate critical issues facing the country for the first time! Join Team Joe supporters from all across Florida at 8 p.m. ET for a debate pre-program and watch party! Hear from local supporters and learn how you can get involved in the campaign to elect Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Democrats up and down the ticket. The FL pre-program will be followed by a national pre-program and then we'll all cheer on Joe together during a debate watch party livestream.

This is the moment we've been waiting for. Join us as Florida kicks off the first debate, and once you're signed up, make sure your friends and family are, too!

Tuesday, September 29, 2020
8:00 PM EDT
Meet the Sunshine Slate
To introduce voters to our new Sunshine Slate, we have launched a weekly "Meet the Candidates" series. Join us Thursday, October 1 at 6 p.m. ET for our focus on Palm Beach County candidates. Stay tuned for updates, and use our Meet the Candidates Social media Toolkit to help us spread the word.
FL Voter Protection Phone Bank
The Florida Voter Protection Team has set up an open virtual phone bank to contact approximately 27,000 Florida voters, with Democrat support scores of 60 or higher, whose Vote by Mail (VBM) ballots were returned as "undeliverable" during the August Primary. We have precious little time to help these voters update their mailing addresses and request a new VBM ballot. We need experienced phone bank volunteers to help call through this list now through September 30. Once the list has been called through once, it will be sent to a second round.
Voter Protection
We need your help protecting the vote in our critical swing state!

Republican lawyers are mobilized and already taking steps to restrict voting rights in Florida. We have the best organized voter protection program in Florida’s history, with experienced Florida election lawyers at work across the state. But to build the team we need for November, we need thousands more volunteers.

There are many ways to help:
  • Serve as poll watchers and provide voter assistance inside and outside of polling places during Early Voting, starting in October, and on Election Day, November 3
  • Make calls from home to recruit other volunteers
  • Staff our voter protection hotline (also from home)
  • Attend county Canvassing Board meetings where ballots are approved or rejected
  • Contact VBM voters with signature issues and help them cure their ballots
Please sign up today to volunteer with us at https://go.joebiden.com/page/s/election-day-voter-protection.

Help spread the message by forwarding this request to Florida lawyers you know and to your Democratic networks, asking them to do the same. We are focused on protecting the vote in ALL communities, so we especially need lawyers who speak Spanish, Haitian Creole, and other languages.
Virtual Fundraisers
On Saturday, October 3 at 4 p.m. ET, we're hosting a One-Month-Out Event with special guests Senator Amy Klobuchar, Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried, and FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo. >>Click Here to RSVP.
Monday, October 5 at 5 p.m. ET, we're hosting a virtual fundraiser with Speaker Nancy Pelosi. >>Click Here to RSVP.
And on Thursday, October 8 at 5 p.m. ET, our virtual fundraiser will support FDP's Vote-by-Mail programs. Special guests include Secretary Julián Castro and FDP Chair Terrie Rizzo. >>Click Here to RSVP.
Training Resources
The FDP Data team is now providing weekly VAN training to cover the fundamentals of Votebuilder for Candidates & Campaign Staff:
The Team Blue Pipeline Program (TBPP) professional development training program is a collaboration between the Best Practices Institute (BPI) and DNC Talent Bank, which seeks to provide professional development and training opportunities on a continuing basis to Democratic staff, volunteers, activists, and candidates. Sign up below:
The Facebook Politics team is hosting a series of webinars to learn more about Facebook advertising:
Compliance Corner
The FEC requires DECs to:
  • register and file reports with the FEC if the DEC exceeds certain dollar thresholds related to federal elections.
  • only spend permissible funds to support federal candidates or engage in “federal election activity.”
These requirements can be complicated, so we've compiled a brief overview of how these requirements affect common DEC activities.
Please share these guidelines with your DEC leaders involved with fundraising and campaign activities.

If you think your DEC may have exceeded any thresholds or is planning to spend more than the threshold, please contact PartyAffairs@FloridaDems.org.

For more information or questions, you can attend financial compliance office hours with our COO Anne Morgan on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2 p.m. - 4 p.m. ET by calling (305) 697-4202, PIN 86381#, or email Anne directly at amorgan@floridadems.org.
Event Planning
With Election Day fast approaching, we know our amazing DECs, Clubs, and Caucuses have many 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 and our team will be in touch as soon as possible.
FDP News Digest
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