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Comment: Answer to instructions question

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Notifying DA's members about voting by email, post, and fax

How will DA's current members learn about voting by email, post, or fax?

Tentative Answer
The first date that DA's current members will be able to request a remote ballot is January 11. (A "remote ballot" is a ballot returned by email, post, or fax – rather than a ballot voted in-person at a Voting Center.) By that time, every CC will have designated an individual to receive those requests by email (and by post). A global team of volunteers will also respond to requests emailed to a central email address and sent to a central postal address. The global and CC-level contacts will be published on DA's website along with an announcement that DA members who cannot come to a local Voting Center may vote by email, post, and fax.
The GPP Team continues to work on a clear and comprehensive guide for those volunteers. That guide will include explicit and detailed instructions to send to anyone who requests a ballot. (There may be separate instructions for current members and for those who need to sign up as a DA member first.)
From January through February, we expect that CC leaders at the country and chapter levels will include a note describing the Global Presidential Primary and the online availability of ballots with most regular announcements. The GPP Team will make a template available to ensure that those descriptions are clear and accurate.
The GPP Team will coordinate with the ExCom, the Comms Team, and others to build a communications campaign that is well-timed and well-crafted to maximize its visibility. CC leaders can expect to hear more about that campaign, including the task of reaching members without email addresses, in the next few weeks.

Eligibility to vote in the GPP

Who can vote in the Global Presidential Primary? Is there same-day registration? 

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All American citizens who will be 18 by the date of the general election (Nov 8, 2016), and who wish to participate as Democrats. In order to participate as a Democrat, one must be a member of Democrats Abroad. Qualified individuals may join DA on the day of the primary. 

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Checking eligibility to vote at a Voting Center

Does the Voting Center Manager need to check the passports of all new members of DA casting ballots at a Voting Center?

Tentative Answer
Each person voting must sign a statement on the ballot itself that certifies his or her eligibility to vote, which includes US citizenship and other qualifications including residence abroad and not voting for a Presidential candidate in any other primary. There is no duty of the Voting Center Manager to check passports or otherwise guarantee the eligibility of those who wish to become members of Democrats Abroad and vote on the same date.

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The GPP Team recognizes that non-citizens will attempt to participate -- almost always out of a combination of enthusiasm for American politics and misunderstanding our very real primary as a mere straw poll. Voting Center Managers will benefit from a set of clear and comprehensive guidelines that set out when asking for evidence of eligibility would be appropriate and what kind of evidence would be acceptable. Those guidelines will be distributed as part of the overall guide to running a Voting Center.

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Use of a private home as a Voting Center

How does the exemption for using a private home as a Voting Center work?

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Your guiding principle in this situation -- whether you agree with it or not -- should be that the very fact that it is a private residence will be a hurdle for the participation of some Democrats. Make your choices with the idea that you're already behind. Write your request for an exemption by showing how you made up for that basic disadvantage and avoided the pitfalls.

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Country Committee Compliance

Is there a relationship between a Country Committee's compliance with the DA Charter and its participation in the Global Presidential Primary?

Answer

The Country Committees that can participate in the Global Presidential Primary with Voting Centers are the CCs that are "in good standing" (which mostly means "in compliance with DA's Charter") as of December 31, 2015. Not coincidentally, that's the same deadline for most of the information that CC chairs need to provide about how they'll run the Global Presidential Primary. Country Committees need to stay in good standing to participate in the subsequent steps, such as the Regional Caucus and the Global Convention. There are several Charter-mandated deadlines between Dec 31, 2015 and the Global Convention, such as the membership verification process.