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Resolution Directing Democrats Abroad (DA) to include Veterans and Military Family Members under Representation Goals when electing delegates under future Delegate Selection Plans (DSPs)
1 1 For purposes of this Resolution, a “military family member” is an individual who has a direct familial relationship with a past or present U.S. service-member who identifies as the individual’s biological/adopted/step parent/guardian, sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle, cousin, spouse, in-laws, child(ren), grandchild(ren), step-family members, ex-spouse, and widow/widower. This broad definition by the DA Veterans and Military Families Caucus strives to be as inclusive rather than exclusive as possible, and is consistent with what defines a “military family member” as stated by the DNC Veterans and Military Families Council. Other definitions of what constitute a “military family” – such as government benefits eligibility – are highlighted on pages 11-12 in the following scholarly report:
Gribble, R., Mahar, A., Godfrey, K., Muir, S., Albright, D., Daraganova, G., Spinks, N., Fear, N. and Cramm, H. 2018, ‘What does the term ‘military family’ mean? A comparison across four countries’, Military Families Working Group, March, viewed on 8 May 2022, <https://cimvhr-cloud.ca/reports/Military-families-definitions.pdf>.
Furthermore, for purposes of this Resolution, a “veteran,” per 38 CFR 3.1(d), is “a person who served in the active military, naval, air, or space service and who was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable.”
2 “Representation goals” as defined here is intended to mirror the definition and description of the representation goals mentioned in the 2020 DA DSP (Section VII – Affirmative Action), viewable here: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/democratsabroad/pages/19989/attachments/original/1576839215/COMPLIANT_DA_DSP_11.26.19_%281%29.pdf?1576839215.
2 3 Examples of barriers to voting faced by veterans and military families include, but are not limited to: the late arrival of overseas absentee ballots through no fault of the voter; the deportation of individuals who had voluntarily signed up with the military with the broken promise of gaining U.S. citizenship upon service; U.S. service-members from the District of Columbia or a U.S. Territory who have no voting representation in Congress, the inability to vote for service-members occupied in combat situations, civilian veterans abroad unable to utilize international postal services to the United States during the COVID-19 era, and denial of service-members’ opportunity to voice political and government opinions, among other issues.
3 4 On May 26, 2021, the Chairwoman of the DNC’s Veterans and Military Families Council, Jan Donatelli, informed the resolution author of her full support for Democrats Abroad including veterans and military families within its next and all future DSPs. Evidence of this communication is available upon request from any member of the Democratic Party.
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