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This informal guide draws from Stanley's work and intentions, although it is much less discursive. We hope that these short descriptions will help orient new leaders and we welcome your comments and further questions.

Democrats Abroad (DA) and the Democratic Party 

CC = Country Committee

Country Committees are constituent units of Democrats Abroad as defined by the DA Charter. We use the term so often that "CC" has become a very common acronym. Members of DA that don't live in countries served by CCs are served directly by their Regional Vice Chair (RVC).

The financial relationship between CCs and the rest of the Democratic Party can be counter-intuitive.

Stanley wrote:

No CC is registered with the FEC... This has several important consequences:

  • No CC has to file any report to the FEC: not monthly, not ever.

  • There are no limits on how much an individual US citizen can donate to his or her CC. If someone (a US citizen) wanted to give $1 million to DA Moldova, DAM could accept it without violating any US campaign finance law. 

[Note added in 2017: CCs may not accept donations from corporations of any kind, whether American or not.]

  • However, no CC can spend any money on partisan political activity. DAM, for example, could not give any part of its $1 million to any federal candidate or registered political party to pay for a partisan ad promoting any candidate or party. ...

  • In particular, this means that a CC cannot give money to the DPCA! This counter intuitive fact is central to all fundraising activities. Individual members of a CC—or, indeed, any American citizen—can give money directly to the DPCA. But money given to a CC can never be passed on to the DPCA. On the other hand, the DPCA can pay directly for any political “communication” organized by a CC.

If you have further questions about CC finances or you are planning extraordinary fundraisers, you must check with the International Treasurer and International Counsel to ensure that the arrangement follows all applicable laws and practices. This short entry isn't enough to make informed decisions! 

DPCA = Democratic Party Committee Abroad

This is the official name of the governing committee of Democrats Abroad (DA).

The DPCA is the group responsible for the mission of DA and it is distinct from each of the CCs and the full membership of Democrats Abroad. The members of this committee are listed in the Charter Section 2.2 (roughly, the Chair and Vice-Chair of each CC, the Voting Representatives of those CCs with large enough members, the elected officers of the DPCA, and the DNC members representing DA).

As Stanley wrote:

  • The DPCA is registered with the FEC. If you go to http://www.fec.org you can see how much money we raised and spent each month going back to sometime in 2001. As a registered party, we are bound by contribution limits. In particular, no American can give us more than $32,400 in each of 2013 and 2014 (the max will be adjusted by inflation in 2015 and 2016).

  •  In addition, we can engage in political activity like taking out pro-Democratic ads and giving money to any federal candidate or political party.

  • I could stop at that but there is another source of confusion. In our Charter, we refer to “DPCA members.” Anyone new to the organisation would find this term confusing. We are all  members of DA from the time we sign up, aren’t we? Since DA is, in some sense, a synonym for the DPCA, how can someone simultaneously be a member of DA but not of the DPCA? The simple answer is that when the Charter refers to DPCA members, it really means voting members of DA. 

DNC = Democratic National Committee

The Democratic National Committee is the formal governing body of the Democratic Party. It coordinates among state Democratic parties, Democratic candidates, and a variety of constituency groups. Democrats Abroad participates in the DNC via our elected 8 DNC members (6 elected as DNC members, plus our International Chair and International Vice Chair).

Stanley explained the relationship between the DNC and the DPCA in terms of financial reporting:

  • However, the FEC treats us as a separate account within the DNC. This is a bit confusing. We are simultaneously the same and different. We are different in the obvious sense that we each file separate FEC reports. If John Mogul contributes $5,000 to the DNC in July 2011, his name will appear in the Democratic Party July FEC report—not in ours. And vice versa: if John gives it to the DPCA, his name appears in our FEC report but not in that of the DNC.

  • But, in a very important sense, the FEC treats us as an integral part of the DNC. As I said above, the maximum that an individual can give to a political party in 2013 is $32,400. The FEC treats this limit as the combined amount an individual can give to both the DNC and the DPCA. Thus, if someone gives the DNC $20,000 in 2013, she can give only $12,400 to the DPCA. 

DCCC = Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

DSCC = Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

DLCC = DEMOCRATIC LEGISLATIVE CAMPAIGN COMMITTEE

These three organizations are powerful fund-raisers for Democratic candidates, run by Democratic elected officials.

They often publish lists of targeted elections that other parts of the Democratic party use to prioritize GOTV energy and funds (although they do not have formal authority and many parts add or subtract from those lists).

  • The DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) is run by Democrats elected to the US House of Representatives and it is often spoken as "D-trip".

  • The DSCC is run by Democratic US Senators and the DGA is run by Democratic governors.

  • The DLCC (Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee) works to elect Democrats to state legislatures. 

GOTV = Get Out The Vote

This is a core mission of Democrats Abroad and the Democratic Party.

For DA, this term covers voter's process from completing the FPCA, through sending back a completed ballot, to checking to verify that the ballot was counted.

Voter Registration and Voting Law

FPCA = Federal Post Card Application

The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) is a form that allows military voters, their families, and civilians living overseas to register to vote and request their absentee ballots.

Completing the form accurately requires a reference to state rules, typically either a website like http://VoteFromAbroad.org or the reference Voter Assistance Guide (VAG) published by the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP).  

FWAB = Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot

The Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) is a form that serves as a "backup ballot" for overseas voters. 

Completing the form accurately requires a reference to state rules, typically either a website like http://VoteFromAbroad.org or the reference Voter Assistance Guide (VAG) published by the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP).

UOCAVA voters: American voters living abroad, military and non-military (plus HAVA and MOVE Act)

The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) is the name of a 1986 law that required the 50 states (as well as territories) to allow absentee voting for US citizens living abroad.

"UOCAVA voters" came to mean the group of US citizens whose voting procedures are governed by that Federal law. The act does not apply to state and local elections, which creates a "Federal-only" status for voters in some states.

Subsequent laws that further protected the overseas vote include the Help America Vote Act of (HAVA) of 2002 and the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE Act) of 2010.