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Happy Thursday, Fellow Democrats!

We are now 26 days away from electing Joe Biden as our next President of the United States!


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** GOOD NEWS! DEMOCRATS KEEP PACE WITH REPUBLICANS IN VOTER REGISTRATION IN INDIAN RIVER COUNTY AND REGISTER MORE IN THE STATE, IN SPITE OF PANDEMIC
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In Indian River County, preliminary voter registration numbers show: 5,000 additional Democrats registered to vote which is a 17% growth rate over the 2016 election. At least 8,500 additional Republicans also registered since the 2016 election, also a 17% growth rate; and 4,000 other party affiliations, accounting for a 15% growth rate. Statewide, Democrats have registered 182,000 more voters as Democrats than the Republicans have registered Republican voters.


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** GOOD NEWS! DEMOCRATS OUT VOTING REPUBLICANS IN GENERAL ELECTION BY VOTING BY MAIL
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Indian River Democrats have kept a sizable lead in returning their vote by mail ballots to the Supervisor of Elections. As of Wednesday evening, 22 percent of our Democrats had voted and there was a 1300 VBM ballot lead over the Republicans. You can see the results on the homepage of the Indian River County Supervisor of Elections at: [link removed] ([link removed])

This is the same trend we are seeing in the state with Democrats returning VBM ballots over Republicans 2 to 1. Democrats have returned 613,000 Vote by Mail ballots statewide; Republicans have returned 338,000. No Party Affiliation have returned 214,000 ballots. Democrats have a 770,000 lead over Republicans in requesting VBM ballots. Overall in the state, 47.6% of Democrats have enrolled in VBM; 33% of Republicans.



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** THE FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PARTY AND THE IRC DEMOCRATIC HEADQUARTERS—ALL ARE VIRTUAL OPERATIONS
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It has become apparent that new visitors to the office are not aware that the Florida Democratic Party has been virtual since March because of COVID-19, including local DEC offices like ours. However, our officers, staff and volunteers continue to work long hours virtually from our homes.

Because of these policies to keep our Democrats safe from the coronavirus, our office remains closed for inside visits and meetings. Operations Coordinator, Stacey Klim, has agreed to physically be in the office on Wednesdays and Fridays 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for visitors to pick up Democratic gear (yard signs, bumper stickers, etc.) and to conduct other “essential services,” which the FDP will allow. Like many of us, she is doing this at some risk to her family, two of who have sensitive, pre-existing conditions.

If you come to the office, please knock on the door, social distance, and wear a facemask. Please be respectful, kind and friendly as we continue to look after the safety of our fellow Democrats.


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** THE BIDEN CAMPAIGN PIVOTING TO LIMITED ON-THE-GROUND OPERATIONS AND CANVASSING
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The Biden Campaign has also been a virtual operation until last week. Some states, including Florida, are gearing up to begin knocking on doors and man literature/sign disbursement centers in 27 locations around the state. Six of these Victory Centers opened on Wednesday in Tallahassee, Jacksonville, Orlando, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach and Broward counties. If you want to canvass for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, please contact our Regional Director, Kevin Lo at: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or our IRC field organizer, Jessica Hancock at: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])



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** YARD SIGNS AND BUMPER STICKERS
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The Biden campaign just gave us 400 yard signs! Come to our HQ at 2345 14^th Avenue, Suite 7 in Vero Beach and pick one up! While you are there, purchase a Biden bumper sticker or button for $2. You can also grab a free Al Griffiths and Scot Fretwell bumper sticker. And free yard signs for Griffiths, Kennedy and Fretwell! We may not outnumber the other party in our county, but we can support our candidates and the Democratic Party!
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** ACTION NEEDED – SCHOOL BOARD
OPTIONAL MASK VOTE
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On Tuesday, October 13th the School District of Indian River County School Board plans to vote on making face masks optional. This would be detrimental to the health and safety of students and staff. For the past few meetings, a select group of anti-maskers have shown up to dominate the conversation and comment period. We need you to write a letter to our School Board members and Superintendent showing your support for the continuation of mandatory masks in our schools. Also, if you are interested in showing up to the meeting to either speak or show your support, please email Stacey at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Send your letters to:

Dr. David Moore, Superintendent - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Laura Zorc - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Dr. Mara Schiff - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Jacqueline Rosario - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Teri Barenborg - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Tiffany Justice - [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])


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WAYS TO VOLUNTEER FOR VICTORY
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As we get closer to November 3^rd, we get busier. We have a great group of regular volunteers, but we need more help! Here are some ways you can help.

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** Sign Waving
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Thank you to everyone who has shown up for our sign waving events. It has been fantastic! We still have many more scheduled and we need YOU to show up! We will be wearing masks and social distancing. Signs will be provided, but if you have your own, feel free to bring them. Join us on:


Saturday, October 10^th, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the corner of Oslo (9^th St) and 27^th Ave. SW (South Vero, parking in Winn Dixie shopping mall).

Tuesday, October 13^th, from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Sebastian Riverview Park (Sebastian).


Here are some more opportunities:

Every Friday, through October 29^th there will be sign waving and a car caravan in Sebastian. Meet at 3:45 p.m. in the parking lot behind the Speedway on U.S. 1, across from Riverview Park. The sign waving event will last for one hour and the car caravan for about an hour and a half. Decorate your car to drive in the caravan, or bring signs to wave (homemade signs are always welcomed).

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** Also, this Saturday at 11 a.m. we have a group that is will be putting out signs in North County. On Sunday at 11 a.m. there will be a sign waving rally across from the Catholic Church in Fellsmere. For more information on both of these events, you can contact Kelly at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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Canvassing for Jim Kennedy
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Jim Kennedy's campaign is looking for volunteers to place door hangers in Indian River County. They are targeting NPAs and will work with volunteers to define and deliver turfs close to their home/precincts to work on their own time. They are focusing on NPAs with VBM ballots now and will transition to other NPAs as early voting begins. Please contact Joanne Terry at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or 321-684-3295 if you are interested.


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** Phone Banking/Texting
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The Biden campaign is currently phone banking and texting. These calls are “Persuasion Calls.” You may be calling Republicans and No Party Affiliation voters to persuade them to vote for Joe Biden. If you are interested in volunteering for this, click on the links below, sign up online and the Biden campaign will reach out to you with more details.

*Please note that since our Indian River County phone bankers did such an amazing job, the Biden Campaign is done making calls in our county. They are now focusing on East Central Florida, specifically Cape Canaveral, Cocoa Beach, and Melbourne that need help with phone banking. So please, keep making those calls!

Phone Banking:

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Texting:

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Spanish Texting:

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Florida Democratic Party
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The Florida Democratic Party is now texting Voting Guides for each county to voters. So many Democrats have signed up to vote by mail — but we need your help to remind them to fill out their ballots and send it in! This is a statewide text bank that will also send Democrats who are voting by mail their personalized #SunshineSlate Democratic voting guides. We are doing everything we can to help voters so November can bring victories up and down the entire ballot! Sign up here to help:

[link removed]


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.
Training slides are available here:
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The Phone Bank link is here:
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** Letters to the Editor
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Our local newspaper, TC Palm, accepts letters to the editor from anyone. Wouldn’t you like to see letters from Indian River County residents supporting Biden in the newspaper every day? Well, let’s make it happen! We want to share why Biden is the best candidate for the job, so write your letter today! To submit a Letter to the Editor, go to: [link removed]



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** Postcard Writing
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Want to write postcards to voters in swing states, including Florida? Here are a couple of programs that do just that.

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** Resist Bot
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Resist Bot is an amazing and super easy texting tool to use with numerous advocacy options. With Resist Bot you can write your own letters to Congress, State officials and even the President; access phone numbers of officials anytime; create your own petition for others to sign and see trending petitions; even get 3 newspaper front pages every morning. It took me about 1 minute to sign 2 petitions and send letters to Scott and Rubio asking them to hold off voting a new Supreme Court Justice and to stop forced hysterectomies on ICE detainees. To start using Resist Bot, use your mobile phone and go to [link removed]


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** Volunteer for a Local Campaign
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This November not only will you be voting for a new President, but also local Congressional and State seats.

Jim Kennedy is running to unseat Bill Posey. Posey has been in his position for 12 years and it is time for a new member of Congress to represent us. You can learn more about Jim at [link removed]


Al Griffiths is a candidate for Florida House Seat 54, running against Erin Grall. Learn more about Al at:

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[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])
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Scott Fretwell, is running against Debbie Mayfield for Florida Senate Seat 17. Learn more about Scot at:

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[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Both Al Griffiths and Scot Fretwell are looking for volunteers for their campaign. If you have time to help these candidates, please reach out to them ASAP.

Please come by our office to pick up FREE yard signs for these candidates!



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** DEMOCRATIC CLUB NEWS
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October’s Democratic Club speaker will be Indian River's Supervisor of Elections, Leslie Swan. Please mark your calendars for Wednesday, October 14th. Leslie will be speaking at about 6:05 p.m. so please log in early. You will receive the Zoom link closer to the date. If you are not a Club member, please email [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) to receive the Zoom link.

Beach Cleanup

The International Coastal Cleanup is scheduled for Saturday, October 17^th. The Democratic Club and the Democratic Women's Club Environmental Committee are hoping to put a team together. It should be safe: we will be outdoors, wear masks and keep our distances. Anyone interested can contact Claudia Martino [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])


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** DEMOCRATIC WOMEN’S CLUB NEWS
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The DWC will host a virtual luncheon on Saturday, October 10th. The guest speakers are Alison Morano, Florida Strategic Director for Biden for President and Adrienne Bogan, Florida Women Vote Director. The meeting opens at 11:30 a.m. The program begins at noon. If you aren't a DWC member and want to attend, please contact Pat O'Hara at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) to receive the Zoom link.

The DWC Book Group will meet on Friday, October 23rd at 2 p.m. on Zoom to discuss Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright. If you are not a book group member and want to join the discussion contact Pat O'Hara at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .



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** INDIAN RIVER WOMEN’S MARCH
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There will be a peaceful march in solidarity for breast cancer, women’s rights and to honor Ruth Bader Ginsburg for her role in women’s rights. We will be socially distancing, wearing our masks and wearing pink. For more details, see the flyer below.

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** IMPORTANT VOTE BY MAIL DATES
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* October 12 – ballots can begin to be canvassed
* 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




THIS WEEK WITH JOE BIDEN

* Last night, Kamala Harris won the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City, Utah! She effectively made the case to the American people on how a Biden-Harris administration will contain COVID-19, build the economy back better, and bring our country together.


* Today, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris will travel to Arizona. Together, Biden and Harris will greet with American Indian tribal leaders in Phoenix. After, they will deliver remarks and embark on a “Soul of the Nation” bus tour to meet with small business owners in Phoenix and Tempe, as well as voters on the second day of early voting. You can watch their remarks HERE ([link removed]) .


* Biden for President released a groundbreaking new ad, "Cherries" ([link removed]) , in Michigan. It is the first time a presidential campaign has ever aired a televised ad exclusively focused on climate change in a battleground state in a general election.


* Joe Biden travelled to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania on Tuesday and delivered an extraordinary speech on unity calling on Americans to come together. He will remind voters that we are in a battle for the soul of the nation — but it’s a battle that we’ve won again and again throughout American history, and that we can and will come together and win again. You can watch HERE ([link removed]) .


* Kamala Harris penned an op-ed ([link removed]) for the Deseret News outlining her faith and the values that bind us together as a country, and how Joe Biden will restore these values in public life as President of the United States. Senator Harris makes the case that if there has ever been a time to honestly grapple with what our faith requires of us -- with what it means to live the values it teaches us -- it is now.


* On Monday, both Joe and Jill Biden travelled to Florida. Vice President Biden visited the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami, Florida followed by delivering remarks in Little Havana in Miami, Florida on building back the economy better for the Hispanic community and working families. Jill Biden attended a Women for Biden drive-in rally in Boca Raton, Florida. In the evening, Vice President Biden participated in an NBC News town hall in Miami, Florida. You can watch the events HERE ([link removed]) .


* Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood endorsed Joe Biden for President of the United States. Secretary LaHood announced his support for Joe Biden in an op-ed ([link removed]) penned for The State Journal-Register.


* The Washington Post published an article ([link removed]) on the pivotal role that older voters in Pennsylvania are playing to help elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. The article highlights how older voters, particularly in the Philadelphia suburbs, are some of the most passionate and ardent organizers for Democrats up and down the ticket in Pennsylvania.


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** UPCOMING VIRTUAL EVENTS WITH BIDEN/HARRIS TEAM
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There are numerous virtual events you can attend with some high profile figures over the next few weeks. Click on the links for registration and cost information.


Thursday, October 8

Virtual Conversation on Restoring America's International Leadership with Sec. Madeleine Albright & Amb. Samantha Power
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Women for Biden & Women's Leadership Forum
United for Victory Series: Women Who Lead
with Jen O'Malley Dillon, BFP Campaign Manager,
& Erin Wilson, BFP National Political Director
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Pearl Jam in conversation with Jill Biden and Doug Emhof on Thursday, October 8th at 7pm. $100. Click here ([link removed]) to RSVP!

Messaging and Strategy on Friday, October 9th at 11am ET. $250. Click here ([link removed]) to sign up!

Jill Biden, Glenn Close, Jamie Lee Curtis, Diane Lane & Alfre Woodard on Friday, October 9th. $100. Click here ([link removed]) to RSVP!

The Cast of the West Wing on Wednesday, October 14th at 9pm ET. $25. Click here ([link removed]) to RSVP!

Cecile Richards, Stephanie Schriock, Ilyse Hogue, & Alexis McGill Johnson on the Fight for Reproductive Rights on Thursday, October 15th at 6:30pm ET. $250. Click here ([link removed]) to RSVP!

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday, October 19th at 5:45pm ET. $100. Click here ([link removed]) to RSVP!


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** That’s all folks. Stay healthy!!!
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Democratic Executive Committee of Indian River County
2345 14th Ave.
Suite 7
Vero Beach, FL 32960
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