Democrats Abroad: The Blue Vote Café

Dr. Raquel Armstrong is running for statewide office in Arizona's Legislative District 13. "Leadership," she says, "is the thing you do even when you're afraid." She talks about the importance of nonpartisan voter registration work, about issues specific to her district (including water, education, and addressing affordability holistically), and about the work she does to connect people in need with affordable, reliable transportation. For more information https://rockee4az.com/ Listen to the full library of Blue Vote Café episodes at https://bluevotecafe.com.Register and request your ballot every calendar year at https://www.votefromabroad.org/.

Gay Valimont, Democratic candidate running for the U.S. House in Florida's 1st Congressional District, discusses gun violence prevention, fixing healthcare, and three urgent priorities when Democrats take office: ending the war, addressing the affordability crisis, and rolling back tariffs. She also shares how her moral compass guides her party affiliation, and the key message she wants to impart to younger generations.Listen to the full library of Blue Vote Café episodes at https://bluevotecafe.com.Register and request your ballot every calendar year at https://www.votefromabroad.org/.

Dr. Christopher Jones (rocket scientist, minister, and girl dad) visits the café to talk about his campaign to represent Arkansas in Congress and the Triple A theme of his platform: affordability and accountability for all. Emphasizing the importance of human connection, he touches on how people are hurting, why this moment feels like 9/11, where progressives and MAGA voters find common ground, and how clearing away the rubble allows us to build something new. He also offers his perspective as a nuclear engineer on regulatory frameworks to manage AI, discusses the galvanizing force in the White House, and takes a brief tangent into the facial expressions of dogs—with a shoutout to #JudgeJohnHodgman.Find the full audio library of Blue Vote Café episodes at http://bluevotecafe.com.Register and request your ballot every year at https://www.votefromabroad.org/.

Acclaimed children's author Bruce Coville joins us to discuss teaching history through ghost stories. He shares the 30-year journey behind a long-gestating manuscript, the local Syracuse, NY history uncovered along the way, and the parallels he sees between the McCarthy era and modern-day threats to civil liberties.Plus, Bruce reflects on the formative influence of Mad magazine, landing as a New York Times crossword clue, sounding early alarms on AI scraping books, and paving the way for fart jokes in children's literature.Links & Resources:Full audio library of Blue Vote Café episodes: https://bluevotecafe.comRegister and request your overseas ballot: https://www.votefromabroad.org/For more information, visit https://sdfcu.org/ or email [email protected].

Sam Salmon and Josh Barrett discuss the State Department Federal Credit Union (SDFCU) and its new partnership with Democrats Abroad, which allows DA members to join and bank with SDFCU.The conversation explores critical financial issues facing Americans living overseas, including debanking, accessing Medallion signature guarantees and remote notarial services, and receiving payments or checks from the U.S. government. They also discuss working with DA Taxation Task Force Chair Rebecca Lammers to make this partnership happen—and how Democrats Abroad's free membership makes it the only overseas Americans organization through which you can qualify for SDFCU without paying annual membership fees.• For more information, visit https://sdfcu.org/ or email [email protected].• Find the full audio library of Blue Vote Café episodes at http://bluevotecafe.com.• Register and request your ballot every year at https://www.votefromabroad.org/.