Vote By Mail is an important part of the Florida Democratic Party's strategy as we head into 2020, but some folks are understandably wary of signing up for the program after hearing stories in 2018 about ballots being held up at postal facilities or disqualified because of signature-match issues. Thankfully, recent changes to Florida state law will help fix some of these problems for elections to come.

Are you ready to vote? We've got several important elections coming up, including our local Miami Beach election on November 5, 2019. Read on to make sure you're Ready to Vote!

On Sunday, July 28, The Miami Beach Democratic Club held our annual summer barbecue, and thanks to our host and the many generous attendees and donors, it was a huge success in our efforts to build organizing power for 2020. 

If you've ever joined us for a canvass, a phone bank, or a postcard-writing party, you know about some of the work we do. But do you know how those simple actions fit together into a larger strategy? This post will tell you how.

On Friday, July 12, 2019, at hundreds of locations across the United States, people gathered at Lights for Liberty demonstrations to protest the outrageous, inhumane conditions people are experiencing in detention camps run by the Trump administration.

Pence visited an over-crowded and foul-smelling border facility in McAllen packed with nearly 400 immigrant men held in sweltering cages without mats or pillows where some said they had been detained for more than 40 days. https://t.co/3hrSOhY3mT

— Adolfo Flores (@aflores) July 13, 2019

Members of the Miami Beach Democratic Club, organized by the Program Committee, traveled together to the Homestead Child Detention Center in Homestead, Florida to protest the Trump administration’s family separation policies, the grotesque human rights violations that we are hearing about in border patrol facilities at other locations, and to call for a return to basic human rights in our treatment of those who are seeking a better life for themselves and their children.

The Miami-Dade Democratic Party announced on Monday, July 8, that Aaron Bos-Lun has been hired as the new Executive Director of the Miami-Dade Democratic Party. Aaron Bos-Lun takes on this new role, having served as a member of the board of directors of the Miami Beach Democratic Club.

In a separate letter to Dan Royles, President of the Miami Beach Democratic Club, Aaron announced that he was resigning from the Board of Directors of the Club, effective immediately, in order to commit fully to his new role as Executive Director of the county Democratic Party.

President Dan Royles congratulated Aaron on his new position, writing, "in this case, our loss is the DEC's gain, which in the end is good for all of us. We look forward to seeing what you do in your new role." 

We had a great membership meeting on June 15, with several great guest speakers. Here’s a recap of what happened:  

The Miami Beach Democratic Club held presidential primary debate watch parties at Barceloneta on June 26 and 27. They were well attended—and not only by local Democrats! We were also joined by several national news organizations, who featured the event in their primary debate coverage.

We were thrilled to host a forum on climate change and the environment on Thursday, June 20 at the Miami Design Preservation League—thanks to our panelists for an informative discussion!

We had a full house, and a lively Q&A discussion after the panelists finished their opening remarks. All four panelists also stressed the importance of getting involved. Want to know how you can take action? Read on!

The Miami Beach Democratic Club passed the following resolution at our June 17 membership meeting requesting the resignation of Florida Representative Mike Hill, who recently was recorded laughing along with a constituent in Pensacola who suggested that he introduce legislation to punish homosexuality with death. We believe this is no laughing matter, and we passed the following resolution, originally introduced by the Miami-Dade Democratic LGBTA Caucus, calling for his resignation.