ATLANTA, Ga. – Today, former Republican Vice Presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will visit three cities in the Florida panhandle as part of his tour to promote his new book, The Way Forward. Ahead of his visit, Steve Regenstreif, the chair of the Democratic National Committee’s Seniors Coordinating Council, released the following statement:

“Paul Ryan may call his book The Way Forward, but what it details is nothing more than a step-by-step formula for how to move our country backward. Ryan may claim he’s fighting for the poor and seniors, but even in his new book he’s pushing the same radical ideas that would gut the social safety net and weaken access to health care – all while providing more benefits for the wealthy and big corporations. Voters haven’t forgotten that. His new book tour is a national showcase of recycling the same failed ideas that Americans rejected when Paul Ryan was the GOP’s vice presidential nominee in 2012. If Paul Ryan got his way, both Medicare and Social Security would be on a fast track toward privatization – leaving the health and economic security of seniors to the whims of insurance companies and Wall Street. Floridians know better than to buy Ryan’s new rhetoric because the same old failed GOP record is hiding behind it. Seniors in Florida and across the country want leaders committed to them, not ideologues who believe the only way to save the safety net and boost the middle class is to gut the very programs that support them.”

Atlanta, GA— DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, DNC Secretary and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and Georgia Democratic Party Chair DuBose Porter held a press conference at the DNC summer meeting in Atlanta today to discuss the DNC’s commitment to expanding the right to vote in 2014 and beyond.

In June, the DNC launched the Voter Expansion Project — a permanent infrastructure within the Democratic Party that is focused on protecting and expanding the vote. The DNC’s Voter Expansion Project’s mission is to ensure that every eligible voter is registered, every registered voter is able to vote, and that every vote is accurately counted. Expanding the electorate is a priority for Democrats because we think our country is better off when more people participate unlike those on the other side of the aisle who know their best path to victory is if fewer people vote.

See below for excerpts as prepared for delivery:

DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz:

“There is a reason that we are in Georgia. A year ago, in Arizona, I promised that Democrats were committed to planting our flag in every corner of the country. We are here because the DNC is expanding the map, spreading the Democratic message, and we plan to turn Georgia blue.

Today’s Republican Party is so out of touch with the American people that they know their best path to victory is if fewer voices are heard, if fewer Americans exercise one of their most basic constitutional rights– and at the DNC we will work tirelessly to prevent them from getting what they want.

“We believe it is easier and more convenient for a citizen to participate in the electoral process when she understands when to vote, where to vote, what to bring with her to vote. That’s why we have provided all of the “rules of the road” for all fifty states and the District of Columbia in one simple location at IWillVote.com. And this week, we launched the Spanish language version of the site, VoyAVotar2014.com

“We’ve also already hired state voter Expansion Directors in places like Ohio, Texas, Colorado, and Florida. And just this week, the DNC and Georgia Democratic Party are announcing the hire of Georgia’s new Voter Expansion Director — I’m thrilled that she’ll be joining our team.”

DNC Secretary and Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake:

“This notion of getting more people involved in the process isn’t just a program for us or a tactic – it is one of the most fundamental values that we share as Democrats.  It’s not just about strengthening our Party.  It’s about strengthening our democracy.

“Our country is stronger when more voices are heard. The diversity of opinion is one of the things that make our country strong and vibrant and we will do everything in our power to make sure that no cynical partisan ploys can ever drown out any of these voices.

“Democrats are committed to expanding rights not taking them away – we want to empower people, to break down barriers and to expand opportunity for all Americans.”

Georgia Democratic Party Chair DuBose Porter:

“Make no mistake – it’s not just our Party that is diverse and growing – our state is, too. It’s up to us to us engage every single Georgian. As the Chairwoman said earlier, when more people are registered and vote, Democrats will win.

“While our Party has become more inclusive, the other side has been turning away folks left and right, including their own candidates at the ballot box. We have a governor who brags about fighting against the Voting Rights Act while he was in Congress. That is unacceptable. We’ve had Republicans in the legislature try to cutback early voting. That is unacceptable. We’ve seen attempts to intimidate voters by moving the polls to inside police stations.  That is unacceptable.

“This culture of suppression has to stop. That is why the Voter Expansion Project is critical for the democracy in our state.”

Tech Partner NGP VAN Releases Platform of APIs, Users, and Network Effects

Washington, DC – Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee launched Project Ivy, the fourth iteration of the Democratic Party’s investment in data and technology. The program builds on a decade of investments by the DNC and aims to give campaigns of all sizes the same tools that the Obama campaign built and so successfully utilized in 2012.

The DNC and key technology partner NGP VAN are launching a significant new innovation in Project Ivy’s program: a set of tools to allow developers and other technologists to build an ecosystem around the DNC’s voter file data and technology platform, VoteBuilder.

The DNC’s Developer Portal being launched today has two key elements:

• A new set of APIs (a series of technical specifications that detail how software interacts) for the DNC and NGP VAN platforms that will be made available to developers.
• An innovative ActionID login system that allows current users to seamlessly access new apps and tools created through the APIs.

The APIs are built on an easy-to-use RESTful architecture that allows campaigns and companies to pull and push information directly from VoteBuilder.  The ActionID login systems will allow the hundreds of thousands of existing users of the NGP VAN tools to login to other apps created by the others in the ecosystem, with one simple secure login that they can take from campaign to campaign.

The Portal is now live at http://developers.democrats.org.

“This new developers’ platform allows Democrats to build new apps more easily and nimbly, enabling a 360 degree view of voters and a campaign’s interactions with them across all channels.” said DNC CEO Amy Dacey.  “Simply put: our tools are helping candidates in 2014 while we’re laying the groundwork for the next generation of campaign technology in 2016 and beyond.”

“NGP VAN is focused on helping the DNC drive the innovation that will help Democrats maintain and build our technological edge,” said Stu Trevelyan, NGP VAN’s CEO.  “We’re honored that so many Democrats use our tools to elect progressive candidates up and down the ballot. The tools we’re building will enhance Democrats’ ability to connect directly with voters, where they are, and in the ways they get their information.”

This release advances Democrats’ capabilities on one of the key trends in political technology: giving state parties and campaigns the ability to speak directly and more efficiently with voters. This technology will improve Democrats’ addressability– giving campaigns the ability to connect with specific individuals through online and TV ads and traditional methods like phone calls and door knocks.

The DNC and NGP VAN have already seen success with the APIs in recent months.

• The APIs are behind the recently released DNC Arbor Project to enhance efforts to register voters.
• The just released version of MiniVAN, the iOS and Android app that powers mobile canvassing, was rebuilt using the APIs.
• At a recent NGP VAN hackathon, in a few hours engineers built a new, free Open Virtual Phone Bank App which allows supporters to make calls to targeted voters without having to get a login to VAN.

Washington, DC – Today the DNC launched the Spanish website VoyAVotar2014.com as part of our Voter Expansion Project and commitment to increasing access to the ballot box for all Americans. VoyAVotar2014.com is the Spanish companion site to IWillVote.com, the DNC’s one-stop site for all the information Americans need to cast their ballot.

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said on the launch of the new site:

“In early June, the DNC launched IWillVote.com as part of our Voter Expansion Project. The goal was to make it easier and more convenient for Americans to participate in the electoral process, by empowering them with the information they would need to exercise their right to vote.

“Democrats are committed to inclusion and diversity. That is why we have launched a Spanish language version of IWillVote.com, VoyAVotar2014.com, so that language does not pose an unnecessary barrier to electoral participation for those voters who are more comfortable getting information in Spanish.

“The Hispanic population in the United States continues to grow and it’s more important than ever to ensure that we can provide the information and resources for Hispanics to actively participate in our democracy and elect leaders that share their community’s priorities.”

You can follow the DNC’s new Spanish Twitter account at @DNC_Espanol

Washington, DC – DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement on the GOP’s New Shutdown Threat:

“We now have it confirmed – electing a Republican Senate majority would put us back on the road to another shutdown. It’s been a year since Republicans shut down the government and brought us to the brink of default, costing our economy $24 billion and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has said the GOP is ready to do it all over again.

“Instead of joining with Democrats to expand opportunity for all Americans by fighting for equal pay and a raise for millions of Americans, investing in infrastructure and education, and creating jobs, Republicans have recommitted to digging in their heels and causing rampant dysfunction that hurts middle class families.

“That’s the choice voters face in every race this November.”

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Read the article “McConnell’s plan to ‘shutdown’ Obama” here.

I work for the Operations Team here at the DNC. That means that I spend a lot of time making sure things run smoothly at headquarters — that people are where they're supposed to be so we can be the party that works for you. But being behind the scenes doesn't always give me the opportunity to interact with our supporters and hear why they're excited about the ideas that make our party what it is.

That's why I love these contests.

Seriously: One of the most rewarding parts of my job is booking the flights and hotels for supporters who've won the chance to meet our President. There is just something so gratifying in knowing I have a hand in someone's experience of a lifetime.

So, will you enter our contest to attend a barbecue with President Obama in New York over Labor Day weekend? I'll book you a flight and car!

You'll have an amazing journey. You can travel with a guest, and the flight and hotel stay are on us. You don't have to worry about a thing — I'll make sure it all runs smoothly.

Just chip in $3 or whatever you can to be automatically entered to win:

https://my.democrats.org/BBQ-with-Barack

President Obama is so excited to meet you, and I'm so excited to help get you there.

Good luck, and I hope we talk soon!

WASHINGTON, DC – The Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee today filed an Advisory Opinion Request with the Federal Election Commission to ask that they may each raise federal funds into a segregated account under a separate contribution limit, or alternately into a convention committee, solely to finance convention expenses for their 2016 nominating conventions that would previously have been paid for with federal funds. After filing the AOR (HERE), the committees released the following statement:

“Conventions are essential to the nominating process for both parties and to the next presidential election. With the loss of public funding for some aspects of these events, a staple of convention financing for decades, the two parties need greater flexibility to raise the resources to build necessary infrastructure and carry out essential operations. As one step towards achieving that goal, we are jointly requesting that the Federal Election Commission allow both parties to raise these infrastructure and operation funds under separate limits into a dedicated account with full disclosure requirements so both parties can continue to operate safe and seamless conventions that present their candidates and platforms to the electorate.”

Washington, DC – DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz released the following statement on the 79th anniversary of President Franklin D. Roosevelt signing the Social Security Act into law:

“Seventy-nine years ago, our nation made a promise to its citizens that in recognition of a lifetime of hard work, older Americans would be guaranteed the opportunity to retire with dignity.

“President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935 as the nation recovered from the depths of the Great Depression. While Republicans have seized on recent economic crises as an excuse to renege on our promises, Democrats believe they are evidence of the renewed significance of upholding the sacred trust between seniors and our country. Just last week, a leading GOP presidential contender, Sen. Rand Paul, advocated raising the Social Security retirement age by 5 years.

“Democrats will continue to oppose Republican efforts that jeopardize the retirement security of seniors, including safety net privatization that would subject their fortunes to the whims of the stock market. We remain committed to preserving and protecting Social Security for today's seniors and for future generations.”