There are 6.6 million Americans (excluding the military) living overseas, which would make them the 17th most populous state if they were somehow combined (source). Add to that over a million members of the armed forces, who are deployed abroad.
So, if you're an American living abroad, this diary is for you. Here's some help with registering to vote, requesting an absentee ballot and with casting your vote. Tips on networking with Dems in your area also provided.
let's make change global (as hundreds, i guess thousands, of people are already doing)
Today a release from the Obama campaign stated that he will visit France, Germany, Israel, Jordan and the United Kingdom on an upcoming trip to Europe, and though no date has been released for this trip, some people expect this to be part of his trip to Iraq and Afghanistan in mid-July. (h/t fhamme)
This trip will be a great time for mobilizing Americans abroad to get registered in order to vote from abroad.
Also, today is the beginning of Overseas Citizens Voters Week, taking place between Saturday, June 28th and Monday, June 7th. FYI, Republicans Abroad republished the above notice about the week of voter engagement organized by the Federal Voting Assistance Program, which basically works for the Secretary of Defense. Considering some of the criticisms that the FVAP received in 2004, the on-line community can play a part in ensuring that this year the Overseas Citizens Voters Week is actually "geared toward non-military voters." But furthermore, over the coming three-four months, we have a role to play in making sure that our American friends and family living abroad know how to vote and how to get involved in the movement for change, if they want.
Oh, and please take these next couple of stats with a grain of salt:
Non-military overseas voters report a large degree of difficulty in attempting to vote from abroad, when compared to members of our military serving abroad. A survey conducted for the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission [PDF] focused on the voting experiences of 5,769 military and overseas voters during the 2006 federal election.
These stats though seem to show a ridiculously high satisfaction rate amongst the military and their families with voting abroad, and they seem at odds with the numbers in another study from the EAC, which was their UOCAVA Report on the 2006 election (PDF):
56.3 percent of ballots from domestic military voters were cast or counted; 47.6 percent of ballots from overseas military voters were cast or counted; and 52.6 percent of ballots from overseas citizens were cast or counted
less than 16.5 percent of potentially eligible UOCAVA voters sought to participate in the 2006 election.
States report slightly more than 330,000 UOCAVA ballots were cast or counted, for an eligible turnout rate of approximately 5.5 percent.
26.5 percent of UOCAVA ballots came from domestic military voters; 16.9 percent from overseas military voters; and 19.7 from overseas citizens
Together we can do better.
As an FYI, these U.S. states allow citizens, who have never lived in the US, to vote, but most states do not allow the children of their former residents to vote.
Here's what you need to do in order to vote, if you are currently living abroad.
STEP 1:
Fill out your Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), which registers you and requests your absentee ballot.
Do this as early as possible. Make sure to sign it, and oftentimes, states will require that the envelope is post-marked with proof that the form was sent from abroad. Here's a list of the state-specific deadlines: http://www.democratsabroad.org/... ,but "it is prudent to register well in advance of them (say, at the latest, by September 4th)."
Democrats Abroad have an e-wizard http://www.VoteFromAbroad.org/ where you can fill in your information and then print out your FPCA.
Alternatively, here's a non-partisan website that does the same thing: http://www.OverseasVoteFoundation.org/
FYI, the website managed by Democrats Abroad is also available in Spanish, and both these websites provide you with your state's specific instructions for submitting your FPCA.
STEP 2: return the absentee ballot
FYI, according to the VoteFromAbroad website, "You should use the Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot (FWAB) if you have not received your pre-printed state ballot thirty days before the election. If you request your ballot less than sixty days before the election using the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) but before the deadline, then you should send the FWAB and the FPCA at the same time." If you subsequently receive your regular absentee ballot, execute it and return it regardless of when you receive it.
Here's the FWAB: http://www.fvap.gov/...
COMMON QUESTION:
Will voting from overseas affect my tax status?
If you vote for Federal offices only, the act of voting will have no effect on your liability to pay State income tax or any other tax. If you vote for State or local offices, under State law, the act of voting could conceivably be used to establish your domicile and therefore your liability to pay the State income tax.
However, you should have no hesitation about voting in federal elections, regardless of your state and/or local tax status, as for Federal elections there is no link.
The U.S. Government's Federal Voting Assistance Program clearly states:
Keep in mind that exercising your right to vote in elections for Federal offices only does not affect the determination of residence or domicile for purposes of any tax imposed under Federal, state or local law. Voting in an election for Federal office only may not be used as the sole basis to determine residency for the purposes of imposing state and local taxes.
Source
FINDING OBAMA VOLUNTEERS OR DEMOCRATS ABROAD
Join the official Obama group Americans Abroad for Obama.
And here are three resources to look at:
- search the volunteer groups on Obama's website by keyword (e.g. "Japan" or "Toronto" etc). FYI, there are over 50 groups on myBO that are listed under the category of Americans Abroad.
- You can search the Democrats Abroad website for a group in your country, and FYI, their Secretary responded promptly when I asked for advice.
- You can search: http://democrat.meetup.com/
There are some existing meetup groups in Australia, Canada, Japan, the UK, and other European countries, and elsewhere, there are members, who are waiting for somebody like you to organize a meetup...
- Check out Bridges for Obama (info at the bottom of this diary). This seems like a great way to meet some Americans, who may also be interested in GOTV
EXAMPLES OF UPCOMING EFFORTS ABROAD
In AUSTRALIA, the Democrats Abroad group is looking for student organizers in order to get out the study abroad vote on Australian campuses...
In CANADA for example, there was a recent event in Vancouver that registered some 70 Americans living abroad.
In IRELAND there are events July 4-6 in Galway, Dublin, Kildare, Sligo, Limerick, Cork, Mayo
In Tokyo, JAPAN there is a July 4 voter reg event
UNITED KINGDOM
FYI, potential contact email: gotv [at] democratsabroad.org.uk
In NORWAY there are events June 28 - July 4 in Kvinnesdal and Frogner park
INFORMATION ABOUT HELPING GOTV (getting the FPCA & FWAB)
According to the International Secretary of Democrats Abroad, who I emailed:
Re: voter assistance training, it is always an advantage [to have the official hard copies of the FPCA and FWAB]. Although, thanks to VoteFromAbroad.org, it is less important than it used to be. These days, rather than hauling around a bag full of materials and holding people's hands to help them, it is just as easy to simply get the word out about VFA, which will lead voters step-by-step through the whole process. The added advantage of VFA is that it provides us valuable statistical data and, at the end of the process, the voter is offered the opportunity to join Democrats Abroad.
For official State Dept voter assistance training, the relevant contact would be American Citizen Services at a local consulate or embassy.
So here is the central website for contacting your US Embassy or Consulate. And here's the website where you can learn about becoming trained as a Voting Assistance Officer, but according to the relevant contact at the Department of State (see below), it is okay if you simply do the self-administered training on-line and then contact your country's Voting Assistance Officer...
I also contacted the Department of State's Voting Action Officers, and FYI, they were extremelly prompt in responding and provided helpful advice. [bold emphasis and text in brackets are mine]
Dear [distraught]:
Thank you very much for your interest in becoming a Voting Assistance Officer. Although we do not have a formal program for volunteer civilian VAOs, anyone can help register American citizen voters and educate voters about the absentee voting process.
You can request FPCAs and FWABs from the Federal Voting Assistance Program by calling 1-800-438-VOTE or sending an e-mail message to vote@fvap.ncr.gov (attn: Bobby Flanders). We only request that your voter registration efforts be non-partisan.
Interested voting assistants are welcome to contact me at this e-mail address to find out if there's an instructor-led workshop in their country. Alternately, you can contact the Voting Assistance Officers at any U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Our overseas voting officers use a standard e-mail address of voteCITY@state.gov (e.g. voteparis@state.gov, votelondon@state.gov, votejohannseburg@state.gov).
I recommend that anyone who has completed the self-administered training contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate. The Embassy or Consulate may be able to provide FPCAs and FWABs based on availability, and may also be able to give you some motivational voting posters.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have further questions.
Thank you,
[ VotingInfo at state.gov ]
And finally, here's the plug of Bridges for Obama, who have taken pictures of Obama supporters and bridges in over 30 countries.
More info:
http://groups.yahoo.com/...
http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/...
And some pics:
http://www.flickr.com/...