Americans -- Vote From Abroad!

[Eiger John]

In the midst of all the heated debate, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss actual voting rights for American citizens living overseas. If you're an American citizen who's 18 or over as of the time of the coming US elections in Nov. 2012, then it can be very worthwhile voting. Over the past 9 or so years, I've been very glad to help Americans get the information to help them vote. Check out www.votefromabroad.org -- Forumosa has been kind enough to run banner ads for them as a public service.

It's one of the fastest and most effective ways to get through the documents necessary to register or request your absentee ballot! It automatically helps you generate all the forms necessary, tells you where the forms need to go for your local election board back stateside, etc. Great for experienced voters and first-timers.

Also, for American citizens of a Democratic Party way of thinking, check out www.democratsabroad.org for local Democrats Abroad Taiwan activities. The Democrats Abroad global organization is essentially treated as a 51st "state party" type organization, meaning that it has representation within the Democratic National Committee and gets to send delegates to the Democratic National Convention being held in Charlotte, NC, in September 2012. Democrats Abroad Taiwan will hold a Global Primary event on May 1st, 2012 in which its members will help choose Asia-Pacific region delegates to the Democratic National Convention. How to become a member? No dues, no hassles -- just have to be an American citizen living in Taiwan over 18 as of the time of the coming Nov. 2012 national elections.

[housecat]

Thanks for posting.

[CraigTPE]

I registered as a permanent absentee voter in California before I moved here. Glad I did.

Also noticed at AIT when I was there adding pages to my passport that it looks like they also help people get registered as absentee voters.

[Eiger John]

In many states, however, it is important to request an absentee ballot each time around. Best practice is not to count on your local elections board to keep sending out absentee ballots, as many states are going to the minimum required by law. In line with the tendency for overseas voters to vote Democrat, many states with Republican secretaries of state (who oversee many of the election procedural matters) are doing their best to scrub off their rolls as many overseas American voters as possible. I find this horrible, but it's part of the current political landscape.

Word to the wise -- if you're American and eligible to vote, better to request your ballot. www.votefromabroad.org is a great place to get through the process of registering to vote or requesting an absentee ballot.

[Winston Smith]

I vote with my feet because I'm done with being lied to and pimped out to the powers behind the throne who really run things.

[Tigerman]

I vote with my feet because I'm done with being lied to and pimped out to the powers behind the throne who really run things.

Did you renounce your US citizenship?