With the help of VoteFromAbroad.org, you can request your ballot anywhere. And you can do it with anyone.
Where will you do it? Here's a mini-clip of our dear Celeste. (It has nothing to do with the super viral video launching on August 4th with our special celebrity guest, but we love Celeste so much we thought we'd share it -- just to tide you over until the 4th!)
Celeste "With My Boss"
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Myths: " I don't have a US address anymore!"
Can I really vote? Yes you can!
"But I don't have an address in the US anymore."
Doesn't matter. The last place you lived will always be your legal voting address. Even if the knock it down and build a freeway. That's your voting address as long as you live overseas.
"But I've been gone for so many years."
So what. You are a US citizen and you will always have the right to vote for Federal offices. Forever.
"But I never registered to vote in the US."
No problem. Your ballot request form doubles as a voter registration form.
Just answer the questions at VoteFromAbroad.org, print out the form, sign it and send it off to the address provided.
No more excuses. Sort it out today.
"But I don't have an address in the US anymore."
Doesn't matter. The last place you lived will always be your legal voting address. Even if the knock it down and build a freeway. That's your voting address as long as you live overseas.
"But I've been gone for so many years."
So what. You are a US citizen and you will always have the right to vote for Federal offices. Forever.
"But I never registered to vote in the US."
No problem. Your ballot request form doubles as a voter registration form.
Just answer the questions at VoteFromAbroad.org, print out the form, sign it and send it off to the address provided.
No more excuses. Sort it out today.
Myths: "Cut me some slack! I registered last time."
Not good enough! You should definitely request a ballot every election year.
True, Federal law now states that a ballot request is valid for 4 years. And true, some states - like California - allow permanent absentee registration.
But bear in mind... our overseas ballots are administered by 3,000 different local election authorities (count 'em! 3000!) and each one has its own understanding (or misunderstanding) of the law. Better safe than sorry -- send a new ballot request every election year!
True, Federal law now states that a ballot request is valid for 4 years. And true, some states - like California - allow permanent absentee registration.
But bear in mind... our overseas ballots are administered by 3,000 different local election authorities (count 'em! 3000!) and each one has its own understanding (or misunderstanding) of the law. Better safe than sorry -- send a new ballot request every election year!
Labels:
myths,
overseas voting,
voter registration,
voting from abroad
Monday, July 28, 2008
A virgin voter. And an oh-so-experienced director.
My Mom's American, but I grew up abroad.
OK, you got us. Overseas voting is easy, but there's one grey area. And this is it: children of US citizens who have never lived in the US.
A number of states -- 17 at last count -- clearly allow such children to vote using the last address of their American parent(s). The rest of the states are silent. They don't say one way or the other. So, what should you do?
Go to VoteFromAbroad.org and request an absentee ballot using the voting address of your American parent(s). In the comments section, explain your situation. Wait a couple of weeks and call to see if they received and accepted your request.
If they refuse it, let us know. Recently, one such voter was refused a ballot in New Hampshire. Democrats Abroad stepped in and New Hampshire has now changed its policy!
Here's another silly clip we shot alongside our upcoming viral video (which will be ready for launch on August 4th!).
Sheppard Pepper is American, but he grew up in Paris. He just turned 18 and will be voting for the first time... from abroad. If you like his clip, give him a poke!
Shep is the son of our award-winning Director, Jaci Judelson. Jaci has made videos with skateboarder Tony Hawk, jazz singer Dianne Reeves and choreographer Mark Morris. Check out her work for clients like Mercedes. Nokia and Match.com.
OK, you got us. Overseas voting is easy, but there's one grey area. And this is it: children of US citizens who have never lived in the US.
A number of states -- 17 at last count -- clearly allow such children to vote using the last address of their American parent(s). The rest of the states are silent. They don't say one way or the other. So, what should you do?
Go to VoteFromAbroad.org and request an absentee ballot using the voting address of your American parent(s). In the comments section, explain your situation. Wait a couple of weeks and call to see if they received and accepted your request.
If they refuse it, let us know. Recently, one such voter was refused a ballot in New Hampshire. Democrats Abroad stepped in and New Hampshire has now changed its policy!
Here's another silly clip we shot alongside our upcoming viral video (which will be ready for launch on August 4th!).
Sheppard Pepper is American, but he grew up in Paris. He just turned 18 and will be voting for the first time... from abroad. If you like his clip, give him a poke!
Shep is the son of our award-winning Director, Jaci Judelson. Jaci has made videos with skateboarder Tony Hawk, jazz singer Dianne Reeves and choreographer Mark Morris. Check out her work for clients like Mercedes. Nokia and Match.com.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Votes where they matter most
Every overseas voter sends a ballot back to the last place s/he lived in the States. Did you know that four of the biggest swing states are among the top ten with overseas voters?
Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. That's where this election promises to be closest. And that's where a huge chunk of our overseas ballots are going!
Check out the Electoral Vote Predictor for the best compilation on the Net of all the latest polling data -- state-by-state and updated daily.
Florida, Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania. That's where this election promises to be closest. And that's where a huge chunk of our overseas ballots are going!
Check out the Electoral Vote Predictor for the best compilation on the Net of all the latest polling data -- state-by-state and updated daily.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Who are we?
While we were taping our upcoming, celebrity viral video (it will be ready for launch on August 4th!), we had a second camera running in another room - just goofing around. In the coming days we'll post some of the clips we got, just to show you who we are, what we're thinking about, and why this election is probably the most important in our lifetime.
Celeste, what did you do last Saturday?
Celeste, what did you do last Saturday?
Labels:
overseas vote,
people,
video,
vote abroad
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The truth about absentee ballots -- they count!
Living abroad, absentee ballots are a pain in the butt - but they're all we have. And they DO count.
Too often, we hear "Oh, they don't even count absentee ballots unless it's close." WRONG! Every ballot validly cast is counted. That is a fact. Your vote will count whether you cast it in Paris, France, or Paris, Texas.
OK, so it's true that a victor is usually called before every last vote has been tallied. But that's true for hometown voters, too! On election night, the networks are naming winners with just a small fraction of votes counted. Absentee ballots are all counted before an election result can be "certified". Remember the Florida fiasco? The vote count must be certified by the Secretary of State before it is official. That is the law.
Your vote WILL count. And if it's a very close race, the whole world will be waiting to know how YOU voted.
Here's a list of states and when they count their absentee ballots.
Too often, we hear "Oh, they don't even count absentee ballots unless it's close." WRONG! Every ballot validly cast is counted. That is a fact. Your vote will count whether you cast it in Paris, France, or Paris, Texas.
OK, so it's true that a victor is usually called before every last vote has been tallied. But that's true for hometown voters, too! On election night, the networks are naming winners with just a small fraction of votes counted. Absentee ballots are all counted before an election result can be "certified". Remember the Florida fiasco? The vote count must be certified by the Secretary of State before it is official. That is the law.
Your vote WILL count. And if it's a very close race, the whole world will be waiting to know how YOU voted.
Here's a list of states and when they count their absentee ballots.
Labels:
ballots,
democrats abroad,
facts,
overseas,
vote abroad,
voter registration,
young democrats
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