How to register and vote from overseas
An article by Laureen Scharps (FAWCO Rep, AIWC Frankfurt and member, FAWCO US Voting Committee)
The FAWCO US Voting Committee helps FAWCO members and their families stay informed about voter registration and advocates the reduction of barriers to overseas voting.
The registration process has about four steps. You need to:
- fill out the form to register to vote with your local election official (LEO) online;
- mail the registration form to your LEO;
- wait for your ballot to arrive (it should be sent to you about 45 days before the election); and
- vote and mail back your ballot.
This process does not always run as smoothly as it should because of voter-suppression measures (such as purges of active voters from state voting rolls) or misinformation in various media. For example, during the 2016 election campaign, a tweet depicted the Photoshopped image of an entertainer encouraging voters to vote for president via Twitter. Twitter says it took down this tweet, but could not say how many people may have tried to vote via Twitter. Another tweet encouraged voters to cast their ballots via text. These attempts at voter suppression are illegal under federal law (1).
For this reason, it is strongly recommended that you register to vote only through FAWCO’s partners, the US Vote Foundation and the Federal Voter Assistance Program. Be sure to vote only the ballot sent to you by your LEO, and follow the instructions carefully.
How to select information sources
FAWCO remains nonpartisan, so it does not advise you on what to read or which candidates to support.
It does, however, encourage you to check multiple sources about candidates and issues to be sure that you get accurate information. In view of the successful interference in the 2016 election and continuing efforts to sow division among Americans through social media such as Facebook and Twitter, being proactive is more important than ever (2). Look for legitimate information in print, on TV/radio or online. Make sure stories that you accept are coming from reputable journalists.
Please see the sources below to explore:
- how US voters view the trustworthiness of different media (3)
- one view of bias in media outlets (4)
- one suggestion on sources of accurate information (5).
This is not a definitive list, and your views on these takes will depend on your political leanings. Nevertheless, most would agree that wire services, such as AP and Reuters; newspapers and news magazines, such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and The Economist; and television networks such as the BBC and PBS, as well as some other mainstream networks, are the most trustworthy.
In contrast, Facebook has a ban on making false claims but, surprisingly, recently exempted political advertisements from it (6). This is profitable for Facebook but a hazard to people looking for information about political candidates online. Finally, Facebook announced it had taken down four new foreign interference operations originating from Iran and Russia, including one targeting the US 2020 presidential elections that appears to be linked to the Russian troll agency, the Internet Research Agency (7).
Sources
- K Wagner. These are some of the tweets and Facebook ads Russia used to try and influence the 2016 presidential election. Vox, October 31, 2017 (accessed October 9, 2019).
- T Vanden Brook, M Collins. Mueller report: 5 things to know about Russian interference in U.S. elections. USA TODAY, 22 April 2019 (accessed October 20, 2019).
- P Ralph, E Relman. These are the most and least biased news outlets in the US, according to Americans. Business Insider Deutschland, 02.09.2018 (accessed October 11, 2019).
- V Otero. Media bias chart. Ad Fontes Media, 2019 (accessed October 14, 2019).
- P. Glader. 10 journalism brands where you find real facts rather than alternative facts. Forbes, October 1, 2019 (accessed October 11, 2019).
- A Hern. Facebook exempts political ads from ban on making false claims. The Guardian, October 4, 2019 (accessed October 21, 2019)
- Facebook discloses operations by Russia and Iran to meddle in 2020 election. The Guardian, October 21, 2019 (accessed October 22, 2019).