What you need to know (and do) about voting from overseas in 2014

The “mid-terms” – Congressional and state elections – will be held in the US in November: primaries and special elections are already underway. Every vote counts, especially while margins of victory remain narrow (a few hundred in recent state election in Virginia – 9 for one state senator).

An overseas voter taking part in this election has better chance that usual of helping to shape the results – and US politicians are more likely to listen to our concerns if they know we overseas voters can help them keep or lose their jobs. Do you need any more reasons to vote yourself and encourage other overseas citizens to do so?

The challenge

Overseas voters must register afresh for every cycle in which they wish to vote, so you must register in 2014 if you want to vote in 2014. In addition, despite all the advances of recent years – registration/ballot request websites, electronic ballot dispatch – over 20% of overseas citizens who try to vote fail to do so. Their ballots don’t arrive or come too late.

You and your club can do a great deal to ensure that overseas Americans successfully exercise their right to vote – to ensure that our voices are heard.

What you can do: the sky’s the limit

1. Register/request ballot(s) yourselves on FAWCO Military and Overseas Voter Services website (https://fawco.overseasvotefoundation.org/vote/home.htm).
   
   
2. Run a campaign to get other Americans to register.
   
   
3. Start now. Almost any voter problems – registration problems, arguing with local election officials (if necessary), using the federal write-in ballot (FWAB) can be solved if there’s enough time.
   
   
4. Do as little or as much as you like: the sky’s the limit. This can range from merely announcing the election and pointing the way to the FAWCO site to running a full voter-assistance campaign with all available allies: Democrats/Republicans Abroad, businesses, churches, schools and other community groups, the local US embassy/consulate. Outreach can be as simple as giving pocket-sized handouts to Americans you encounter on the bus or in the grocery store. Remember that such a campaign extends from registration, to help with ballot fill-out to write-in ballot and follow-up evaluation
   
   
5. Why bother? It’s a cumbersome process, and difficult to compete for people’s attention in a year without a presidential election. But our country needs us, and voting is a gift we can give to it from any place in the world.
   
   

How you can help FAWCO get out the vote

The FAWCO Voting from Overseas Committee (email: ) seeks to have one member from every club as a voting contact. Get in touch and join the team!

Whatever you do, start now!