Democrats Abroad
Encyclopedia
Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the Democratic Party
for United States citizens
living permanently or temporarily abroad. The organization is given state
-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee
.
Democrats Abroad currently has members in more than 200 countries, with more than 60 organized country committees. There are chapters in Europe
, Asia
, Africa
, the Americas
, and Oceania
. These committees are formally represented by the Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA). Some countries with particularly large concentrations of Democratic expatriates even have local chapters. Young Democrats Abroad represents Democrats Abroad in the functions of the Young Democrats of America
.
and Paris
after Lyndon B. Johnson
defeated Barry Goldwater
in the 1964 U.S. presidential election
. Its original leaders, Toby Hyde and Al Davidson, raised funds and formed committees, and pushed for state-level recognition of Democrats Abroad. DNC Chairman John Bailey allowed Democrats Abroad to send nine non-voting representatives to the Democratic National Convention
in 1972; in 1976, the group was granted the status of a state committee, with voting delegates in the Convention.
Over the years, Democrats Abroad has worked for securing the full citizenship rights for Americans living abroad. In particular, the group worked for overseas voting rights issues, supporting the Voting Rights Act
of 1975, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
in 1986, and the Federal Emergency Write-In Ballot. Democrats Abroad switched the method of determining convention delegates from a primary
to an open caucus
in 1992
. Former President Jimmy Carter
is the current and first ever honorary chair of Democrats Abroad.
Democrats Abroad sends a delegation to the Democratic National Convention every four years and has done so since 1976.
In 2008, Democrats Abroad launched the first-ever global primary.
, Democrats Abroad enabled millions of U.S. citizens living overseas to have the chance to vote in the first-ever online global primary to choose the Democratic nominee for President.
The Democratic global primary allowed for voting by Internet, fax, and post. Traditional drop-in Voting Centers were also open in more than 30 countries around the globe.
The worldwide election results determined the 14 delegates who joined eight DNC members in Democrats Abroad’s delegation of 22 to the Democratic National Convention. These delegates were elected at a combination of regional and global meetings held during early 2008. These meetings also provided an opportunity for Americans abroad to shape the party's election platform.
American citizens living overseas who wanted to vote in the Democratic global primary had to have joined Democrats Abroad by January 31 and then requested a ballot at VoteFromAbroad.org. They could also join in person at voting centers.
The Democrats Abroad Global Primary took place from February 5–12 , 2008. Democrats Abroad Regional Caucuses for Europe-Middle East-Africa took place in Brussels on March 15, 2008, and for the Americas and Asia-Pacific in Vancouver, Canada, on April 11, 2008.
The Democrats Abroad Global Convention took place in Vancouver, April 12–13, 2008.
The Democratic National Convention took place in Denver, Colorado, August 25–28, 2008.
(The U.S. Presidential Election took place on November 4, 2008. Deadlines for requesting overseas absentee ballots varied per state. To vote in U.S. Presidential Elections, overseas voters must request a ballot from local voting authorities in the place where they last resided in the U.S., also possible at VoteFromAbroad.org.)
The results of the Global Primary were as follows:
Under the Democrats Abroad Delegate Selection Plan, the results of the worldwide primary were applied to the Regional Caucuses once the allocation of delegates from each Caucus was made. The results allocated 6 delegates to be elected from the Europe-Middle East-Africa Regional Caucus, 2 from the Americas Regional Caucus, and 1 from the Asia-Pacific Regional Caucus.
There were 4 delegates for Obama and 2 for Clinton from Europe-Middle East-Africa; 1 each for Obama and Clinton from the Americas; and 1 for Obama from Asia-Pacific.
These results determined the allocation of 4.5 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention. Senator Obama won 3 delegate votes, and Senator Clinton 1.5 delegate votes. A further 2.5 votes were determined at the Democrats Abroad Global Convention in April. In addition, Democrats Abroad held 4 super-delegate votes. A total of 22 delegates, each with a half vote, attended the Convention.
Every member of the Democrats Abroad delegation has taken part in the "Green Delegate Challenge" sponsored by House Speaker and Permanent Convention Chair Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Convention organizers, by obtaining carbon offsets for their travel.
chair of the Election Assistance Commission
as Chief Operating Officer in 2007.
Voting was scheduled to occur from February 5-12, not just on February 5. The concern relating to releasing early results is that doing so could suppress the vote of the trailing candidate and encourages increase the vote of the leading candidate. In this instance, the results could have been misleading as they included the results of only one method of voting (there were three total: in person, by Internet or by mail). This is casually referred to as the bandwagon effect
. At the same time, the Global Primary was designed to mimic a state primary. In some states a portion of the polls close at a later time, typically because that portion of the state falls in another time zone. When that happens, many of these states, including Michigan and Florida, will report the tallied results from the closed precincts, even though some precincts remain open. Some argue that this creates a fairness problem.
In at least one state, it is a crime to release vote results before the polls have closed.
In 2004, Democrats Abroad chose its delegates to the Democratic National Convention via the caucus system, similar to the Iowa caucuses. Caucuses are different from primaries. In the latter, people show up, vote, and go home. In a caucus, different areas or rooms are available for each candidate so that his or her supporters can gather and discuss their candidate's strengths and weaknesses. Caucusgoers who are unsure of their choice can move from room to room to hear about multiple candidates. Straw polls may be taken during the process. Eventually, all the caucusgoers meet in a plenary session and a representatives from each room gives a short presentation on why his or her candidate should be the Democratic nominee. Then a vote is taken. If some candidates' support is below a certain threshold, that candidate is eliminated and everyone is given the opportunity to switch support. Then a final vote is taken and the number of delegates for each candidate is determined, proportional to his or her share of the vote. The final step consists of the actual election of the delegates pledged to each candidate.
Local caucuses were held February 6–9, 2004 and country caucuses February 20–23, 2004. At these caucuses delegates to the regional and world caucuses were elected according to the process discussed above.
The regional and world Democrats Abroad caucuses were held back-to-back in Edinburgh
, Scotland
, March 26–28. The city of Edinburgh held a reception for the delegates at which the mayor spoke and praised the delegates for their active participation in the democratic process.
At the caucuses, numerous politicians spoke, as well as Diana Kerry, the sister of the eventual nominee Sen. John Kerry.
22 delegates and two alternates went to the 2004 Democratic National Convention
in Boston.
Democrats Abroad is represented on the Democratic National Committee
by eight members. The International Chair and Vice Chair are ex-officio members of the DNC. These eight DNC members are:
Various country committees of Democrats Abroad have local caucus
es representing groups such as Young Democrats, minorities, women, and the LGBT
community.
. To this end, it has created a Website VoteFromAbroad.org which overseas Americans (Democrats and non-members alike) can use to register to vote. Since Presidents and members of Congress are elected by state, Americans abroad vote in the state in which they have most recently lived, each of which has its own registration and voting procedures. This Website also has a Spanish language version (VoteFromAbroad.org) to reach out to Spanish speaking voters.
his Website asks voters which state they last lived in and then starts a wizard specific to their state that asks for the information necessary to comply with the election laws of that state. After all the information has been supplied, a PDF is created, which the voter can then print, sign, and mail to the address provided (or sometimes fax, or scan and attach to email). Currently only Arizona and Washington offer online voter registration, but Alaska (for example) allows one to fax the application or to scan and attach it to email.
Several weeks before the election, the Board of Elections or County Registrar (states use various names) sends the voter an absentee ballot
which the voter then fills out and sends back in order to cast his or her vote.
Media
Informational
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
for United States citizens
United States nationality law
Article I, section 8, clause 4 of the United States Constitution expressly gives the United States Congress the power to establish a uniform rule of naturalization. The Immigration and Naturalization Act sets forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of, and divestiture from, citizenship of...
living permanently or temporarily abroad. The organization is given state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
-level recognition by the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
.
Democrats Abroad currently has members in more than 200 countries, with more than 60 organized country committees. There are chapters in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, and Oceania
Oceania
Oceania is a region centered on the islands of the tropical Pacific Ocean. Conceptions of what constitutes Oceania range from the coral atolls and volcanic islands of the South Pacific to the entire insular region between Asia and the Americas, including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago...
. These committees are formally represented by the Democratic Party Committee Abroad (DPCA). Some countries with particularly large concentrations of Democratic expatriates even have local chapters. Young Democrats Abroad represents Democrats Abroad in the functions of the Young Democrats of America
Young Democrats of America
The Young Democrats of America , founded in 1932, is the official youth arm of the Democratic Party of the United States, although it severed official ties with the Democratic National Committee following passage of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 and became an independent 527 group...
.
History
Democrats Abroad was started with two small committees in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
after Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
defeated Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
in the 1964 U.S. presidential election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
. Its original leaders, Toby Hyde and Al Davidson, raised funds and formed committees, and pushed for state-level recognition of Democrats Abroad. DNC Chairman John Bailey allowed Democrats Abroad to send nine non-voting representatives to the Democratic National Convention
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...
in 1972; in 1976, the group was granted the status of a state committee, with voting delegates in the Convention.
Over the years, Democrats Abroad has worked for securing the full citizenship rights for Americans living abroad. In particular, the group worked for overseas voting rights issues, supporting the Voting Rights Act
Voting Rights Act
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of national legislation in the United States that outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S....
of 1975, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act
The Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act is a United States federal law dealing with elections and voting rights for United States citizens residing overseas. The act requires that all U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin...
in 1986, and the Federal Emergency Write-In Ballot. Democrats Abroad switched the method of determining convention delegates from a primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
to an open caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
in 1992
1992 Democratic National Convention
The 1992 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party nominated Governor Bill Clinton of Arkansas for President and Senator Al Gore of Tennessee for Vice President; Clinton announced Gore as his running-mate on July 9, 1992. The convention was held at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New...
. Former President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
is the current and first ever honorary chair of Democrats Abroad.
Democrats Abroad sends a delegation to the Democratic National Convention every four years and has done so since 1976.
In 2008, Democrats Abroad launched the first-ever global primary.
Presidential primary of 2008
For the 2008 Democratic PrimariesDemocratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008
The 2008 Democratic presidential primaries were the selection process by which voters of the Democratic Party chose its nominee for President of the United States in the 2008 U.S. presidential election...
, Democrats Abroad enabled millions of U.S. citizens living overseas to have the chance to vote in the first-ever online global primary to choose the Democratic nominee for President.
The Democratic global primary allowed for voting by Internet, fax, and post. Traditional drop-in Voting Centers were also open in more than 30 countries around the globe.
The worldwide election results determined the 14 delegates who joined eight DNC members in Democrats Abroad’s delegation of 22 to the Democratic National Convention. These delegates were elected at a combination of regional and global meetings held during early 2008. These meetings also provided an opportunity for Americans abroad to shape the party's election platform.
American citizens living overseas who wanted to vote in the Democratic global primary had to have joined Democrats Abroad by January 31 and then requested a ballot at VoteFromAbroad.org. They could also join in person at voting centers.
The Democrats Abroad Global Primary took place from February 5–12 , 2008. Democrats Abroad Regional Caucuses for Europe-Middle East-Africa took place in Brussels on March 15, 2008, and for the Americas and Asia-Pacific in Vancouver, Canada, on April 11, 2008.
The Democrats Abroad Global Convention took place in Vancouver, April 12–13, 2008.
The Democratic National Convention took place in Denver, Colorado, August 25–28, 2008.
(The U.S. Presidential Election took place on November 4, 2008. Deadlines for requesting overseas absentee ballots varied per state. To vote in U.S. Presidential Elections, overseas voters must request a ballot from local voting authorities in the place where they last resided in the U.S., also possible at VoteFromAbroad.org.)
Results
On February 21, 2008, Democrats Abroad announced that Senator Barack Obama won the organization’s Global Primary. The results were certified by the International Chair in Geneva, Switzerland.The results of the Global Primary were as follows:
- ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
65.6% - Clinton 32.7%
- EdwardsJohn EdwardsJohnny Reid "John" Edwards is an American politician, who served as a U.S. Senator from North Carolina. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President in 2004, and was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004 and 2008.He defeated incumbent Republican Lauch Faircloth in...
0.7% - KucinichDennis KucinichDennis John Kucinich is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1997. He was furthermore a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections....
0.6% - BidenJoe BidenJoseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
0.1% - Richardson 0.1%
- Uncommitted 0.2%
Under the Democrats Abroad Delegate Selection Plan, the results of the worldwide primary were applied to the Regional Caucuses once the allocation of delegates from each Caucus was made. The results allocated 6 delegates to be elected from the Europe-Middle East-Africa Regional Caucus, 2 from the Americas Regional Caucus, and 1 from the Asia-Pacific Regional Caucus.
There were 4 delegates for Obama and 2 for Clinton from Europe-Middle East-Africa; 1 each for Obama and Clinton from the Americas; and 1 for Obama from Asia-Pacific.
These results determined the allocation of 4.5 delegate votes at the Democratic National Convention. Senator Obama won 3 delegate votes, and Senator Clinton 1.5 delegate votes. A further 2.5 votes were determined at the Democrats Abroad Global Convention in April. In addition, Democrats Abroad held 4 super-delegate votes. A total of 22 delegates, each with a half vote, attended the Convention.
2008 Democratic National Committee Convention Delegates
Twenty-two delegates, including 8 superdelegates, traveled 125,000 miles from around the world to Denver, CO to represent Democrats Abroad at the Democratic National Convention August 25–28, 2008. Democrats Abroad is the official arm of the Democratic Party for Americans living outside of the United States. The 22 delegates each have a half vote, bringing the organization's total votes to 11.Every member of the Democrats Abroad delegation has taken part in the "Green Delegate Challenge" sponsored by House Speaker and Permanent Convention Chair Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Convention organizers, by obtaining carbon offsets for their travel.
Criticism
Criticism focused on the Internet voting, suggesting the possibility of hacking and other subterfuge, though there was no evidence that such hacking occurred.Corporate involvement
Some questioned whether having a private company run a public election, with little oversight, was appropriate. The software used for Internet voting was provided by the private company Everyone Counts. The provider of Internet voting was spun off from an Australian company in 2003. In 2006 the company received an "injection of U.S. private equity" from an undisclosed source.Republican influence
The corporation running the election, Everyone Counts, named Paul DeGregorio, former RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
chair of the Election Assistance Commission
Election Assistance Commission
The Election Assistance Commission is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 . The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration...
as Chief Operating Officer in 2007.
Delay and error in reporting final results
The final results for the February 5–12 Democrats Abroad Global Primary were not released until February 21, nine days after the voting had concluded. The initial reporting of results incorrectly reported the results of the election. The error was reported as a result of "a programming error in a spreadsheet column."Partial results reporting
There has been some criticism of the way the Global Primary has been conducted. For instance, rule 13 allowed reporting of "provisional" results on the first day of voting. Based on partial results, the international news media reported large Obama victories as soon as these manual polling stations closed. These totals did not include any of the postal or Internet votes:
At 3 a.m., there are still around 30 Democrats watching CNN as results are projected on a giant screen. When the news channel reports that Obama has apparently won the international Democratic primary in Jakarta, Indonesia, they begin cheering -- more because the station has just flashed the Democrats Abroad logo on the screen than because the Illinois senator has won.
Tokyo Voting Center Results
These are the results for the Voting Center in Tokyo, this tally is provisional, does not include internet, fax or mailed ballots, and is subject to ratification from the chair of Democrats Abroad.
But here goes.... (drum roll please)
2/5/2008 Tokyo Voting Center
% report =
83% Obama
13% Clinton
2% Edwards
1.% Kucinich
1.% Richardson
In the end the ballot boxes produced a 971 to 422 victory for Obama.
Voting was scheduled to occur from February 5-12, not just on February 5. The concern relating to releasing early results is that doing so could suppress the vote of the trailing candidate and encourages increase the vote of the leading candidate. In this instance, the results could have been misleading as they included the results of only one method of voting (there were three total: in person, by Internet or by mail). This is casually referred to as the bandwagon effect
Bandwagon effect
The bandwagon effect is a well documented form of groupthink in behavioral science and has many applications. The general rule is that conduct or beliefs spread among people, as fads and trends clearly do, with "the probability of any individual adopting it increasing with the proportion who have...
. At the same time, the Global Primary was designed to mimic a state primary. In some states a portion of the polls close at a later time, typically because that portion of the state falls in another time zone. When that happens, many of these states, including Michigan and Florida, will report the tallied results from the closed precincts, even though some precincts remain open. Some argue that this creates a fairness problem.
In at least one state, it is a crime to release vote results before the polls have closed.
Presidential primary of 2004
Local caucuses were held February 6–9, 2004 and country caucuses February 20–23, 2004. At these caucuses delegates to the regional and world caucuses were elected according to the process discussed above.
The regional and world Democrats Abroad caucuses were held back-to-back in Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, March 26–28. The city of Edinburgh held a reception for the delegates at which the mayor spoke and praised the delegates for their active participation in the democratic process.
At the caucuses, numerous politicians spoke, as well as Diana Kerry, the sister of the eventual nominee Sen. John Kerry.
22 delegates and two alternates went to the 2004 Democratic National Convention
2004 Democratic National Convention
The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to July 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated John Kerry and John Edwards as the official candidates of the Democratic Party for President and Vice President of the United States, respectively, in the 2004...
in Boston.
Current leadership
Democrats Abroad has eight officers. All of them are elected. The current officers are:- International Chair Ken Sherman
- International Vice Chair Vicki Hansen-Thackry
- International Treasurer Katie Solon
- International Secretary Louis S. Hureston
- International Counsel John Eastwood
- Regional Vice Chair for the Americas John Chudy
- Regional Vice Chair for Asia/Pacific Albert Kang
- Regional Vice Chair for Europe, Middle East and Africa Susan Haug
Democrats Abroad is represented on the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
by eight members. The International Chair and Vice Chair are ex-officio members of the DNC. These eight DNC members are:
- Ken Sherman (ex officio)
- Vicki Hansen-Thackry (ex officio)
- Lauren Shannon
- Stanley Grossman
- Caitlin Kraft-Buchman
- Leo Perez Minaya
- Theresa Morelli
- Joe Smallhoover
Various country committees of Democrats Abroad have local caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
es representing groups such as Young Democrats, minorities, women, and the LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
community.
Voting from abroad
One of the prime functions of Democrats Abroad is to assist U.S. citizens abroad in voter registrationVoter registration
Voter registration is the requirement in some democracies for citizens and residents to check in with some central registry specifically for the purpose of being allowed to vote in elections. An effort to get people to register is known as a voter registration drive.-Centralized/compulsory vs...
. To this end, it has created a Website VoteFromAbroad.org which overseas Americans (Democrats and non-members alike) can use to register to vote. Since Presidents and members of Congress are elected by state, Americans abroad vote in the state in which they have most recently lived, each of which has its own registration and voting procedures. This Website also has a Spanish language version (VoteFromAbroad.org) to reach out to Spanish speaking voters.
his Website asks voters which state they last lived in and then starts a wizard specific to their state that asks for the information necessary to comply with the election laws of that state. After all the information has been supplied, a PDF is created, which the voter can then print, sign, and mail to the address provided (or sometimes fax, or scan and attach to email). Currently only Arizona and Washington offer online voter registration, but Alaska (for example) allows one to fax the application or to scan and attach it to email.
Several weeks before the election, the Board of Elections or County Registrar (states use various names) sends the voter an absentee ballot
Absentee ballot
An absentee ballot is a vote cast by someone who is unable or unwilling to attend the official polling station. Numerous methods have been devised to facilitate this...
which the voter then fills out and sends back in order to cast his or her vote.
Activities
In addition to helping Americans living overseas to register to vote, Democrats Abroad engages in many other activities, mostly on a per country or per locality basis. Among other things, Democrats Abroad:- Provides help where there are problems with absentee ballots
- Organizes lectures, debates, and other events on political topics, often with guest speakers
- Strengthens contact between American ambassadors and consuls and overseas Americans
- Lobbies Congress on expatriate issues (e.g. citizenship for children born abroad etc.)
- Represents Americans abroad in the Democratic National CommitteeDemocratic National CommitteeThe Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
- Raises funds for the Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
- Runs a Website containing news for Americans abroad, including Letter from Washington and Wednesday Wire
Criticism
Democrats Abroad focuses on getting out the vote among American expatriates. There is less focus on getting representation for expatriates. Democrats Abroad are not as well engaged in expatriate issues such as access to banking, double taxation, and transmission of citizenship as Republicans Abroad.External links
Media
- NYTimes - Forget Iowa. How About That Antarctica Vote? 16mar08
- "Clinton Adds a Half Delegate." Associated Press, February 27, 2008.
- "Superdelegates Are Flocking to Obama." Associated Press, February 23, 2008.
- "Obama Wins Democrats Abroad Primary." Associated Press, February 21, 2008.
- "The Expat Vote." Newsweek, January 30, 2008
- "Gov. Dean on YouTube Video." Gov. Howard Dean Urges Democrats Overseas to Vote in the Global Primary: January 28, 2008
- "Americans Abroad Participate in Republican, Democratic Politics." U.S. State Department Article: January 25, 2008
- "Americans abroad can now vote online." Associated Press: January 21, 2008
- "Democrats tout first 'global primary'." Christian Science Monitor: January 25, 2008.
- "Efforts increase to enfranchise U.S. citizens abroad." International Herald Tribune: November 28, 2007
- "Campaigns Look Overseas For Votes." Associated Press: May 17, 2004
- Campbell, Blake. "Democrats gathering 'to put US back on track'." The Standard: February 9, 2004.
- Cox, Christopher. "Some Dems go extra miles to beat Bush." Boston Herald: July 29, 2004.
- Higham, Will. "Don't get angry, get even." Progress: January/February 2004.
- LaBelle, G.G. "Americans around world play role in DNC." Associated Press: July 27, 2004.
- Nelson, Fraser. "Democratic battle coming to Scotland." The Scotsman: February 11, 2004.
Informational
- Associated Press profile of 2004 delegates. Includes names and country of residence.