•Written by The Editors• ••Monday•, 21 •January• 2008 20:16•
Think it’s time for a “change with Obama,” or are you convinced that Hillary deserves to be the next Commander in Chief? Enthused by McCain, Giuliani or by former Baptist preacher and one-time governor, Mike Huckabee? Democrats are in luck. If you’re Republican, you may have to work harder.
Democrats Abroad (www.democratsabroad.org) has energized itself to get out the
Democrats who want to register for the Global Presidential Primary and for obtaining an absentee ballot on-line can go to http://www.votefromabroad.org/. At least six million potential American voters live overseas and many of them have to deal with the pros and cons of US foreign policy on a daily basis. Their input should be an important part of the debate.
The online primary for expats will choose 22 delegates for the Democratic convention. Each delegate gets half a vote, for a total of 11. That’s less than Nevada, but more than most US territories. To qualify, you have to register on-line with Democrats Abroad by February 1. It’s a fairly painless process, and instructions are in both English and in Spanish. Anyone who votes on-line gets a secure ID number, and has to pledge not to vote twice. A highly sophisticated bit of software double-checks against cheating.
Republicansabroad.org is also trying to help potential expat voters sign up, but Republicans Abroad has had no formal ties with the Republican National Committee since 2003, so on-line voting for the Republican primaries is out of the question. That said, the organization has done what it can to help expats get on the list for absentee ballots, and to register in time.
Democrats Abroad insists that it is strictly neutral about which contender should be the party’s candidate, but despite the efforts at even-handedness, the energy is clearly behind Obama. An “Obama meetup” is scheduled for Rome on Friday, January 25, and on Thursday, January 24, Americans living in the greater Geneva area will have a chance to meet Harvard professor and author, Samantha Powers, currently serving as senior foreign policy advisor of Obama for America. The get-together will be hosted at
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