All posts tagged register to vote

The MOVE Act

by waybeyondthebeltway on June 6, 2010 in Americans Abroad, Voting with No comments

The Military and Overseas Voters Empowerment Act (the Move Act), which was signed into law by President Obama in October 2009, takes effect after state primaries and before the election this coming November. And as the name implies, it directly impacts how Americans abroad exercise their right to vote. And while it expands our rights as citizens who vote from abroad, it requires us to request ballots more often.

In particular, the MOVE Act:

  • Requires ALL states to provide voter registration applications online;
  • Requires, in time for the November 2010 General Election, that ALL states provide for the electronic transmission of the blank ballot 45 days prior to the election — so overseas voters should register to vote again this year and make sure you mark the “electronic” option for receipt of the ballot and include your email address;
  • Eliminates notary requirements
  • Expands the use of the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB), including primaries and special elections — once you’ve registered and requested your absentee ballot; to ensure your vote is counted vote the FWAB. Then, when you receive your official state ballot, vote that too. The state will only count one.

Register to vote and request your ballot today at www.overseasvotefoundation.org, or if you are a Democrat at www.VotefromAbroad.org

New Ballot Tool for Overseas and Military Voters

by waybeyondthebeltway on September 17, 2008 in Americans Abroad with 1 Comment

“Democracy at a Distance: A Summit to Make Voting Work for Military and Overseas Voters”,convened by the Pew Center on the States, in collaboration with the JEHT Foundation, took place in Washington earlier this week. Notably, a new bipartisan Tarrance/Lake poll was released at the summit. The poll:

… found 96% of Americans believe it’s important that these voters [Military and overseas voters] get the chance to participate and vote in U.S. elections.  The poll results also show that 81% of Americans favor creating a uniform national set of rules for military and overseas voters.

Also at the summit, the Overseas Vote Foundation launched “two new balloting solutions designed to address the weakest points in the overseas and military voting process: ballot delivery to the voter and “voted” ballot return to election officials.”

The Express Your Vote program with FedEx essentially allows Americans abroad (in 89 countries) to send their ballots home via FedEx for free or at steep discounts. In Sweden, where I live, the cost is $23.50. Naturally, going through FedEx gives voters confidence that their ballots will arrive in a timely fashion. More than that though, using FedEx, voters can track their ballot and see when it arrives.

OVF also launched a new online Vote-Print-Mail Ballot System, a tool developed with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts that allows voters to complete the Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (FWAB) more easily and with fewer errors.  As many may already know, the FWAB is the form used when one has requested an absentee ballot but has not yet received it.  The Vote-Print-Mail Ballot System is an immediate solution for  voters whose ballots are late or lost and transforms the otherwise cryptic FWAB into a user-friendly online process. What’s more, the system automatically matches zip codes to voting districts and generates federal candidate lists. Voters simply select their candidates and then download, print, sign and send the completed FWAB.

It is hoped that these new tools will help to increase the number of ballots returned from abroad, reduce the rejection rate and boost the impact of overseas and military voting this fall.
UPDATE: The inimiatble Brian Knowlton covers the story in the International Herald Tribune.

Youth Vote Overseas

by waybeyondthebeltway on June 16, 2008 in Americans Abroad, Voting with No comments

Once again leading the charge to assist Americans abroad in the exercise of their constitutional right to vote, last week Overseas Vote Foundation launched a site dedicated to young voters abroad — Youth Vote Overseas. Following a primary season during which young voters participated in record numbers, Youth Vote Overseas will help youth navigate the complexities of voting from abroad and help them get registered and to request an absentee ballot.

Overseas Americans Week

by waybeyondthebeltway on March 5, 2008 in Americans Abroad, Congress & Elections, General Interest, Government, Washington with No comments

Watching the latest round of presidential preference primaries has provide further illustration of the need for the estimated 4-10 million Americans abroad to register to vote and to actually vote in federal election primaries. If you haven’t register to vote in the 2008 presidential election yet, you can do so via the easy-to-use, elegant and secure Overseas Vote Foundation voter registration wizard.

Still, voting is just one of many issues before Congress that impacts the daily lives of Americans abroad. If you’d like to get involved in shaping the policies that shape our lives abroad, then support Overseas Americans Week (“OAW”).

OAW is an annual program run by an alliance of non-partisan American overseas organizations, including:

  • AARO: Association of Americans Resident Overseas
  • ACA: American Citizens Abroad
  • FAWCO: Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas

The goal of OAW is to maintain an ongoing dialog with Congress and the Executive branch and its principal activity is an annual “door-knocking” campaign in Washington, DC.

In 2007, OAW focused on the following issues:

  • Citizenship: Americans should enjoy the same right to transmit U.S. citizenship to children at birth.
  • Medicare: Americans eligible for Medicare benefits in the U.S. should be able to receive these or equivalent benefits while abroad.
  • Social Security: American who contribute to U.S. Social Security and receive Social Security pension abroad, should not be penalized under “windfall elimination provision” rules because they also receive a foreign pension. Americans overseas should be allowed to contribute to U.S. Social Security as do self-employed persons.
  • Taxation: U.S. citizens working overseas are subject to a tax liability in their country of residence and in the U.S., putting American business and citizens overseas at a competitive disadvantage. Congress should eliminate the cap on the foreign-earned income exclusion.
  • Voting Procedures: Procedures should be simplified for absentee registration and voting for Americans abroad. Timely ballot delivery and transparent vote counting procedures should be given priority.
  • Voting Rights: Sixteen states explicitly allow Americans reared abroad to exercise their constitutional right to vote in federal elections by registering to vote using the legal voting residence of their U.S. citizen parent(s). This right should be granted by all states.
  • Americans Abroad Caucus – Created on February 22, 2007 by Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Congressman Joe Wilson (R-SC) as a bi-partisan forum for discussion of issues affecting overseas Americans.

This year, OAW is the week of April 14, 2008.

Overseas Vote Foundation’s State Hosted Systems Program

by waybeyondthebeltway on January 20, 2008 in Voting with 2 Comments

Continuing to break new ground and prepare the way for greater overseas voter participation in the U.S. electoral process, Overseas Vote Foundation (“OVF”) announced the launch of its State Hosted Systems Program (“SHS”). Under this program, Alabama, Minnesota, and Ohio have launched customized, state-of-the-art, web-based, interactive voter registration services. The sites were developed by OVF, with the support of the JEHT Foundation, which granted both development support for OVF’s SHS Program and support to reduce costs for states to adopt the SHS program in 2008.

The SHS program enables states to provide these new voter registration services at a fraction of the cost of the manual and error-filled process used in previous election cycles. It is a true, “win-win” as it saves taxpayer money while providing Americans abroad with improved access to voting services.

For those of you not yet aware of OVF, it exists to assist uniformed and overseas American citizens in registering to vote. The Pew Charitable Trusts has provided grant support to OVF to develop its voter services.

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