the Overseas Vote Foundation conducted a survey of americans living overseas about their voting experience in the 2004 presidential election. for those that don’t know, it’s pretty much a pain in the butt to vote this way.
you have to apply to your home state to get a ballot. first question… what is your home state when you haven’t even been in the states for 2 years??? after you apply, they eventually get around to mailing you one. You have to mail it back. There’s no tracking (unless you use fedex) and of course, no confirmation that if it was delivered, it was really counted.
the first time i gave this a try was 2000. i was in london & for some reason i had to go to the embassy. i think it was in order to get a ballot. but maybe it was to send it. i cant remember. i do remember thinking how i was hoping it would count & bush wouldn’t get in & that i probably shouldn’t have waited so late to do whatever it was i had to do.
this time i had read the overseas voter website and applied months before the election. still i didn’t get anything so i ordered the ‘emergency ballot’ from DC. turned out both NYC & DC showed up within days of each other. i can’t remember exactly how close to the election but i think it was like 2 weeks. considering mail takes about a week btwn here & the US, i put that baby in the mail right away.
according to this survey, 19% who applied for a ballot, didn’t get it until AFTER nov 2nd or NOT AT ALL. 24% were like me and got it late. lovely. a state by state break down shows 47% of NY-ers got their ballot late or not at all. sad.
fyi, 52% of the people in the survey were registered in just 7 states (including swingers fla & pa). 29% of the survey folks are from NY & CA.
i know i’m procrastinating finishing the lit review so i won’t go into wondering if it’s just cali & ny folks to take the survey or if we really are the bulk of the expats.