Americans…now is the time to vote.
By Patrick O’Heffernan
The 2000 presidential election was one of the closest and most controversial in US history, and expat votes largely determined its outcome. Everything hinged on Florida where Bush’s lead has shrunk to 300 votes. But in the totals there were hundreds of overseas ballots that had arrived past Florida’s deadline for mail in ballots. Florida election officials rejected these ballots, giving Gore the lead. The United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida famously (or infamously) overturned the rejections, giving Bush Florida with a 537-vote lead and giving him the presidency, based on overseas ballots.
The current election season is now underway as state primary candidates in several states are on the airwaves battling it out. And those primaries are more important than ever because of demographic shifts and gerrymandering. States have redrawn 327 of the US House’s 435 districts in the redistricting process so that only 26 of those districts are considered to be highly competitive. When the court battles are over, that number may rise to 35 competitive seats, meaning that in the remaining 400 Congressional seats, the primary election determines the winner.
So voting now in the primary elections in your state may be the only chance you get to weigh in on Congressional candidates. The same is even more true for the state legislature and is also true for a number of governorships. The lesson is that NOW is the time to register and vote, not in November (do that too!). If you are registered, get your ballot and mail it or email it in. If you are not registered, go to VotefromAbroad.org and register. If you don’t know, go to VotefromAbroad.org and find out. And if you are confused, go to the VoteFromAbroad tent at the Lake Chapala Society Monday morning for all the help you need.
Expat voters can and have determined elections. Now is the time to vote.
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