There's nothing misleading about that headline! Yes! Last Friday, I cast my vote for the President of the United States, Senator for Hawaii and Representative for my district in Hawaii. And that's pretty amazing since the primary in Hawaii hasn't even taken place yet!
No, I didn't commit voter fraud, but I'm sure there will be republicans who would like to try and suppress my vote if they knew how easy it was for me to cast that ballot!
You see, I'm an American citizen living abroad so there are some procedures in place to make sure I can cast my vote, and, that my vote actually counts.
Follow me over the curly thing and I'll explain how.
If you are an American citizen, living outside of the United States, you still have a right to cast a vote in your state, local and federal elections. With 2012 being the most important election in the 56 years I've been alive, we need to make sure we get as many democratic voters to the polls as we possibly can.
For those of you living abroad, you can cast your vote this week! And it's easy to do!
Go to the Vote From Abroad Website and to get the necessary information. The website makes it a very simple process. You need to provide the state you are registered to vote in, and if your not already a registered voter, you can also register to vote via the website.
After answering a few simple questions about yourself, you will be registered with the website and you will receive an email, specific by state, containing all the information and forms you need to register, request an absentee ballot and a Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot(FWAB) that you can complete and mail in to your County Clerk now to cast your vote for the November Election!
As voting rules differ by state, your absentee ballot may be mailed to you, but many states, like Hawaii, will email the official ballot to you. Since Hawaii has not yet held it's primary election, I will also be able to vote in that election and due to the Congressional race between Mazie Hirono and Ed Case, the primary is probably more important for democratic voters in Hawaii that the general election.
I'm sure you're probably wondering how I could have possibly voted in the November election when the primary hasn't even occurred yet. That's what that Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot(FWAB) is for!
It has a place to cast a vote for President, Senator and US Representative. And, you don't have to write in a name! You can simply vote Democrat for President, Democrat for Senator and Democrat for US Representative. Some states also allow this form to be used to vote for initiatives and other offices if your state allows it's use. After filling out the ballot you put it in an unmarked, sealed envelope and mail it along with the FWAB voter declaration form to your county clerk. If for some reason, you don't receive the official ballot, or you fail to return the official ballot by the deadline, the county clerk will use your Federal Write-in Absentee Ballot to cast your vote. Simple!
If you're living abroad, make sure your vote counts this year!
I've already voted! You can too!!!
Vote From Abroad Today!!!