Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Super Torek


To the elections with the new working success!

I admit it. I've gotten swept up in the American election excitement. Between my weekly Meet The Press podcasts and daily coverage on CNN, I am following the coverage of the issues andcandidates and I have caught full on Obama-mania. That having been said, I am not voting. Nope, not at all.

You see, I have been an avid non-voter for years. I think voting is the equivalent of pressing that door close button on the elevator, it doesnt make a difference, the door is on its on timer. Because I have not shaken much from this attitude I haven't actually registered to vote in ages and I've actually gotten into verbal arguments with thos Get Out The Vote people who try to guilt me into signing up. I lived in New York for 6 years and never even glanced at a voter registration form, and now, now that I have raised my head to actually care just a tiny bit, I am living outside of the country.

When I got back from the states I googled "expat voting", landed at the Voteabroad.com website, and went through a series of questions that generated a 9 page PDF document. Somewhere in there I am supposed to fill in info, sign somewheres, walk down to the post office, and mail it off to New York. However that document is NOT the ballot. It is a request for a ballot. Upon receipt, I think someone in New York has to look it over, make sure its valid, and then mail me a ballot and then if it actually gets here I will have to fill in, sign somehweres, walk down to the post office, and mail it off once again. At this point it will get counted with the others (hopefully) and then a bunch of "delegates" in an electoral college (if someone can explain this to me in 4 sentences or less, please write in) will decide who gets to be president....Oh brother.

So anyway, voting is on my to-do list this year ...not at the top...but its on there. In the meantime, if someone finds out an easier way to do this, lemme know, okay?

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

At the elections?

it's more like (go) to the elections

Camille Acey said...

Thanks Aja! I'm making the correction.

Lisa said...

I am not usually interested, but this is one I'm watching from my hotel room *bless satellite tv!*

BlackGirl said...

Well, me, I've always been a voter. But I so hear you about the absentee-ballot process--it's nuts! I honest-to-God thought I could just walk into the American Embassy with my NY voter card and just, you know, vote? LOL.

So I hear there's online registration. Super, I think. I'll just fill out my info, press send and things should sort themselves out. But no, I have to print it out and then mail it? Ridiculous. It really should be simpler.

Camille Acey said...

@BlackGirl - well, I did it last week. so now I can say, nudge nudge. ;)