I regularly receive emails in my bulk mail folder counting down to the November election: “36 days ’till November 2nd!” “35 days ’till regime change!” I used to read them religiously, moving them into my Inbox and forwarding them to friends, signing petitions and (occasionally) giving money. But now, as the election grows closer, my fervor has slackened.  I won’t be voting in November.

It’s not that I’ve taken a principled stand against the electoral process. It’s that my country has made it nearly impossible for me to vote while abroad. As the New York Times reported, the overseas voting process is mired in a complicated and contradictory bureaucracy, and effectively disenfranchises the 3.9 million civilians abroad.

I moved overseas with every intention of continuing to fully participate in the political process and vote via absentee ballot. You can’t request an absentee ballot before being out of the state, so I had to wait ‘till moving to acquire one. The United States embassy sent out a convoluted memo directing citizens in Egypt to request absentee ballots by mail, but didn’t explain how. A friend pointed me towards this website, run by Kerry supporters, but I’ve received neither absentee ballot nor confirmation that Philadelphia City Hall ever received my request. Even if city hall did receive the request, there’s no guarantee I’ll ever get the ballot; Egypt’s mail isn’t known for its consistency. I’ll attempt to request yet another by fax today, but if that doesn’t work, my only remaining option is pick up a Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot at the consulate – and the American consulate is only open in Cairo four days a week, all work days.

To be fair, it may not be the federal government’s fault; the Times’ article reports that 18 states did not have systems in place to mail ballots at least 45 days before the election. The government has designed and activated a system for voters to receive ballots instantly via the Internet — but access to the site is limited to military personnel and their families. In a time of war, it’s difficult to see this move as anything but partisan, despite the Pentagon’s claims to the contrary. While there’s relatively little polling of military personnel or civilians living abroad, a Zogby poll found that 58 percent of Americans with passports supported Kerry. Both parties have made a concerted effort to attract overseas voters, insisting that the registration and voting process are not as complicated as the media has reported.  

I’ve been repeatedly reassured that “they don’t count those ballots anyway”, but that’s inadequate consolation, knowing as I do that the overseas vote may be essential in a swing state like Pennsylvania. After all, “…four years ago in Florida, absentee votes from Americans living overseas turned a 202 majority for Al Gore into a 537 majority for George Bush…” It’s frustrating to find that four years after the debacle of that election, the United States has failed to address the flaws in its electoral system, even as we attempt to “bring democracy” to Afghanistan and Iraq.  

llouison