I've had my absentee ballot request form filled-out, signed, dated and in its addressed envelope for over a month now. I even went to the post office once (before I bought said envelope where I found out that they do not sell envelopes - guess the Turkish postal system isn't as capitalist minded as the US postal system) and then tried another time (lines were ridiculously long as the vast majority of Turks pay their utility bills at the post office - online bill paying is just taking off here).
So, I'd basically given up my hopes of voting in the primary elections. Then, I heard from a fellow teacher about an organization called Democrats Abroad. According to their website, DA is "the overseas branch of the Democratic Party." They are in over 100 countries. In 1976, DA became a "full Democratic state committee" meaning that they have voting rights in the Democratic National Convention.
For the 2008 election season, DA held a global primary. You could vote on-line (awesome!), by mail, or in person. The election, which took place in the beginning of February, is followed by a global caucus and the selection of delegates to send to the National Convention.
Last weekend I went to a nearby hotel where my passport was checked by the DA Turkey Committee members. Then I completed a registration form and voted!
They announced the results the other day:
32 - Barack Obama
18 - Hillary Clinton
4 - Uncommitted
(This does not include the on-line results which will be announced next week). The totals from all Democrats Abroad countries will be calculated. Because the delegate race between Obama and Hillary is quite close, many websites have started treating the DA Abroad primary like a primary from an actual state.
So, the future looks like this. Calculate vote totals --> regional convention --> global convention --> Democratic National Convention.
Pretty awesome that Americans living abroad are finally being given a chance to have their voices heard!
One of my students said that he thought everyone in the world should be able to vote for the U.S. President because "it effects us all." Interesting idea. Any thoughts about that?
Friday, February 15, 2008
Voting from Istanbul
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3 comments:
Interesting, everyone vote for our president...i'm not sure it could ever work, but I do like the thought. maybe each country could send a % or people as representatives to the NC's. However, I know that the US is corrupt, but I wonder if corruption in other countries would really mess things up.
Also, I doubt these high ego politicians would allow representatives from "not so friendly" countries be in the presence of so many high-powered politicians. It's sad.
I'd never heard of this voting mechanism. Way to be resourceful. When i was reading this blog so many thoughts kept popping up in my head, but I just woke up..so most of them popped back out.
I am very excited that I can now view your blog on my blackberry! Thank god for the new site! Although, I cannot post comments on it...not ok.
What do you think about Kosovo declaring its independence from Serbia? What is the Turkish view of it? Will Turkey recognize Kosovo as an independant country?
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