Overseas Voting

It's 2008 and that means it's time to bring in someone new to the coveted Oval Office. Lately I feel that our choices are very limited and I always think back to past ballots when I saw an animal listed as an option. I guess anyone can run but it's usually those with the cash that get the most notice and we are basically forced into a position of, "Great I only get two choices and I don't like either choice." What to do? It's difficult and sometimes I wish there were a way to just honestly vote for the other guy but in doing so you basically lose out because you just know they won't win.

So when faced with the options of voting for the one you dislike the least, you can only check your boxes and hope for the best. I hear some, like my mom, who say why can't we do it the old fashioned way and raise our hands? Then the one who gets the majority wins. That is how we do it in school. Why does it have to be so complicated when we are older? It's confusing this whole process and in the end I am always left wondering, "Did my vote count?"


I hear people all the time stating, "I don't vote because it won't count anyways." Well, how do you know unless you vote. Sure we wonder, but I would rather wonder knowing that I had at least gone to vote. I really feel that if more people change their view about voting then maybe, just maybe the people we don't really want in office will never end up there in the first place.




This years election is going to be a historical one. I for one was ready to see a woman in office. I mean, we have had men in office all these years and it's a back and forth routine that has been going on for years. I personally experienced the effects of whomever was in office while I was in the military and let me tell you, you feel like a yo-yo! One president wanted cutbacks so we suffered with extended hours, who knew you could have more than 24 hours in a day? To, this or that not allowed or to purchasing when I worked to order supplies for my department and was told, "Your life depends on low bid." Meaning, I had to order from some obscure company because of the budget being decreased. So yeah, it's hard to vote and decide when you are faced with two options even though there is a list of many.

But I won't let that discourage me. For once, I am going to make an informed decision. I have been reading and reading to fully understand how it works and had wished so much I did this sooner. Understanding how it will work out in the end and understanding exactly just how much power the President has is vital. We have to remember even those little supposedly insignificant offices that we place people in too. They are not so insignificant when you see the whole bigger picture.



I am not smart about politics. I never really was until I moved overseas and was on the outside looking in. For the first time in my life I started to realize about our nations and it's policies and not how they affect just us in America, but how they affect others as well. People in foreign countries, some, are interested in our nations voting time because they know what it will mean for them too. It does have an effect worldwide and I think it pays to know just what things our future president is involved in before elected to office. Knowing this is really important because it can show us the reasons for possible decisions made in the future. For example, wars, conflicts, prices and more.

There is alot that goes into deciding. All I can do now is just hope for the best and cast my vote.

Living overseas poses a sort of challenge for those of us here because we need to do more than just hop in the car and drive to our local district voting site. There is a process that needs to be done and it does take some time so it pays to plan ahead. I found that there is a special voting for our overseas military memebers and voting for non-military members.

I found a site that will help those of us overseas and I would like to share it with you in hopes of helping others get the opportunity to vote. The process is fairly easy and you can register to vote which is the most important detail. I am fortunate that my Drivers Liscence is still valid and helped me in the fact that it had my last US address on it. You will have to sign a couple of forms and mail it in but if you start now, there should be no problem having your ballot in time to cast your vote. I am sure there are plenty of sites out there that offer this but this is the one I felt was best put together. I am unsure if other states are available through it but I do know for a fact that Texas is. The other possibilities are checking with the US Embassy in the country you are located. They could point you in the right direction as well. So here you go and please...

VOTE, IT DOES MATTER!


photos taken fron Overseas Vote Foundation