Ruminations of an Expatriate

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My Ballot Arrived

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

No longer having a legal residence in the USA I wasn’t sure how I would go about voting in the presidential election, so some months ago I did a bit of looking around the internet for information. I happened upon the Democrats Abroad site, which has lots of useful information; and information at a federal government site.

I joined the Democrats Abroad and voted for Obama in its online primary. Obama won, overwhelmingly. The Democrats Abroad actually had delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

At any rate, in accordance with the information I happened upon, I contacted the voter registrar’s office in the county of coastal Washington where I lived for a bit more than thirty years before my expatriation. The registrar, in the county auditor’s office, checked with the Secretary of State’s office and determined that I was entitled to vote not just in the presidential election but in all of the statewide and local races, as well.

Today I received my ballot, via airmail. There is no postmark on the envelope so I don’t know when it was mailed, but it seems to me that the Mexican postal system service has improved in recent months. I had read sometime back that Mexican postal authorities had contracted with the USA a postal service to help improve the system here. And, as much as I criticize the USA government, the US postal service is first rate and its service is inexpensive.

I notice there is on the Washington state ballot an initiative which, if approved, would authorize access to “lethal prescriptions” for those “predicted” to have less than 6 months to live. It will receive a yes vote from me, though I think the folks should also be provided with a kit which includes the drugs, a bottle of Tequila, a lawn chair, a cinder block, a bit of cord to connect the block to the chair, and transportation to the beach.

Another initiative would require the licensing, based upon examinations and background checks, of “long-term care workers.” I will be voting no. This is another case, I suspect, like the massage therapists asking the legislature to require the licensing of massage therapists. Another state agency to further nannify life in Washington.

The other odd thing about the Washington ballot is that the candidates are listed as “prefers democratic party” or “prefers republican party”. The state legislature, some time ago, adopted legislation establishing that the top two finishers in the primary election go onto the general election ballot. So in some cases the two candidates are from the same party. I think it’s a good idea, particularly in an area such as where I lived where the republicans have historically run as democrats, since a large portion of the electorate are knee-jerkers.

So I will be completing my ballot this afternoon and will walk it down to the post office the first thing Monday morning. Though the return envelope is US postage paid I imagine I’ll have to buy some Mexican postal service stamps.

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