Information for Voters & Potential Delegates
The Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary will take place from February 5-12, 2008 with voting by Internet, mail, fax, and in person at Voting Centers in more than 30 countries around the world.This primary takes place alongside state primaries being held throughout the United States. As an American citizen living abroad you have the option of voting in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary or in a state presidential primary.
WHY NOT VOTE BACK HOME?
Overseas voters are encouraged to participate in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary because:
* Democrats Abroad have facilitated the process of overseas voting in the Global Presidential Primary by allowing voting by Internet and in person.
* Given this year’s early primary schedule, ballots requested may not arrive in time to complete and return.
* If your voting state votes by caucus, you would have to fly home to participate!
* Your vote will count alongside those of other members of Democrats Abroad towards the allocation of Democrats Abroad’s 22 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. As such, your individual vote carries significantly more weight than a vote in a state primary or caucus.
ELIGIBILITY
To vote in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary, a voter must:
* Be a member of Democrats Abroad, the official overseas arm of the Democratic Party of the United States
* Be age 18 or over on November 4, 2008
* Be temporarily or permanently resident outside the United States
* Not vote in any other state presidential primary or caucus
REGISTERING FOR THE DEMOCRATS ABROAD PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
To vote in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary you must be a registered member of Democrats Abroad. There are no membership fees. Simply complete the online membership form at www.DemocratsAbroad.org/join.
VOTING
In January 2008, Democrats Abroad members will all be sent detailed instructions and will be able to select their preferred voting method: Internet voting, paper ballot (by mail or fax), or in person at a Voting Center in more than 30 countries worldwide. Details will also be posted online at DemocratsAbroad.org and publicized in the press.
In order to vote by Internet, mail, or fax, you must be a registered member of Democrats Abroad by January 31, 2008. To vote in person, you may join Democrats Abroad on the spot and vote immediately at a Voting Center.
YOUR STATE PRIMARY
If you participate in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary, you may notvote for President in your voting-state primary or caucus. (Your “voting state” is the last place you resided before departing the US. If you never resided in the US, most states will accept the last place your parent(s) resided. Contact Democrats Abroad or your local voting registrar for details if required.)
You may choose to request a primary ballot and vote for other offices on your voting-state primary ballot. You should register to vote in the general elections, you can do that now by completing your online ballot request at VoteFromAbroad.org.
DELEGATE SELECTION
Democrats Abroad has the status of a State Party within the Democratic Party. As such, we will send 22 voting Delegates and one or more Alternates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado, August 25-28, 2008. Eight of these Delegate positions are pre-allocated to our eight members of the Democratic National Committee. The other Delegates and Alternate(s) will be elected at Democrats Abroad’s Regional Caucuses and Global Convention. Finally, one Member for each of the three Standing Committees of the Democratic National Convention (Platform, Credentials, and Rules) will be elected by the Democrats Abroad Delegation once it has been composed.
If you wish to run for any of these positions, you should contact your local Democrats Abroad organization for the necessary paperwork. Please see DemocratsAbroad.org. If there is no local Democrats Abroad organization in your country, please contactSecretary@DemocratsAbroad.org. You can also obtain a copy of the filing form from theDemocratsAbroad.org website.
Under the Rules of the 2008 Convention, only those people who have been pre-approved by the presidential candidates may run for the position of Delegate, Alternate, or Standing Committee Member. To obtain such pre-approval, you must submit statement-of-candidacy and pledge-of-support forms to the International Chair of Democrats Abroad: Christine Schon Marques, 107 chemin de Saint-Maurice, CH-1245 Collonge-Bellerive, Switzerland, Chair@DemocratsAbroad.org. Deadlines are as follows:
February 23, 2008: for any positions elected at the EMEA Regional Caucus on March 15, 2008 in Brussels.
March 14, 2008: for any positions elected by the Global Convention or the meeting of the Democrats Abroad National Convention Delegation on April 12, 2008 in Vancouver.
March 21, 2008: for any positions elected at the Americas and Asia Pacific Regional Caucuses on April 11, 2008 in Vancouver.
Applications for approval by the presidential candidates will be forwarded by the International Chair to representatives of the respective presidential campaigns who will then certify who amongst the candidates for the positions has been pre-approved. Some presidential candidates may also require that you have contacted them directly in order to be pre-approved. Check the website of your preferred candidate for more information.
Once pre-approval is confirmed, it will then be up to the Regional Caucuses to elect nine of the Delegates to the National Convention based on the binding results of the presidential preference vote in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary on February 5 through 12, 2008. The number of Delegates to be elected by each of the regions will depend on their percentage of participation in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary. In addition, three At-Large Delegates to the National Convention and two Pledged Party Leader and Elected Official (PLEO) Delegates will be elected by the Global Convention. They, too, must have been pre-approved by the presidential candidates in order to be eligible to run. Finally, the members of the Standing Committees (Platform, Rules, and Credentials) will be elected by the delegation to the Democratic National Convention once it has been completed at the Democrats Abroad Global Convention. The candidates for those three Standing Committees must also have been pre-approved by the presidential candidates.
Throughout the process, under the affirmative action plan, Democrats Abroad must make every effort possible to ensure not only general balance of the delegation but also to include representatives of Asian-Pacific Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans, as well as members of the LGBT Community and disabled persons and youth. Our goal for ethnic diversity amongst the complete delegation is four and our goal for representation from the LGBT Community is one.
Note: It is also possible to run as an Unpledged Delegate to the National Convention. In this case, obviously, there can be no prior approval by the presidential candidate, but an application form must nevertheless be submitted to the International Chair of Democrats Abroad in order to verify that you are in fact a member of Democrats Abroad.
THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION
To request a ballot for the General Election on November 4, 2008, go toVoteFromAbroad.org. Print, sign and mail your ballot request form. Alternatively, contact your local country committee of Democrats Abroad and request help registering to vote.
If you do not receive your state ballot by October 1, 2008, you may cast your vote using a blank back-up ballot called the FWAB, or Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot. The FWAB will be printed alongside your ballot request form at VoteFromAbroad.org. Please keep it in a safe place, in case you should require it. You can also return toVoteFromAbroad.org at any time and download a FWAB.
Note: If you register to vote in 2007 and do not receive your voting state’s congressional primary ballot or other voting materials, you should re-register in 2008 to be sure that you don’t miss the opportunity to vote in the November general elections.
DELEGATE SELECTION PLAN
The final version of the Democrats Abroad 2008 Delegate Selection and Affirmative Action Plan has been filed by the International Chair of Democrats Abroad with the Democratic National Committee. A copy of the entire plan can be downloaded atDemocratsAbroad.org.
TIMELINE 2008
Jan 31: Deadline for joining Democrats Abroad in order to vote by Internet, mail, or fax in the Global Presidential Primary
Feb 5-12: Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary. Refer to individual Democrats Abroad Country Committees for opening hours of Voting Centers.
Feb 23: Deadline for application forms to run for positions elected at EMEA Regional Caucus
Mar 14: Deadline for application forms to run for positions elected at the Global Convention or the Democrats Abroad National Convention Delegation Meeting
Mar 15: Europe-Middle East-Africa Regional Caucus, Brussels
March 21: Deadline for application forms to run for positions elected at Americas and Asia-Pacific Regional Caucuses
Apr 11: Americas Regional Caucus, Vancouver
Apr 11: Asia-Pacific Regional Caucus, Vancouver
Apr 12-13: Democrats Abroad Global Convention, Vancouver
Apr 13: National Convention Delegation Meeting, Vancouver
Aug 25-28: Democratic National Convention, Denver, Colorado
Nov 4: Election Day
ANY QUESTIONS
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