Back in Action

After a bit of a posting hiatus, I'm back in action now. I've certainly been viewing all of the healthy discussion but have had to focus on some other things for a while. As we are moving closer towards the business-end of the election season, I hope to be more active and also hope that we are able to continue building a stronger presence down under.

As part of that process, Greg Altreuter got in touch with me recently. He has a blog at http://crosswords.blogspot.com and is working on building up a Democrats Abroad presence in Australia (check out http://democrat.meetup.com). For anybody involved or interested in EAB Australia, I suggest also getting in touch with Greg through those sites, as I see an opportunity for us to combine efforts in our unified cause. Best place to probably contact Greg is at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DA-Australia/ .

I'll have more soon but in the meantime, please get in contact with me here or via the comments on this page.

Comments

[eric peterson]

Fellow Democrats,

Re: http://www.democratsabroad.org/vote/fvap.php
"Some states require a notary. They are:

Minnesota -- Notary if you do not list your current passport number.
Michigan -- Notary.
Mississippi -- Notary.
Rhode island -- Notary for registration only if you are not a government employee, spouse or dependent of a government employee..."

I hope the other states do not require a notary, as I was last resident in Michigan and find it very expensive voting each time, owing to the notary requirment. It typically costs me $70 to request the ballot, and then $70 to actually vote. Multiply that for primary and general election, and it appears that voting is for the rich!

Please note that Justices of the Peace in Australia are not allowed to witness foreign documents, and only an elite offshoot of the legal profession are Public Notaries.
It is a sad state of our democracy that it costs so much to vote in the USA.

Eric Peterson (Brisbane)

[eric peterson]

Congressman Bart Stupack,
Michigan's 1st Congressional District
United States House of Representatives

I am upset about the "poll tax" against Michigan voters overseas. It cost me $140 to vote for you last time!

Re: http://www.democratsabroad.org/vote/fvap.php
"Some states require a notary. They are:

Minnesota -- Notary if you do not list your current passport number.
Michigan -- Notary.
Mississippi -- Notary.
Rhode island -- Notary for registration only if you are not a government employee, spouse or dependent of a government employee..."

Please ask the Governor to abolish the requirement for a notary, and better yet please make it a federal law to prohibit this "poll tax". I have found it very expensive voting each two years, owing to the notary requirment. It typically costs me $70 to request the ballot, and then $70 to actually vote. Multiply that for primary and general election, and it appears that voting is for the rich!

Please note that Justices of the Peace in Australia are not allowed to witness foreign documents, and only an elite offshoot of the legal profession are Public Notaries.
It is a sad state of our democracy that it costs so much to vote in the USA. In Australia all adult citizens are required to vote, even prisoners. They fine people who do not bother to vote, rather than the charging a "poll tax"

Eric Peterson, PhD
Senior Research Fellow
Centre for Marine Studies
University of Queensland

I am posting a copy of this message 5th June 2004 at
http://expatsagainstbush.typepad.com/australia/

[Rob Clemens (Melbourne)]

I am writing to urge folks to sign up to Democrats Abroad - Australia. It is free to sign up and the only requirement to join is that your a US citizen living in Australia, and you want to see Bush sent back to Crawford (http://au.democratsabroad.org/). There are about 115 of us throughout Australia, and we're a pretty diverse group. There are active chapters in Melbourne, Sydney, and Brisbane, with chapters starting in Canberra, Perth, and Alice Springs. We have a variety of events planned over the next few months, including voter registration booths / events, student outreach / voter registration, speakers, house parties, an election watch night, and we're doing things like contacting visiting musicians to encourage them help us un-select Bush. The more of us who come together the better the chances are that we can successfully reach out to the estimated 50,000 to 100,000 Americans living in Australia - get them registered to vote - and more importantly convince them Bush needs to go.

A thought about getting a notary for voting (a rediculous requirement we should work to eliminate). I may be wrong, but it was my understanding that your local US consulate could serve as a notary (granted for those thousands of miles from a local consulate this doesn't do much good, but it might be a short term solution for some folks).

Hope you'll join us.

Cheers - Rob