The Challenges of Voting from Abroad (October 1, 2006)

Right before catching my plane to Delhi I posted my overseas absentee ballot at the Nairobi central post office. The process of voting abroad can be as complicated or simplified as a state chooses. Virginia residents are emailed a ballot which they can then print and send back to the state in a fairly easy/straightforward process. California residents, conversely, are sent 1-2 blank forms in which they are required to hand-write each office they wish to vote for (or proposition/measure) and in the corresponding line, their vote.

As stated, the process can be as easy or as difficult as a county/state wants. In my case, my first elections overseas has resulted in a bevy of correspondence with my county clerk and the CA Secretary of State's office over the sheer stupidity of their system. For example, prior to receiving a ballot my county clerk confirms that I am still, in fact, overseas. Sounds reasonable, right? One would hope to avoid voter fraud. This confirmation happens by mailing me a letter wherein there is a form that I am to return prior to September 4th. This is totally logical and reasonable, except that the notification letter is sent out August 1st, which means it arrives usually within 11 days of its deadline. For many overseas voters this is too little time. For example, it takes a minimum of 10 (business) days to post a letter from Kenya. There is the option of faxing in your confirmation, but if you are posted more rurally (as I am), there is generally limited to no fax access as well. There is no fancy U.S. Counsel post service that is going to whisk my confirmation letter back to the U.S. and ensure that it reaches California in any semblance of timeliness.

After that hurdle, your voter guides finally arrive. In my case, I received half my guides in September, and the other half after the postage deadline for the ballot in October. In and of itself, the delay in guides arriving is of course a bit of a shit show. Furthermore, relying on voter guides as my sole source of elections information, I realized that these are generally put together in a pretty useless way. Not only do whole sections of the guide refer the voter to online resources for "additional information," but the online web sites only have *.pdf copies of the physical voter guide. Further, if you live somewhere without internet access, you are effectively cut off from any and all background information, etc., that you can dig up about organizations funding and supporting initiatives, candidate voting histories, and even which judges are up for reconfirmation. While this is a pain and is disproportionately annoying for those overseas voters who are not working for the U.S. government, in a city, or with a major aid/NGO agency, it also disproportionately encumbers low-income voters in California itself.

Can you imagine if the majority of your voting information had to come solely from the internet? Let's say TV was out given the number of misleading and confusing ad campaigns and the lack of (non-spin) press coverage on campaign issues. If you come from a more low-income and/or rural area of California, then chances are you will have zero access to internet resources, and consequently, zero access to thorough elections information. As I went through propositions and candidates in frustration I couldn't help but wonder a) if I felt informed enough to make an educated voting decision, and b) if my ballot was even worth casting. These are not feelings that voters should have, particularly when the whole function of the Sec. of State's office is to provide thorough voter information and streamline/ensure a smooth elections process. Voter guides in particular should be thorough and holistic. While I found the Legislative Analyst's reports helpful, particularly on California's proposed and actual bond burden, there was not much in the way of any other analysis offered to help read through the lines. One of hte most ardent arguments for going mostly online is that paper guides are wasteful, bad for the environment, etc. This is true, but in the meantime the Sec. of State will have to come up with a better and more accessible alternative so that all walks of voter can get reliable information. No wonder voters feel overwhelmed and underinformed.