Following our series of meetings on the Hill this April, Democrats Abroad submitted Statements of Record to the Senate Rules Committee as well as to the House Subcommittee on Elections.  Our May 21, 2009 statement for the House is available here, and begins

"As both overseas voters and volunteers who have helped absentee voters through the complex process – in all 50 states and D.C. – from registration to ballot request to returning the ballot, official or write-in, we greatly appreciate this committee’s attention to overseas and military voting. 

Overseas voters face many challenges, whether it is the civilian in Afghanistan who used the write-in because there is no mail service, the student on a junior-year abroad program in London who faces an early registration deadline, the potential first-time voter who was born overseas but is unable to vote at all..."

Thanks go to those who joined us in Washington, our voter registration volunteers, our Voter Survey Team and in-house experts, and each of you who made sure your vote counted in 2008.  With 2010 just around the corner, Democrats Abroad continues to lay the groundwork, from our online registration engine, www.VoteFromAbroad.org, to our network of volunteers and troubleshooters, to our advocates for absentee voting reform.  We want to make sure that our votes and voices continue to count in 2010.

Christine Schon Marques

International Chair