Super Tuesday balloons peek through the drift of spring blossoms at the American College of Thessaloniki (ACT), Dukakis Center, welcoming voters to the GPP.
Dukakis Center Executive Director David Wisner and helper take a hands-on approach to setting up the equipment for the Voting Center layout.
Thessaloniki Chapter Rep. Peter Baiter and David Wisner go way back. And they're still having fun promoting education and democracy!
ACT students 'aim high' to add to the meaningful decor for the Voting Center.
Volunteer Effie Nabhan wears a garland of tridents ... done up for the Thessaloniki Voting Center by DAGR Counsel, and avid seamstress, Charity Moschopoulos.
Yep! Looks like this is the spot! Start here and follow the route to the ballot box!
First stop, sign in. David Wisner joins DAGR volunteers Joann Ryding and Satchel Martin at the sign-in desk. Only DAGR members can vote in the GPP in Greece. So, DAGR already-members are ticked off on the membership role. Same-day registrations, that is folks who want to join, are sent to a separate desk to get help joining.
The many US students who enroll in ACT Study Abroad Program each semester, as well as in the degree programs on offer at ACT, need to get registered in their home states to vote in the 2024 elections. GPP provides a Voter Assistance Desk for students and for all who come to the Voting Center. Here, ACT student Adria Lockhart, hailing from South Dakota, has just finished registration with the help of ACT fellow student volunteers, Despina Krlevski and Filip Perduloski. Registration can now be done online using votefromabroad.org, the public service digital platform paid for by Democrats Abroad for all US voters regardless of candidate or party affiliation. The same platform generates both registration and the ballot request new members will file with their home state election officials.
Two more new members! Registering to vote and joining Dems Abroad is a breeze for tech-friendly younger people. Getting informed about US voting laws, state laws, issues and candidates ... well, that's where the 'learning curve' gets a bit steeper.
For more from ACT students on why they're enthusiastic about voting, check out their video short on Instagram or Facebook.
Registered, joined and/or signed-in, the next stop is the ballot filling area and then ... into the ballot box it goes! For 2024, two candidates got enough signatures to be included on DA ballot: Joe Biden and Marianne Williamson. There is also a slot for Uncommitted ... which required no signatures.
Parents, teach your children well! Kevin Berkowitz and his son Mel Berkowitz drop their ballots in the box. Kevin was Thessaloniki Chapter Chair that first formational year, 2011.
Strong women, all DAGR Thessaloniki volunteers, still standing! It's Women's History Month! L to R, Lambrini Nassis, Randall Warner, Linda Manney, Christine Willis, Effie Nabhan, Joann Ryding, ACT Student Volunteer Despina Krlevski.
The colors say USA, Dems Abroad, Voting Center etc but the signage also informs about universal concerns such as wildfire prevention. Good ciitizenship depends on an informed electorate! Say it again!
ACT Students Valentine Githae from Nairobi, and Jasmine Trunkenpolz from Austria by way of South Africa, conducted an Exit Poll of DAGR members after they completed GPP voting, surveying overseas US citizens' attitudes towards voting, as well as their preferred sources of news and information about US politics.
Except for the Global Presidential Primary (every 4 years), US citizens living outside the country vote in their home states. The right to vote in federal elections is protected by UOCAVA law. State and local electoral rights vary from state to state.
It's important to note: "Absentee voting" is also the term for people in the home state who vote by mail or ballot drop box. THE RULES ARE DIFFERENT for 'domestic' and 'abroad' absentee voters.
To register to vote and request ballots from home states, Dems Abroad recommends the non-partisan Vote From Abroad site. It's got full information for US citizens voting in every state or territory. Information is updated constantly by an experienced team of volunteers. Voter assistance is provided, or trouble shooting when needed.