The Importance of Our Vote

The 2024 General Elections are nearing. We all know this is going to be a very tight and close one. All the more, a reason for us all to vote! As Democrats we definitely don’t want another Donald Trump term. The consequences of his disastrous previous term, are still resonating in all our national and state institutions. The appointment of ultra conservative Supreme Court Judges- who promptly struck down Roe v Wade ; his callous handling of the Covid Pandemic and the resulting economic downturn; his tax policies which only helped big corporations and the wealthy few ; at the International stage - his systematic withdrawal of America from time tested organizations like the Paris Agreement on Climate Change; weakening US support of Nato; and worst of all - cozying up to dictators like Putin and Victor Orban. The list is endless.

So do we want another Trump term ? No....... !
So please vote !

Living abroad , we often think our votes are not significant. But they are ! Our votes can influence US policies especially ones related to taxation. Though living abroad, we still need to pay our tax to the US government. We also pay local taxes. So as dual tax payers, we need our voices to be heard. For instance, we can be impacted if changes are made to the Foreign Credit Tax or the Earned Income Tax.

So please vote !

Also in a closely fought election, especially in battle ground states, even a small number of votes matter. In 2020, President Joe Biden won Arizona by fewer than 12,000 votes. Data suggests that there are more than 5 million Americans living abroad. But just under 8% vote ! We overseas citizens are a very powerful bloc. We need to vote to assert our influence . As citizens living abroad , we did not earn this right easily. Persistent efforts by organizations like American Citizens Abroad, the FAWCO and Association of American Residents Overseas - led to the establishment of the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA) in 1986. The process of voting from abroad has been streamlined. But problems persist. Some states still don’t send and receive online ballots. We need to mail in physical ballots, trusting the postal service of the country we live in. Yes, the process can be tedious but please be aware , your effort is worth its weight in gold ! The Right to Vote is a hard fought Privilege. But it comes with a Duty. Especially for us Democrats, the stakes cannot be higher !

Please vote for Kamala Harris and keep Trump away from the
White House !

Revati Rajan

Retired Professor of Sociology