Voting from Abroad in Italy (for Democrats)
We’ve discussed what’s going on in the Italian political sphere, so it’s only fair that I also talk about my homeland, the United States, in this extremely important election year.
Some of you have asked whether I, as a dual Italian-American citizen, can vote in American elections as well as Italian–and the answer is yes. And up until this year, all I had to do was ask for my absentee ballots in time.
FYI, in order to get absentee ballots and vote the old-fashioned way, Americans living abroad can visit the Federal Voting Assistance Program or the Overseas Vote Foundation for specific state requirements.
But this year, there’s another option, at least for Democrats.
If you’re a Democrat, you can, for the first time ever, vote *online* in the Democrats Abroad Global Primary. If you’re in Italy, you can also vote in person in Rome, Florence, Milan, or Bologna. See DemocratsAbroad.org for more details.
If you’re a registered Republican, though, this option isn’t available to you just yet so you’ll have to go the absentee route.
Now, who should you vote for? Well if you’re still undecided, there are plenty of online quizzes that will match you up with the candidate whose views are closest to yours; my favorite is from Glassbooth.org.
You’re given 20 points to allot among a list of issues depending on how important they are to you, and then you answer a series of more specific questions.
Click! And you have the candidate whose views are most similar to yours.
How’d I do? Of the remaining candidates, Mike Gravel and I are apparently peas in a pod at 85%–who knew? I hadn’t even heard of him until I took this quiz. Quite depressing actually.
Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and I meet at the 74% mark, while John Edwards and I agree 73% of the time.
I have to be honest. I’m not uber-excited about any of the candidates (I would’ve loved to have voted for Dennis Kucinich or Joe Biden . . . or Al Gore!), but I do know I’ll be voting Democrat in November. After all, I am pretty much what you’d call a Yellow Dog Democrat and proud:
That’s for you Cherrye!
No matter who you’re supporting, BE SURE TO VOTE!
—————
[tags]elections, presidential election, presidential primaries, voting overseas, voting abroad, glassbooth, democrats abroad, yellow dog democrat[/tags]
21 Beans of Wisdom to “Voting from Abroad in Italy (for Democrats)”
-
[...] stated here before that I’m a Yellow Dog [...]... bleedingespresso.com/2008/09/pssst-republicans-comfortable-has-no-place-in-politics.html
Michelle Kaminsky is an American attorney-turned-freelance writer who lived in her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy for 15 years. This blog is now archived.
Calabria Guidebook
Recipes
Good post and the key word in it – VOTE! Don’t lose the opportunity to take part in the governmental process.
jeni Hill Ertmer’s last blog post..“Hot” Merchandise
Yes! Yes! VOTE!
Go Dems! And thanks for the links. Very helpful!
Diane Mandy’s last blog post..Fashionably Late?
You’re welcome Diane. Information is always a good thing 🙂
Very important and helpful post Michelle.
A
nyc/caribbean ragazza’s last blog post..Write what you want or worry about marketing?
Thanks A–hey you’ll be one of us over here in November, won’t you?
I love that the online option is available for Democrats only; it’s something that just tickles me. Now, it’s too bad that the online option is only for Americans abroad. My parents just relocated and have not yet received the confirmation of change of address from the board of elections. One additional note, they are considering voting by absentee ballot as my dad is disabled and they’re not very mobile. I wonder if there will be the online option for Americans living in the US?
As for the candidates, I’m with you as well…save that I really wanted to vote for Richardson 🙁
ro’s last blog post..Unconscious Mutterings
I found the fact that this is only an option for Democrats rather amusing too. But that’s all I’ll say 😉
As for voting for the disabled, be sure to check with his local Board of Elections–online would be fantastic, but I haven’t heard anything about it. In any event, absentee works too; my grandmother used to vote by absentee all the time because she couldn’t physically make it to the polls.
Wow, I didn’t know you could vote in both countries. And the online voting. That’s darn convenient! Who knew? I find that very interesting. I didn’t even know there was a Democrats Abroad Primary. And interesting that only one party has figured out how to do it.
kacey’s last blog post..Trash Guys vs Kacey
Yes Kacey, as a citizen of two countries, I can vote in both. The online voting is brand spanking new–will be interesting to see how it works, etc.
Good message!! Interesting about the on-line quizes! Never new about that. I am an Obama fan. I would love to vote democrat all the way…but if Hillary gets the nomination I will sooner cut my own leg off than vote for her(a little passionate about this huh ?)…so whoever runs as the independant will get my vote. One things for sure…I will not be voting republican!! Time for a change.
My Melange’s last blog post..Flea Market Sale…
The online quizzes can be pretty fun. But, but…what if Hillary wins the nomination and then picks Obama as Veep? Yeah, I’m not expecting that either 😉
Every quiz I’ve taken matches me with Kucinich, too, with Mike Gravel in second place. All the major candidates still in the running trail a bit and are pretty much tied for me. This does not help me decide which one to back in the caucus next week!! 🙁
stefanie’s last blog post..I’m being whiny AND vague! Lucky you!
I know Stefanie! I’m in the same boat….
Can’t do it Michelle, just can’t do it! 🙁
My Melange’s last blog post..Flea Market Sale…
Well I can certainly understand that. Political opinions do tend to run deep 😉
Great post. Thanks for the links, I took all four quizzes, and of course, managed to completely confuse myself in the process. I’m still not really sure which way I’ll go in the primaries, and the quizzes didn’t really clear it up for me. Haha…
I too got Gravel quite a bit…go figure.
Either way, if I had any doubt before (which I didn’t), the quizzes showed that I’m undoubtedly a Democrat.
Karina’s last blog post..All The Boys – The Slick One
That’s pretty much what I got out of the whole thing too Karina 😉
Yeah, I’d have voted for Kucinich if he hadn’t quit… though he’s a little right-wing for me 😉
Having voted in every election since I was eligible (Go Mondale!), I’m seriously thinking of sitting this one out unless McCain or Romney or Goebbels or whoever the R’s run is leading in the state I’m in come November. I expected so much more (as in, SOMETHING) from the D’s when we gave them a majority back in 06, and what have they done? Bubkes. If my only choice is to vote for the party that wants to spy on me or the party that wants to spy on me, I ask myself why I should legitimise that false choice by voting?
I’m just hopeful that they don’t reform the Italian election laws before I get my citizenship. I’m really looking forward to voting Communist, or Radical. 🙂
Paolo’s last blog post..the joy of HDR
Oh my Red Friend, I do see your point about the vote. The Dems haven’t done much since ’06 but remember they did have a rather big nukular problem in the way. My first presidential vote, btw, was for dear, sweet Bubba. Oh the memories….
I’m with you Michelle, I wish Al Gore would run again. Bush’s last State of the Union was last night (glad it was his last)…. This is what it sounded like: blah, blah blah…. blah blah blah. Fell asleep about half way through.
Joe’s last blog post..i(talian)Tunes
Joe I watched it, or at least tried to, after-the-fact on Fox News (woohoo!). Ugh.
Wow, I was 97% Mike Gravel! Never heard of him until you posted this. Thank you so much! Now I have hope again – that at least someone DECENT is running!!!
JennDZ_The Leftover Queen’s last blog post..Royal Foodie Joust: Deadline Friday!!!
Jenn, I’ve seen a few blogs that said they matched up with Gravel too…why isn’t he making more of a splash? OH! He’s not accepting money from big corporations, etc….
Hey! I also posted about this after attending a Obama rally here in Rome. I got to meet the chair of democrats abroad in Italy, Anthony Sistilli. everyone was really cool and very passionate…it’s contagious! Go Dems!
jessica in rome’s last blog post..Obama Rally In Rome & How To Vote From Abroad
Hi Jessica, sounds like a great community–goes without saying that we have nothing like that down here. Maybe Cherrye and I should start one? 😉
The quiz was very interesting. The thing is, to me it doesn’t matter who is the most similar to me, what matters is who can lead our country out of the mess that Bush has gotten us into. Most of the Democratic candidates can do that, in my opinion.
Bella’s last blog post..Finals week – under the gun
I agree Bella; it’d be hard to find someone who agrees with *everything* I think–and then who could actually get those things accomplished in Washington? Impossible. I have to agree that, essentially, what we need is not another Bush. At least that we’re guaranteed this time around.
Great post and great link! I was also a Richardson fan. I feel that he really “gets” the needs of education. I am hoping he will be the VP nominee.
I was surprised with my results. I ended up with Edwards at 86%, and Obama & Hillary both 80% so I guess I am ok with whoever will be the Democratic nominee. I am not too happy with all the bickering going on right now though. I think they need to be careful as it is turning a lot of people off.
I grew up in a big time Democratic house. My mom flew the American flag for the 1st time the day Nixon resigned. I will be voting Democratic no matter who is nominated but would like to see Obama get the vote.
I voted independent when it was Gore vs. Bush as I was so tired of all the politics in general at that time, not that my vote really counted anyways because Hawaii votes just don’t ever count. Either the election is already won by noontime here or our 4 measely electorate points or whatever they are called don’t matter even in the closest of all elections or should I say even in a “fixed” election. :-{
I agree with the bickering…starting to remind me of the Italian scene a bit 😉 And the “fixed” election stuff–don’t get me started….
Great post and GREAT comments!! I lol at Girasoli saying her mom flew the flag the first time when Nixon resigned! LOL…that is something my mom would have done. I’ve been a Hillary fan for quite a while, so she’ll get my vote, for sure. I do plan to take those quizzes, though!
I wish we could start a dems abroad group down here. But, I think we are the only two Americans around, right? We can get Dawn to come back!!
BTW – LOVE the coin, Michelle. Where can I get one of those?
Cherrye’s last blog post..So Long, Joe
Hey I think we already have started a Democrats Abroad in Calabria group…look, we’re it!
That yellow dog is actually a pin, and if you click on the photo, you’ll go to the page where you can buy it 🙂
I’m a British citizen resident in the UK, but I took the test just for fun.
I also got Mike Gravel, with John Edwards and Hilary Clinton not far behind.
American friends support Edwards, Obama and Clinton. I must ask them about Gravel, and I shall be watching out for him in the future.
Hey Denzylle, looks like Gravel should run for President of the World, or at least a lot of English-speakers 😉 I heard that Edwards is dropping out today, so it looks like it’s down to a two-person race between Clinton and Obama.
Thanks for commenting!
Okay, so I took the quiz (aren’t those fun!) and I’m sure you’ll be shocked to find out that Kucinich was my top, then Edwards, followed closely by Clinton and Obama. I’m registered as a republican, but I will be voting Democrat this year as well.
Both Obama and the Clintons will be back in Denver tonight, so I am stopping by their rally after class to snap some photos and jot down some notes.
I like the idea of voting online, but I wonder how accurate it will be? Of course, I could bring up the Florida voting fiasco and wonder how accurate ANY of it is. Conspiracy theories abound.
Scarlett & Viaggiatore
Wanderlust Scarlett’s last blog post..Taking Care
Not shocked at all about your quiz results…but the registered Republican part does surprise me a bit 😉 Can’t wait to hear more about the rally!
I wonder about online voting too–and what would stop people from voting twice (once with their state and once with the “state of expats.” Of course, like you said, how much of the voting is really reliable anyway? Guess we’ll find out….
I think the fact that so many of us came up with Gravel is that you have readers of similar liberal persuasions.
After saying I’d look our for him in the future, I checked him out on Wikipedia and I see he’s getting on a bit, so it’s unlikely he’s ever going to make it further in politics now, sadly. The best politician alive in the UK, in my view, is 83 years old and, altho’ he says he plans to seek re-election as an MP in the future, I’m not sure how much more time he will have. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Benn )
I wish we had something like this quiz here in London, where we have to vote for a new mayor in May.
Yes I do have some liberal readers–I’m sure I have some conservative ones too, but they probably didn’t want to start a war in the comments…although I swear I would’ve been nice!
That’s a shame that there’s no similar quiz for your mayoral elections; now you have me wondering whether other countries have these at all. There must be political geeks everywhere who can design them 😉
Hey, so nice that you came for a visit and comment, thanks!!!
Go Obama, Go!!!! I agree. No republicans. Gag!!!!! (No offense to any republican friends I may have out there, of course! 🙂 )
Waiting for Zufan’s last blog post..When good things happen
Hah! Of course! Thank *you* for visiting 🙂