Parties Ratchet Up Overseas Campaigning in Tight Presidential Race

LONDON – The campaign event was a typical, if small, John Kerry event. The American flag, the button-festooned supporters, the T-shirts, the voter registration table. A video with highlights of the Democratic National Convention played, and local party officials spoke with enthusiasm of the group’s plans until Election Day.But at this campaign event for Democrats Abroad in London earlier in September, volunteers manning the voter registration table were answering questions from people who couldn’t remember what state they last voted in, never mind what election.“People are energized in a way that they never have been before,” said Joan Luke Hill, chair of Republicans Abroad. “Overseas voters are realizing that their vote counts. We have voters that have never voted before and they want to vote now.”In an election where both parties stress the need to get out the vote, Americans living abroad have found themselves the focus of an unprecedented voter registration drive as absentee ballots take on higher prominence. Activists from both parties have been concentrating their efforts on getting people to send their ballot requests back to the states before the deadlines, which range from mid-September to the end of October, depending on the state.“Everything needs to be well in place in the next couple of weeks in order to get the federal postcard ballots processed,” said Timothy Spangler, chair of the British branch of Republicans Abroad and a registered New York voter. “We’re in a push over the next couple of weeks to get the voter registration forms in and get people into the system.”International absentee voters matter – on the front page of their Web site, Republicans Abroad state that “during the 2000 election, President George W. Bush carried the state of Florida by 537 votes from Republicans overseas thanks to a massive international advertising campaign and strong grassroots leadership on the part of Republicans Abroad.”The number of possible voters living abroad makes a persuasive case for a large-scale registration drive. There are about 250,000 Americans living in the United Kingdom alone, according to the American Embassy. In the last election, 13,000 people living in Britain voted through the consular section, embassy officials said. But exact numbers for the total numbers of Americans living and voting abroad are difficult to determine – most Americans don’t register with their embassy in a stable region, and when it comes to voting, most register absentee from their last address in the states, rather than through the embassy.Activity is not just limited to Britain.“We’ve been all over the place registering people,” said the international press officer for Democrats Abroad, Sharon Manitta. “I just got the figures from Hong Kong, and there are now about 30,000 people registered in Hong Kong alone.”Hard numbers for numbers of voters registered are hard to come by, but both parties note a large increase in the number of voters they’ve registered this year as compared to 2000. In Europe, Republicans Abroad has seen about a 400% increase, according to Ms. Hill.While both parties are actively seeking voters, the organizations are organized very differently. Democrats Abroad, “the official organization of the Democratic Party abroad,” according to the group’s Web site, is officially recognized as the “51st state” of the DNC, and sat a number of voting delegates at the nominating convention this year.Republicans Abroad is an independent organization from the Republican National Committee and doesn’t have an official voice like Democrats Abroad, but it has been very powerful in organizing international get-out-the-vote work. A registered 527, it operates independently of the RNC, although it does have its headquarters in Washington, Ms. Hill said. Both organizations fund themselves through donations and dues, with proceeds spent on activities like Republicans Abroad’s ad campaign in “Stars & Stripes” newspaper. The military is generally a fertile space for registering Republicans.Despite being far from the main action in the states, international supporters have also gotten a bit of star power from home. The Democrats Abroad event in London featured Senator Kerry’s sister, Diana Kerry, who was on a European tour to promote the voter registration drive and a Web site designed to answer questions on international absentee ballots – www.overseasevote2004.com.“I’m here as a branch outreach part of the Kerry campaign,” she said. “I’m here to energize the ‘troops’ for the last leg of the campaign and publicize our Web site. It’s very, very important because every vote counts.”Meanwhile, Vice President Quayle has been to Berlin and George Prescott Bush went to Mexico to rally the expatriate faithful, Ms. Hill said. Former New York Congressman and onetime senatorial candidate Rick Lazio visited Britain, Mr. Spangler added.The visits from politicians and political dignitaries work as a two-way street – Americans living abroad often transmit opinions on American foreign policy because they live on the streets where the effects are felt.“We try, in that way, when we have meetings with senators and congressmen and members of the RNC when they come over here. We give them a perspective on what our concerns are, and we do make our feedback felt,” Mr. Spangler said. “They are on the pointed end for foreign policy decisions on a way that Americans back home are not. Their issues of concern may be slightly different, and they may bring to those decision-making processes different priorities, if you want to call it that.”This election season has served to catalyze interest even in those who weren’t politically active before.“I’ve lived here for 15 years, but I only joined Democrats Abroad two years ago,” said Zack Dunbar, originally from Florida. “Everybody’s caught up in the fever of the race. It’s really gratifying to find a community of Americans abroad. Between events in Europe and events in America, living internationally can make you feel like you’re not in one place or the other.”

Parties Ratchet Up Overseas Campaigning in Tight Presidential Race

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