Japan # 6 in the World on VoteFromAbroad.org

A little tooting of our horns this week. (cue trumpets and drums)

As you know I am involved in Democrats Abroad here in Japan and am the newly elected DNC member for the Asia Region of DA worldwide. Our main goal is registering voters living overseas to get their absentee ballots. We use a terrific tool, paid for and supported by grassroots Americans living all over the world. www.VoteFromAbroad.org
We have 10 days left. Can you help us get the word out?
Everything we do in election season revolves around getting the word out about that site and getting people to go there and request their absentee ballots.

In Japan we have done voter assistance tables, handed out cards and fliers, ran ads, promoted viral campaigns, and talked up VFA with pretty much every breathing moment. Phone banking, emailing, talking and more talking.

So here is the horn tooting part-- Japan, not the largest committee or the largest population of overseas Americans by far-- is number 6 world wide for registrations using votefromabroad.org. #6!!! Just behind older, more established committees- UK, Canada, France, Germany and Italy. AND our sort of sister committee we've been helping in Beijing and Shanghai is #7!

Done bragging now, and I return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

With one reminder. If you know ANY American living overseas- point them to VoteFromAbroad.org today! Our deadline for absentee requests is coming up in less than 10 days! Point them there. We'll take care of the rest.

And don't forget you can also help by promoting our VFA Video with cameo by the gorgeous Gwyneth Paltrow.

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Gwyneth Paltrow and All of Us Say VOTE FROM ABROAD

This is our new video, spread it far and wide! Help us get the word out. Send it to anyone you know who can blog about it, can send it to friends overseas, can promote it! This is a chance to reach millions of voters. Thanks. And if you are overseas... VFA!

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Vote From Abroad and Our Citizen Created Viral Campaign

As many of you know, Sara, HS, Evan, and Myself are all living overseas. To vote in elections we vote by Absentee ballot back in our home states. I work actively in Democrats Abroad to find Americans and help them through the process of filing the paperwork to get their ballots and mail them back in-- and we work super hard to make sure all this is done early so that our votes get back home in time.

The process used to be hard. Used to be. But in 2004-2006 Dems Abroad launched an online site that makes it easier than ordering sushi in Tokyo! Our big challenge now is finding the Americans who are spread out all over the world, some 7 million of them! And giving them the url and info so they can vote. We do this through ads, regular media coverage and new media campaigns. This year we are trying something new. On Aug. 4th we are launching a video online and working hard from now till then to get the word out.

Check out http://votefromabroad.blogspot.com/ to read all about the video, the shoot, who we are, why we do what we do.

Our votes come into play in all 50 states. And in close elections, esp. in the house and senate-- our margin can be the difference.

One of our members and a DNC-elect representative like myself is leading the charge on this viral campaign. Her name is Caitlin Kraft Buchman and she is a power house. Here is one of her latest entries on our video blog.

While we were taping our upcoming, celebrity viral video (it will be ready for launch on August 4th!), we had a second camera running in another room - just goofing around. In the coming days we'll post some of the clips we got, just to show you who we are, what we're thinking about, and why this election is probably the most important in our lifetime.

We are looking for fellow bloggers, commenters and readers to help get the word out. Help spread our video message when it launches on 8/4. And of course tell everyone or anyone you know who is living abroad about www.votefromabroad.org. We know the mainstream media will not be overly excited to help tell our story. And we have already seen that the Bush and Co. adminstration makes it harder not easier for Americans overseas, including our active military-- to vote.

Millions of Americans abroad, including about 175,000 troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, face chronic timing and technological problems if they try to vote in this fall's presidential election. Troubles that caused low turnout in the past will be compounded by 11 late state-office primaries in September or October, which delays mailing absentee ballots. Efforts to expand electronic voting have slowed because of privacy concerns."It's going to be a harder year for our soldiers and military personnel and others who are overseas," Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie said.--By Richard Wolf, USA TODAY

That is why we are out here, getting the word out early and getting our voting requests in now!

Check out www.democratsabroad.org

Request your ballot at www.votefromabroad.org

Keep up with our story as we work to launch our video at http://votefromabroad.blogspot.com/

UPDATE: if you live over seas and can put up VoteFromAbroad flyers somewhere we would really love the help. Download the pdf here and post anywhere that Americans might turn up.

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Globally Getting Out the Vote

We’ve mentioned Democrats Abroad on this blog before… DA keeps Americans living overseas involved in the political process and helps them vote.

The big way they do that is through a website that they launched that is better than any other voter site out there for absentee ballot info. http://www.votefromabroad.org/ It is basically a wizard that guides you through the voter registration and absentee ballot request process by asking only those questions you are required to answer for your specific voting state and personal circumstances.

It automatically produces a completed voter registration and absentee ballot request form with all the information you need to provide. No more, no less. You then just need to print, sign, and mail it to the address provided. Registering should be this easy everywhere! Plain and simple. VFA was built with voter input, volunteer input and with a lot of elbow grease.

The mission: To help Americans everywhere exercise their rights to vote as American citizens living abroad.

DA has been using the http://www.votefromabroad.org/ website with great success since 2006 but one of our goals this year is to get more blogs, state party websites, and media webpages to provide a link to VFA so that we can get the word out.

Most Americans living overseas get a big % of their news and entertainment from the Internet so getting the link out viraly is one of the best ways to empower our overseas voters. If you have any ideas how to help with this project, share them in the comment thread! And if you know any American friends living overseas be sure to let them know about http://www.votefromabroad.org/

The GOP knows the importance of the overseas vote, it is one of the reasons that they are throwing up roadblocks to make it harder especially for Vets, many of whom have retired overseas. But Dems Abroad and VFA are going to help us help voters everywhere.

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