March 2002
As we move into a new election year, the obstacles to voting from overseas have taken on new and vital importance for Americans abroad. In view of the difficulties we have encountered in convincing our legislators to address overseas Americans' concerns in the election reform bill now before the Senate, and realizing that the House and Senate will need to work together to harmonize their proposals for election reform before any bill can become law, the delegates to the 2002 FAWCO Interim Conference discussed and, on March 11, 2002, unanimously approved the following statement to be sent to all members of the appropriate House and Senate committees and to other key decision-makers in Washington and in our individual states.
The delegates to the 2002 Interim Conference of the Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas, representing some 17,000 members in 35 countries, strongly urge the United States Congress to craft legislation that will:
- facilitate procedures for voting from overseas;
- ensure the timely distribution of election materials so that all ballots can be received and counted on time;
- implement procedures for providing statistics on voting from overseas in order to further refine the process, for the 4.1 million civilian United States citizens living and working abroad.
Every voice counts - add yours and make the difference!
The Senate is now in its Easter recess and will reconvene on April 8.One of the first pieces of legislation that will undoubtedly be taken up is election reform, twice stalled by partisan controversy. There is still no amendment to S 565 - the Equal Protection of Voting Rights Act - that addresses the problems encountered by civilian overseas voters.
Take advantage - and encourage those around you to do the same - of this last opportunity to remind your Senators that overseas votes count and that you want yours to be counted!
See the list of US Senators and contact yours today. You may, if you like, use or personalize this sample form letter (Word doc - 5 KB). There is very little time left, but the good news is that there is just a little time left - for us to help make this important legislation even better.
