A Little Voting…I Made Freedom Count: Vote Abroad
Today I proudly wore my “I voted” sticker all day long, and you know, it’s true that it feels good to go out and vote. I know that sounds all kinds of cheesy and hokey, but at 24, I have only voted in one election thus far and I am hoping that Florida doesn’t screw this one up – I don’t know if I can handle being the butt of more national jokes…especially since I’ll be out there on the road this time around!
All of the past debacles aside, with paper ballots across the state and some new protocols in place it seems that all is running smoothly so far – either way though I went to the polls for early voting.
So, to assuage the concerns of all of those wondering – and a surprisingly high number of friends were concerned that I make it to the polls on Nov. 4th (that’s the day I head off to Oz) – I have it covered and wouldn’t miss my chance to vote for all the money in the world.
Unfortunately, because I am traveling on election day, I won’t know who won the election until I touch down in Fiji, en route to Sydney. There’s going to be a grown woman crying in the Fiji airport if a certain one of the candidates wins – though perhaps on the up side it would give me a reason to travel indefinitely?!
All of this though shouldn’t be much of an issue in the future – reading up on some other travel and expat blogs indicate that the mail-in ballots work pretty well if you request in advance. Since I’ll be flying on election day, but I’m still in the states this time around, I was able to take advantage of in-person early-voting!
I know that this isn’t particularly inline with the whole travel blogging side of the site, but so many people in this world lack even the semblance of a choice. People die for the right. They are currently dying for the right to vote – a right that I can easily exercise…it seems negligent to sit at home and not take that basic leap of freedom and head to my polling place.
Do you vote on from the road? If you’re planning a RTW trip and will be out of the country for a major election I encourage you to order or mail ballot and see if there’s a way to exercise your right!
