I AM ANGRY (Missing Ballot update)

[Liberalboy]

I mentioned in a post yesterday about my frustrations of not having received my absentee ballot from Colorado yet. My partner got his last Wednesday but I didn't. I called the Denver Election Commision last week and they said to be patien; they verified that I was registered and that my ballot was mailed out on October 8th. Monday and Tuesday of this week passed and nothing in the mail.

I took some DUers advice and called the Obama campaign in Colorado and they encouraged me to contact the comission again this morning and let them know of any problems. This morning I had to deal with the most inept election workers I have ever encountered and they told me that "a lot" of ballots mailed out on the 8th have not gotten to their final destination they're finding out. We went through the process of trying to get me a new ballot but they seemed clueless as to when or how they would be able to do it and their heads nearly exploded when I added I lived in Canada and that may add additional time to a new mailing. They told me they would call me back...I'm still waiting.

I called the Obama campaign again and told them and they were surprised to hear the comment about a bunch of ballots never arriving. She encouraged me to keep calling and even call the SOS if I didn't hear anything. I am so angry!

Any other thoughts or suggestions?

[yourguide]

1. call the SOS. and your local media outlet.

[demokatgurrl]

2. That is, local in DENVER- having it in the Canadian news

won't help. And remind the election commission that there exist such services as FedEx and DHL, and that since they want to make sure you are not disenfranchised through their error, they should cough up the cost.

[Liberalboy]

8. done!

I even emailed the CBC (local) for good measure :-)

[JPZenger]

3. Mail delivery varies with mailman

In my town, I find the mail delivery varies with the mailman. Some of the same items get mailed to both my work and home address, and the work mail always comes 2 days earlier - because my home mailman is lazy. I get one piece of mail one day, and 20 pieces of mail the next day (on his day off).

[Frances]

4. I want every legal vote for Obama to count

but I'm curious. How do you qualify to vote in Colorado if you live in Canada?

[kath]

You can be a citizen of one country, yet live in another. Happens all the time.

Job reasons, military, school, resident alien in a new country, in process of establishing new citizenship but still have the old one in the meantime, etc. Not all that uncommon.

[demokatgurrl]

9. College students- my neice is a student in Canada

she voted absentee in PA.

[rvablue]

5. American citizens living abroad are allowed to vote.

I have a friend who resides in Ireland but who is an American citizen....she's voting.

You can either register as "an American abroad" -- don't know the exact terminology, or you can get an absentee ballot from the last state you resided in in the United States....that's my limited knowledge, but don't quote me, it may not be exact, but it is legal for this person to vote.

[Liberalboy]

6. As an American citizen I have the right to vote...

When you move abroad your last residence in the United States is used as your voting location, mine is in Denver. If I ever move back I'll need to re register. If you counted up all the ex-pats living abroad we would have more electoral votes then Virginia.

[iiibbb]

7. Canadian mail sucks... I sent a letter to someone and it took 3 weeks.