spooky_nine

When decision time comes this fall, the real swing votes in the 2004 presidential election may not come from Pennsylvania, Ohio or even the notorious Florida. The ultimate Bush-Kerry battleground may turn out to be somewhere more far-flung and unexpected — Israel, Britain, even Indonesia

some exerpts:

"Although an official census has never been taken, between 4 million and 10 million American citizens are believed to be living abroad. Those over 18 are entitled to have their absentee votes counted in the state where they last lived — no matter how long ago that was. And many are planning to do just that."

"Those who doubt that Americans living abroad could tip the balance in 2004 might consider this: Various chads aside, Al Gore received 202 more votes than George W. Bush on Election Day 2000 in Florida. Only after all the overseas votes were counted, including more than 12,000 from Israel alone, was Bush's election victory certified. The margin was 537 votes"

"In 2000, according to [Harvard Professor Gary] King, Israel was one of the keys to Bush's success. No other foreign country's U.S. citizens contributed more to Bush's narrow Florida victory, he said."

"...many Israeli-Americans who might have voted for Gore if they were living in the United States voted for Bush because they considered him an unflinching supporter of Israel."

"Once in Israel, Zober said, Jewish voters are no longer guided by a presidential candidate's position on domestic issues. Instead, he said, they vote for whoever they think will serve Israel's interests. Even this year, Zober acknowledged, many American-Israelis are still inclined "to vote for the devil they know instead of the one they don't.'"

"Democrats in Britain are doing much the same thing, registering expatriates who have been living there for decades as nonvoters. Manitta said her group has set up a booth outside her local movie house in Salisbury, about 85 miles southwest of London, to register potential Kerry voters leaving Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9-11".

Earl, who moved to London in 1954, will vote this year for only the second time in her life — not because she wants to, she says, but because she's afraid of what might happen if she doesn't cast her ballot against incumbents who she feels "don't have the interest of the country at heart.'"

read the rest ffrom the link above. what can you do? register to vote, and HELP VOTE BUSH OUT OF OFFICE!