Democrats working Panama for US votes

What? No bumper stickers? (Maybe from private operators, or campaigns further down the ticket, but Obama's not spending his campaign funds on those.)

Yes, it's true. There are many times the number of Americans living abroad as the entire population of the state that the GOP vice presidential nominee governs, and Obama has set up Americans Abroad for Obama to mobilize their absentee votes in the November election. In Panama we were visited by a delegation of energetic young organizers headed by Zak Schwarzman, who appeared, looking slightly sunburned and somewhat tired, at a meeting of Democrats Abroad Panama that attracted a Republican and some independents as well.

The discussion was about reaching out to Americans and getting them to request and then send in their absentee ballots. Yes, they know that there are Republicans here who are working for and intend to vote for McCain / Palin, but the working assumption is that outside of the USA --- and particularly in the Americas --- people are aware of how badly the GOP administration's foreign policy is malfunctioning and that to the extent that Americans living abroad vote, most of them are going to cast their ballots for Obama / Biden.

IF it's possible to organize that high turnout, it's probably likely to turn out that way, anyway. It's a big IF.

However, it's not so huge a doubt, from the results of what has happened so far after that meeting.

At the meeting folks talked about the peculiar nuts and bolts of US voting laws; the services that Panama's postal and courier services give; the merits and demerits of how much the US Embassy here helps people to vote; which groups of American citizens living in Panama are well connected to the local chapter of Democrats Abroad and which are not; and so on.

Schwarzman and other organizers from the USA then joined forces with local Democrats to sign up voters at the Panama campus of Florida State University, at a church with a number of Afro-Antillean US-Panamanian dual citizens in the congregation, by meeting at the Elk's Club in Balboa to organize a cell phone bank, by meeting American citizens in places outside of the capital. Appeals and messages went out over the Internet.

So far dozens of Americans have registered or requested their ballots by way of the Democrats Abroad vote from abroad website --- http://www.votefromabroad.org/3 --- and surely more have done so via the non-partisan Overseas Vote Foundation website --- http://www.ovf-rava.org. (Judging by those who have used the Democrats' website to assure their right to vote, little Panama is leading Latin America in voter turnout for the upcoming American elections.)

Although there is still time to request ballots from the US authorities (in many states the time to register to vote has come and gone, but in some states there's still time for that, too), the campaign is about to shift to the important follow-up phase of getting people who have requested ballots to actually cast them. This is where relations with the US Embassy and the issues of postal and courier services come in.

Come October 4, the embassy is supposed to have the Federal Write-In Ballots available. Any person who is registered to vote in the United States and has requested a ballot but not received it may use one of these forms to cast a ballot for federal offices (US representative, US senator, president and vice president). This reporter has requested his ballot from his old place of residence in Ypsilanti, Michigan and that's not a problem, but that Michigan only prints its ballots at the end of September and it can sometimes take more than a month for things to get from Michigan to Panama by mail IS a problem. The deputy clerk there has recommended that if my ballot doesn't arrive early in October, I should cast my vote by way of the Federal Write-In Ballot.

Then there is the issue of sending it in. To be counted, Federal Write-In Ballots and overseas absentee ballots from many states must be sent in envelopes postmarked from outside of the United States. The surest, cheapest and quickest way to get a ballot in would be via the US Embassy's APO post office, but that's only available to those with military privileges, either by reason of their current jobs with Uncle Sam or because they are US military retirees or their spouses. One might use a commercial courier service, but the prices they charge are outrageous ($50 or more to send in a ballot). After some research about Panamanian conditions, the Obama campaign is recommending that people who don't have APO privileges send in their ballots by the Panamanian post office (Correos), using their Servicio EMS express service. This they guarantee to get to its destination in the USA within a week (usually just a few days), costs $13 and bears that essential Panamanian postmark.

(¡Huy! --- sorting out all this arcane stuff can drive an otherwise normal person nuts. But that's what community organizers DO, and, as a local Democrat reminded this reporter in the wake of some statements by Sarah Palin: “Jesus Christ was a community organizer, and Pontius Pilate was a governor.”)

So no wonder that Zak Schwarzman shows the ravages of the tropical sun on his face, and when the sun goes down, the signs of fatigue in his eyes. He's taking these complexities on the road in Panama, Central America and South America. It very well could make the difference if the race remains as close as polls suggested when these words were written.

Alicia Sutton, Director of Americans Abroad for Obama, came to Panama with Zak.
Photo by Eric Jackson

The field organizers are here to help, not compete with, local Democratic leaders like
Democrats Abroad Panama chair Vicky Sizemore, shown here with Schwarman.
Photo by Eric Jackson

Paying close attention to the tedious points.
Photo by Eric Jackson

Be very afraid, Sentator McCain --- Republicans are crossing over.
Photo by Eric Jackson

Are they smiling because they sense victory for a change?
Photo by José F. Ponce

A student from Morehouse in Atlanta, studying here
for a semester and continuing his political activism.
Photo by José F. Ponce

You are invited to participate!

WHO??

Democrats Abroad
Those sitting on the fence
Thinkers and Concerned Americans
Students
People who need help registering or sending in their write-in ballots

WHAT??

Watch the second Presidential Debate as a group on October 7
Come early and view the film Ironed Jawed Angels, the story of the historical fight for women’s suffrage.

WHERE??

Balboa Yacht Club

WHEN AND COST??

Tuesday, October 7. Come at 5:30 to see the movie if you would like. The debate starts at 8:00
$5 will pay to provide soup and sandwiches

RSVP??

Sharon Devine, at sharondev@gmail.com
Debbie Velasquez, at pillarstchr@aol.com

BRING A FRIEND! The room holds about 50 people. The air conditioner may be on or off, so dress for both chill and still environment.

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