Why I will not be voting for anyone in 2012:
1. On October 18th, I checked the rules for regular ballot submission for American citizens living abroad and found out that the deadline to send them was the 16th. D'oh! HOWEVER:
2. That same day, I looked into filling out an Emergency Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot (their term) at our local embassy/consulate. That's what we did in Damascus in 2004 and it worked out really well for us. I read through the rules and from what I could tell at the time, we qualified. So we kicked back for a few days until the next time we headed into Dubai, at which time we planned to swing by the consulate and fill out our EFWAB. (And can I just say here that I love that it's a voting EMERGENCY? It makes it seem like we'll be filling it out under duress, all sweaty- and nervous-like.)
3. Then, the morning we were planning to go to the consulate, we found out that Oregon doesn't support (no longer supports? It did in 2004) the EFWAB so we were really and truly out of luck. No voting for us in 2012. SAD FACE. Except:
4. I was having a hard time coming to terms with voting for either of these guys anyway. I'm sorry for the 98% of my friends who I just offended, on both sides. I will never know for sure what I would have marked on my overseas absentee ballot (whether EMERGENCY or otherwise), but the plan was to write in Jon Huntsman.
5. In conclusion, I feel pretty bad about not voting this year, and thus neglecting my civic duty. I'm consoling myself with #4, above, and also by reminding myself that Oregon is in no way a swing state. As for all the local elections...well, we are non-resident residents of Oregon (that is a technical term), ok?
You can go ahead and shame me in the comments. Just know that I'm feeling ashamed all on my own, too.
In the meantime, please enjoy:
and