“We’re starting to panic,” remarked a gray-haired gentleman standing in a long line of folks who showed up last Tuesday at the Lake Chapala Society (LCS).
Without revealing his political leanings, he gave a telltale sign that U.S. citizens residing at Lakeside are aware that time is running out to vote in the presidential election, now just six weeks away.
For many years, the local chapter of Democrats Abroad has been the go-to group for assistance in voter registration and filing requests for absentee ballots. Volunteers provide valuable guidance in procedures that differ in each of the 50 states and U.S. territories. Citizens who live abroad need to get a head start to be sure ballots are filed to meet established deadlines.
Larry Pihl, chairman of Democrats Abroad Lake Chapala Chapter and Mexico chairman for Get Out The Vote (GOTV), urges voters to register as soon as possible at votefromabroad.org. Absentee ballots may be obtained from state election officials via email. Some even allow you to send them back the same way. If not, the fastest way to get documents into the U.S. mail is by diplomatic pouch sent from the nearest U.S. Consulate, or through a mail-forwarding company that ships correspondence to the states every few days.
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