Democrats Abroad Australia

**News From Democrats Abroad**
*** Special Edition ***

**Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary**

*February 5-12, 2008*

**Information for Voters & Potential Delegates**

The Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary will take place from
February 5-12, 2008 with voting by Internet, mail, fax, and in person
at Voting Centers in more than 30 countries around the world.

This primary takes place alongside state primaries being held
throughout the United States. As an American citizen living abroad
you have the option of voting in the Democrats Abroad Global
Presidential Primary or in a state presidential primary.

*WHY NOT VOTE BACK HOME?*

Overseas voters are encouraged to participate in the Democrats Abroad
Global Presidential Primary because:

* Democrats Abroad have facilitated the process of overseas voting in
the Global Presidential Primary by allowing voting by Internet and in
person.

* Given this year’s early primary schedule, ballots requested may not
arrive in time to complete and return.

* If your voting state votes by caucus, you would have to fly home to
participate!

* Your vote will count alongside those of other members of Democrats
Abroad towards the allocation of Democrats Abroad’s 22 delegates to
the Democratic National Convention. As such, your individual vote
carries significantly more weight than a vote in a state primary or
caucus.

*ELIGIBILITY*

To vote in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary, a voter
must:

* Be a member of Democrats Abroad, the official overseas arm of the
Democratic Party of the United States

* Be age 18 or over on November 4, 2008

* Be temporarily or permanently resident outside the United States

* Not vote in any other state presidential primary or caucus

*REGISTERING FOR THE DEMOCRATS ABROAD PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY*

To vote in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary you must
be a registered member of Democrats Abroad. There are no membership
fees. Simply complete the online membership form at
http://www.DemocratsAbroad.org/join.

*VOTING*

In January 2008, Democrats Abroad members will all be sent detailed
instructions and will be able to select their preferred voting
method: Internet voting, paper ballot (by mail or fax), or in person
at a Voting Center in more than 30 countries worldwide. Details will
also be posted online at DemocratsAbroad.org
and publicized in the press.

In order to vote by Internet, mail, or fax, you must be a registered
member of Democrats Abroad by January 31, 2008. To vote in person,
you may join Democrats Abroad on the spot and vote immediately at a
Voting Center.

*YOUR STATE PRIMARY*

If you participate in the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential
Primary, */you may not*/ vote for President in your voting-state
primary or caucus. (Your “voting state” is the last place you resided
before departing the US. If you never resided in the US, most states
will accept the last place your parent(s) resided. Contact Democrats
Abroad or your local voting registrar for details if required.)

*/You may*/ choose to request a primary ballot and vote for other
offices on your voting-state primary ballot. You should register to
vote in the general elections, you can do that now by completing your
online ballot request at VoteFromAbroad.org
.

*DELEGATE SELECTION *

Democrats Abroad has the status of a State Party within the
Democratic Party. As such, we will send 22 voting Delegates and one
or more Alternates to the Democratic National Convention in Denver,
Colorado, August 25-28, 2008. Eight of these Delegate positions are
pre-allocated to our eight members of the Democratic National
Committee. The other Delegates and Alternate(s) will be elected at
Democrats Abroad’s Regional Caucuses and Global Convention. Finally,
one Member for each of the three Standing Committees of the
Democratic National Convention (Platform, Credentials, and Rules)
will be elected by the Democrats Abroad Delegation once it has been
composed.

/If you wish to run for any of these positions, you should contact
your local Democrats Abroad organization for the necessary paperwork.
Please see DemocratsAbroad.org . If
there is no local Democrats Abroad organization in your country,
please contact Secretary@DemocratsAbroad.org
. You can also obtain a copy of
the filing form from the DemocratsAbroad.org
website./

Under the Rules of the 2008 Convention, only those people who have
been pre-approved by the presidential candidates may run for the
position of Delegate, Alternate, or Standing Committee Member. To
obtain such pre-approval, you must submit statement-of-candidacy and
pledge-of-support forms to the International Chair of Democrats
Abroad: Christine Schon Marques, 107 chemin de Saint-Maurice, CH-1245
Collonge-Bellerive, Switzerland, Chair@DemocratsAbroad.org
. Deadlines are as follows:

February 23, 2008: for any positions elected at the EMEA Regional
Caucus on March 15, 2008 in Brussels.

March 14, 2008: for any positions elected by the Global Convention or
the meeting of the Democrats Abroad National Convention Delegation on
April 12, 2008 in Vancouver.

March 21, 2008: for any positions elected at the Americas and Asia
Pacific Regional Caucuses on April 11, 2008 in Vancouver.

Applications for approval by the presidential candidates will be
forwarded by the International Chair to representatives of the
respective presidential campaigns who will then certify who amongst
the candidates for the positions has been pre-approved. Some
presidential candidates may also require that you have contacted them
directly in order to be pre-approved. Check the website of your
preferred candidate for more information.

Once pre-approval is confirmed, it will then be up to the Regional
Caucuses to elect nine of the Delegates to the National Convention
based on the binding results of the presidential preference vote in
the Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary on February 5
through 12, 2008. The number of Delegates to be elected by each of
the regions will depend on their percentage of participation in the
Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary. In addition, three
At-Large Delegates to the National Convention and two Pledged Party
Leader and Elected Official (PLEO) Delegates will be elected by the
Global Convention. They, too, must have been pre-approved by the
presidential candidates in order to be eligible to run. Finally, the
members of the Standing Committees (Platform, Rules, and Credentials)
will be elected by the delegation to the Democratic National
Convention once it has been completed at the Democrats Abroad Global
Convention. The candidates for those three Standing Committees must
also have been pre-approved by the presidential candidates.

Throughout the process, under the affirmative action plan, Democrats
Abroad must make every effort possible to ensure not only general
balance of the delegation but also to include representatives of
Asian-Pacific Americans, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native
Americans, as well as members of the LGBT Community and disabled
persons and youth. Our goal for ethnic diversity amongst the complete
delegation is four and our goal for representation from the LGBT
Community is one.

Note: It is also possible to run as an Unpledged Delegate to the
National Convention. In this case, obviously, there can be no prior
approval by the presidential candidate, but an application form must
nevertheless be submitted to the International Chair of Democrats
Abroad in order to verify that you are in fact a member of Democrats
Abroad.

*THE NOVEMBER GENERAL ELECTION*

To request a ballot for the General Election on November 4, 2008, go
to VoteFromAbroad.org . Print, sign
and mail your ballot request form. Alternatively, contact your local
country committee of Democrats Abroad and request help registering to
vote.

If you do not receive your state ballot by October 1, 2008, you may
cast your vote using a blank back-up ballot called the FWAB, or
Federal Write-In Absentee Ballot. The FWAB will be printed alongside
your ballot request form at VoteFromAbroad.org
. Please keep it in a safe place, in
case you should require it. You can also return to VoteFromAbroad.org
at any time and download a FWAB.

Note: If you register to vote in 2007 and do not receive your voting
state’s congressional primary ballot or other voting materials, you
should re-register in 2008 to be sure that you don’t miss the
opportunity to vote in the November general elections.

*DELEGATE SELECTION PLAN*

The final version of the Democrats Abroad 2008 Delegate Selection and
Affirmative Action Plan has been filed by the International Chair of
Democrats Abroad with the Democratic National Committee. A copy of
the entire plan can be downloaded at DemocratsAbroad.org
.

*TIMELINE 2008*

Jan 31: Deadline for joining Democrats Abroad in order to vote by
Internet, mail, or fax in the Global Presidential Primary

Feb 5-12: Democrats Abroad Global Presidential Primary. Refer to
individual Democrats Abroad Country Committees for opening hours of
Voting Centers.

Feb 23: Deadline for application forms to run for positions elected
at EMEA Regional Caucus

Mar 14: Deadline for application forms to run for positions elected
at the Global Convention or the Democrats Abroad National Convention
Delegation Meeting

Mar 15: Europe-Middle East-Africa Regional Caucus, Brussels

March 21: Deadline for application forms to run for positions elected
at Americas and Asia-Pacific Regional Caucuses

Apr 11: Americas Regional Caucus, Vancouver

Apr 11: Asia-Pacific Regional Caucus, Vancouver

Apr 12-13: Democrats Abroad Global Convention, Vancouver

Apr 13: National Convention Delegation Meeting, Vancouver

Aug 25-28: Democratic National Convention, Denver, Colorado

Nov 4: Election Day

*ANY QUESTIONS*

Secretary@DemocratsAbroad.org

DemocratsAbroad.org

**About us**

/This newsletter is brought to you by Democrats Abroad
, the official Democratic Party organization
for the millions of Americans living outside the United States. To
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2007, All Rights Reserved. Paid for by: Democrats Abroad.

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USA

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