[Broken_Hippo]

I'm an american living in Norway. I can vote for president, sure. Supposedly I am allowed to vote in the district I last lived in the states, but trying to get any of this done is difficult, especially since the state I live in requires proof of address for voter registration. I understand the likelihood of the representatives there to care about any issues I have is pretty minimal. After all, americans living abroad are usually a minute slice of a representative's voter base, even if we add up to quite a number overall. I can probably get more accomplished through the embassy 10 hours travel time away. On the other hand, I can vote in local elections here in Norway simply by living legally here for 3 years:: I cannot vote in national elections until I am a citizen. I do not have to be a citizen to hold local offices either - I can be pretty active and involved if I choose. My situation comes down to having theoretical representation in the states as compared to actual representation here.

[mikeash]

How are you voting for President without also voting in the other elections that are up at that time? Presidential elections are technically a local affair, and the ballot will have all the races.

I personally never had any trouble voting while I was living abroad. It was slightly inconvenient to track down a fellow American to witness it, as required by the absentee ballot I was issued, but no big deal.

[tallanvor]

Living near the embassy doesn't make things any easier. I live about a 5 minute walk from the US embassy in Oslo, and you have to have an appointment to do anything. The embassy is supposed to accept ballots, but for all intents and purposes only does this for presidential elections, so I still end up going to the post office.

It's incredibly frustrating how even when living overseas you have to have some sort of residential address for many things. I use my father's address for this purpose, which is useful since he lives in a state with no local income tax, reducing some of my paperwork.

[hysan]

Yup, came here to say the same thing. Most people who haven't lived abroad for a significant amount of time don't realize the difficulty of trying to vote. In addition to that, the effectiveness of getting your voice heard by your "representatives" (the reps from your last permanent residence in the US) is much more difficult. I used to be able to pick up my phone and get myself heard on issues that I cared about. Living abroad, the best you can hope for is to contact your rep online and hope they care enough to give you a copy-pasted response.

[mikeash]

Why can't you call your representative while living abroad?

[hysan]

Time difference + cost makes it almost prohibitively difficult in my case.

[mikeash]

Unless you sleep for 16 hours a day, your waking time will overlap with office hours in Washington at some point. Skype can call to the US for very low cost.

[hysan]

Umm... do you even figure having a full time job into account? One that often goes into the weekends? Also, you are painting broad strokes.

1. With my time difference, I'd have to call my reps at a time when I'd normally be getting ready to sleep just to catch them in the morning.

2. In addition to that, not everyone has good internet connection. Especially if you live in a remote area. Prior to a year ago, my internet connection at home was fairly slow.

3. Yes, I'll admit that I forgot about Skype since it wasn't reliable for me in the first few years I was here. However, cost is cost. And having to manage Skype Credits, which I'd never use elsewhere, is just an extra burden compared to what it was like back in the States.

[mikeash]

I get that it's not quite as easy as it would be from the US. But "prohibitively difficult" makes it sound like you're looking for excuses rather than solutions. It might be a little harder but it's not exactly hard. Twenty years ago you'd be paying painful long distance charges just to make that call within the US.

[usrusr]

“Supposedly I am allowed to vote in the district I last lived in the states, but trying to get any of this done is difficult, especially since the state I live in requires proof of address for voter registration.“

Makes me wonder what would happen if a significant number of expats would agree on some low-population state to remotely take over. How far could bureaucratic friction be increased to fend off that kind of "attack"?