Expat Patriots

"You set up a table, and they come. You set up a web site, and they come. Everyone wants to register this year. They're coming out of the woodwork to find us," says Robert Checkoway.

But he's not talking about the massive voter registration efforts in Ohio, Florida, Pennsylvania and other swing states; Checkoway is chairman of Democrats Abroad Netherlands, and he bears witness to this exploding phenomenon outside the United States.

If passion is proving the crucial motivator registering Americans to vote at home, it has reached a fever pitch overseas, where U.S. citizens are signing up in record numbers. Ranging from 3 to 7 million globally, U.S. expatriates have rallied to cast their ballots, recognizing their role in an election both sides say could be the most decisive in decades.

In Holland, home to an estimated 30,000 Americans, U.S. expatriates have been particularly vigilant encouraging absentee voter registration. Claire Taylor, a copywriter living in Amsterdam, was one of the first to spur the upsurge by launching the web site TellAnAmericanToVote.com. Motivated by Dutch friends who voiced their desire to vote – but couldn't – Taylor decided to funnel their enthusiasm into encouraging expatriates to register. "Everyone here knows an American," says Taylor, a native Floridian. "We feel we're winning back the expat voice by realizing we do have the right to vote."

According to Taylor, TellAnAmericanToVote.com, a nonpartisan web site, has registered nearly 10,000 voters since its launch in May, with more than 200 people signing up daily – triple the initial number. The site offers step-by-step instructions, posted in 13 languages to further voter outreach, on what remains a cumbersome process.

Checkoway, who originally hails from Boston, says that Democrats Abroad, the official Democratic Party organization for six million overseas Americans, has seen unprecedented traffic on its web site. The organization has actively developed new chapters, with committees in 76 countries, and membership in the Dutch chapter has doubled to 700 in recent months.

Much of the overseas registration drive has been aided by the Internet. Outside the Netherlands, a slew of similar websites established to inform absentee voters have also experienced an upswing in interest, including Americans Overseas for Kerry-Edwards, headed by Diana Kerry, sister of Democratic hopeful Sen. John Kerry; OverseasVote.com, a pro-Democrat site based in Hong Kong; AVAWorld.com, run by American Voices Abroad, American Overseas Network, a non-profit non-partisan organization that provides an online political forum, and the self-explanatory ExpatsAgainstBush.org. Most sites either oppose President Bush or remain solidly nonpartisan; only Republicansabroad.org, with 50 overseas chapters, serves Republican interests.

While the Internet has proven a fundamental political tool for expatriates, its use has also caused significant glitches. In mid-September, the Pentagon blocked access to its Federal Voting Assistance Program web site, established by the Defense Department to aid expatriate voters, including servicemen, with absentee ballots. Internet service providers in 25 countries were denied access, causing an outcry from would-be voters racing against state registration deadlines. After Congressional interference, the block was lifted several days later. The Pentagon, which had initially indicated the block was meant to thwart hackers, backpedaled by saying it had inadvertently been left in place, giving no real reason for its existence.

"Americans abroad are like the 51st state," says Kelly Johnson, business manager of Expatica.com's Expat Survival Guide, based in Amsterdam. Johnson and other fellow Americans have held several "vote-o-ramas" in the Netherlands, featuring live entertainment to encourage registration. Johnson, who registered six months ago and is still awaiting her absentee ballot, feels voting in this election is critical. "Our voice should be equal to other Americans paying taxes," she says. "I'm going to take a flight home if I have to. Not voting is not an option."