Watching the vote in France

I couldn’t be more excited today! Today we choose!

Well, more like tomorrow at 3 a.m. you choose for those of us in France right now. I mean, really, U.S., can’t you close your polls at a time that’s normal for us to be up in France? Can’t you all vote early like me? I have a lit test tomorrow.

So, of course, how could I not stay up and watch the elections like every other time? I might even help MTV get some coverage on my Flipcam.

I just thought I’d pass on some sentiments from the French (not direct quotes):

I cast my absentee ballot abroad without the Embassy!

That’s right. (I think) I successfully voted abroad!

I still do not fully understand the system, nor the laws surrounding voting absentee from abroad. It seems that Mississippi makes up laws on the spot.

Me with my sealed ballot - I know my pupils are creepy dilated.

That baby is going in the mail this aft.

Is voting abroad worth all the trouble?

I say yes.

Every time I run across another contradicting rule in this search to cast my vote, I think about how hard other people have worked for me to have the right to vote. I think of the handful of French people I interviewed in September, who regardless of their political affiliation, responded to my survey with “Bien sur!” I vote! It doesn’t matter if my vote is only symbolic. It doesn’t matter if my candidate has no chance of taking Mississippi. I’m voting. I’m saying that I care about the direction of our country. I’m saying that I’m watching our elected officials and that I care who is in charge.

Voting is one of those basic privileges. It’s what they fought for in the French Revolution.

To vote find ‘anyone who can write wills or property deeds’

Maybe they’re just being helpful because they know my name down at Lafayette County from working at The DM? Apparently a random French person with notary capabilities can verify my ballot. And apparently this changes depending on what Mississippi county you live in since our Secretary of State had no clue what the actual law is. Mississippi is the most backwards place ever. Our Secretary of State went to Iraq to make sure our soldiers vote, but, of course, voting is very complicated for actual citizens abroad.

So I do have to vote at the French embassy?

Here’s an e-mail response from VoteParis, the voting info site for Americans in France:

The other possibility, which is closer than Paris, would be for you to have the signature on your ballot notarized by our office in Rennes. Please contact them directly to schedule an appointment. You may refer to their webpage:
http://france.usembassy.gov/rennes.html.

I might not have to pay to get the notarization since I’m only voting, but that still costs me a ticket to Rennes on a school day! Time to talk to our director, M. Melin …

If nobody knows the answer to this question, why do they even have this law?

Voting abroad, take two

So, I got a friend to call my circuit clerk, who didn’t have much information. Apparently the person delivering the oath can be French. That makes absolutely no sense, but I guess nobody is going to care as long as my ballot looks official with someone else’s name on it.

Can Mississippi just get rid of this stupid requirement to end this confusion?

Tomorrow I’ll go by the town hall in Angers and see if they have a notary or something. What an adventure. I still might have to pay to get this accomplished.