As the American election approaches on November 2, the Democrats Abroad-an international organization of expatriate Americans who support the Democratic Party-are working to register Americans in foreign countries to vote by absentee ballot. U of T is now home to a new chapter of the group, and they are working to register American students to vote before the October cutoff.
Carly Erickson, the president of the U of T Democrats, was born in the U.S., though she spent most of her formative years here in Canada. Erickson says that because they are so new and still getting organized, there are only about 15 members of the group right now.
Absentee ballots played a large roll in the last federal election in the United States. Al Gore and George W. Bush were virtually neck and neck the entire time, which meant that in the 2000 election every vote counted, including ballots from overseas. Recent polls suggest that Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is trailing in six key swing states, so this year absentee ballots may again be an important factor November 2.
Erickson says that she supports the Democratic party because she feels that Kerry is a better leader.
“Kerry is a responsible politician and I have no doubt that he is a superior leader,” she said in an interview. She added that she felt the Democratic party stood for the kind of American ideals that she sees as important, like freedom of speech and expression, liberty.
Erickson did have some criticisms of Kerry. She says that he is seen as boring while Bush “stirs up passion for the conflict in Iraq.” She said that if there is one thing she would change about the Democrats it would be to encourage them to advocate “general patriotism.”
Erickson commented on the recent Students’ Administrative Council executive vote that turned down $500 in funding for the Democrats at U of T to get their message out before the registration deadline. She said that absentee registration has to happen now, because the final date is the end of September.
“I’m just getting the word out now, so it would’ve helped a lot,” she said.
She said it baffled her when SAC told her that they “can’t support specific parties.” Erickson said that what she is trying to accomplish is getting American citizens on campus registered, and that is what the money would have been used for.
“After that [American citizens] can vote for whoever they want.”
With the American election approaching and the deadline to register less than two weeks away, Erickson said Democrats Abroad will continue to be a presence on campus with or without SAC’s money. She will be at the Sidney Smith building all this week (September 20th-25th) registering American students.
Erickson, stressing the importance of voting, said “Americans [outside the U.S.] have the power to vote, because America has the power to impact other countries.”
