Thursday, September 04, 2008

A first

I voted all of once in the United Kingdom before I left. Then for many years I couldn't vote in the USA, and although technically I had (still have?) the right to vote in the UK it was not practical for a variety of reasons. Since becoming a US citizen, I have voted in every major election and probably only missed one local election.

I don't think I have ever given money to a political campaign before, so tonight was a first. We had just finished dinner when two very polite young gentlemen came to the house soliciting donations for their political party. One kindly entertained the children by juggling while I went to find my purse. (It was a small donation, made in cash, not with a credit card - a gesture, that's all, but a meaningful one for me.) DH agreed that if a little of our money could help towards the result we'd like to see, it was worth it even though it's not tax deductible.


6 comments:

Unknown said...

AA as I posted on my blog, fret not I am not about to go all political on you. I stick to comparing the US vs UK system at most, the rest is a look at the lighter side like snowboots ;-)

Btw - did you take me off your RSS!?

Expat mum said...

You go girl!
BTW I was doing a little research a few months ago and I swear I remember reading that either if you've been out of the UK for the last 15 years, or haven't voted there, you're no longer eligible to vote.

Anonymous said...

Yeah!

I'm the same here -- only voted once in the UK before leaving for the USA and have voted here ever since. Yes, hubby and I are not able to vote even via proxy as it's been over 10 years. I trust the masses will do the right thing over there.

Almost American said...

Yeah - I figured I'd lost the right to vote in the UK - the same as I have no right to NHS coverage either. Fair enough really!

And no, I did not remove you from my RSS feed Sarah! (But I was very glad to hear that your post about Sarah Palin was tongue-in-cheek!)

AliBlahBlah said...

Funny, I voted once in the UK too before coming here. I'm still an alien, so I can't vote here, but I will take credit for voting by proxy, ie, if my husband says he can't be arsed to vote as he doesn't agree with the system (or some such) I make him go anyway, and tell him to vote my way. I'm not always guaranteed that my voice gets heard, but at least he comes back with his 'I voted' sticker!!

Bluestreak said...

Go Obama! My first time ever contributing too. Never thought I´d see the day, but man I´m hopeful for once. I need restored faith in my country. Desperately.

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