ACA invites you and your friends to its 11th annual Fundraiser-Auction
Friday 5 March 2004
Hôtel du Rhône, Geneva
Reservations: phone/fax ACA office Geneva 022 3400233

7:00 pm
Cocktails with cash bar
Hors-d'oeuvres
Guillaume Perret Jazz Trio

8:00 pm
Auction
Auctioneers: Anne Hornung-Soukup, Andy Sundberg, Jennifer Wallace and Make Larsen
Major credit cards accepted

Prizes graciously donated by:
Hôtel les Roches Provence
Château de Moncaud Provence
Hôtel Beau Rivage
The American International Club
Bonnie Pratte-Oyster Gems
Elite Rent-a-Car
Week in chalet in Anzère
Christa Etienne Bijoux
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Munich
Marianne Domec/Un Petit Mot
Seiler Hotels Zermatt
Black Pearls from the Cook Islands
stay in chalet in Verbier
The Library in English
Hotel Pestana Palace Lisbonne
Hotel Taubenkobel Austria
The International Herald Tribune
Domaine de la Bretsche Britanny
Landhaus "Zu den Rothen Forellen" Ilsenburg
Life Motivation Centre
Le Débarcadère St Sulpice
Hôtel de la Paix Geneva
Château de Messey Burgundy
Walking Tour of Geneva Old Town with Marilynn Geiger
Print of the Spanish American WAr
Collapsible Brass Telescope from Bob Milligan
l'Auberge d'Hermance
...and many more!

Americans living outside the United States wanting to vote in next November’s Presidential election need to plan ahead. In fact, you can take action now to ensure that your absentee ballot is received and counted next fall. A wealth of help and information is available on the website of the Federal Voting Assistant Program (www.fvap.gov).

Who can vote? Generally, all U.S. citizens 18 years or older who are or will be residing outside the United States during an election period are eligible to vote absentee in any election for Federal office (this includes Congressional representation). There are variations among the states as to whether you can vote for state and/or local offices.

The Federal Post Card Application (FPCA) is accepted by all states and territories as an application for registration and for absentee ballot. In all states and territories, one FPCA will secure for the applicant both primary and general election ballots for Federal offices for an entire calendar year. The request for absentee ballot can be submitted as early as January of an election year, but should be received by about six weeks prior to election. Why not do it now, before deadlines loom?

The FPCA can be downloaded from the FVAP website, but you must print it out, fill it in, sign it and submit it by mail to your local election official (address also available on the website). [Note that the state of Ohio does not accept the online FVAP form.] A hard copy FPCA can be obtained from any embassy or consulate, local chapters of Democrats Abroad or Republicans Abroad, military voting assistance officers, from ACA, or by request to the FVAP. A few states require notarization of the FPCA and/or the absentee ballot; full information on requirements for your state are on the FVAP website.

Under normal circumstances, most states and territories begin mailing ballots to citizens 30-45 days before an election. If you have not received your ballot two weeks before the election, contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program's (FVAP) Ombudsman Service to assist in determining when your ballot was mailed. Always execute and return your absentee ballot regardless of when you receive it. Court decisions sometimes require the counting of ballots voted by election day, but received late.

Throughout this election year, ACA volunteers will be, as always, at your service to help ensure that your vote will count next November.

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American Citizens Abroad joined with the Association of Americans Resident Abroad (AARO) and the Federation of American Women’s Clubs Overseas (FAWCO) in voicing the groups’ common concerns regarding the proposed online voting experiment called "SERVE" (Secure Electronic Registration and Voting Experiment). In a letter sent to the Defense Department and key members of Congress, the groups said: "...we have extensive experience with the disappointment and frustration of overseas voters disenfranchised by complex and confusing procedures. This frustration has every chance of being multiplied, and doubts about the fairness and efficacy of the system increased, if SERVE is used without proper safeguards."

Already, the Internet is being used most effectively by the FVAP to make available the Federal Post Card Application with which overseas voters must request their ballots. The FVAP has made it exceptionally easy to download the FPCA and get instructions on filling it out for your specific district.

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VENEZUELA--Leila Heron, ACA’s country representative in Caracas, is conducting a survey on E-learning. She writes:

Internet and related web-based technologies now enable Americans living abroad access to a wide range of online learning options on an equal footing with Americans living at home. This includes a wide range of formal degree and non-degree granting programs as well as lifelong learning/personal enrichment educational pursuits of many kinds.

My purpose in researching Online/E-learning is based upon my interest in better understanding how E-learning can be beneficial to Americans living overseas. In addition, I plan to include my findings in a research paper for a Nonprofit Management Master’s program I am currently enrolled in. I would be happy to provide all respondents with a copy of my results from this survey.

KENYA--Fr. Angelo D’Agostino, S.J., founded the first orphanage in East Africa for HIV positive children. The Vatican has recently issued a special postal stamp featuring a quote from the pope: "What too of the tragedy of AIDS and its devastating consequences in Africa?" the pope asked. "It is said that millions of persons are now afflicted by this scourge, many of whom were infected from birth. Humanity cannot close its eyes in the face of so appalling a tragedy!"

Proceeds from sale of the stamp will go to D’Agostino’s Children of God Relief Institute (Nyumbani). See also: www.nyumbani.org

Fr D’Agostino has represented ACA in Kenya for close to ten years.

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Siskind’s Immigration Bulletin (www.visalaw.com) reports: American business and travel industry groups have growing concerns about the decrease in international visitors following the newest security measure, US-VISIT. US-VISIT requires those traveling on a visa to have two digital fingerprint scans and a digital photograph taken on arrival.

The number of arrivals in the US has fallen from a record 51 million in 2000 to an estimated 40 million last year. The industry claims that the sharp decline cost the American economy $15 billion. The Tourism Industry Association of America, which is heading a campaign to delay new passport requirements, predicts arrivals will increase by five percent this year, adding $69 billion to the US economy.

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Country contact Leila Heron has also pointed out a rich website of the LBJ School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas at Austin. Go to www.serviceleader.org/new/virtual/index.php to find a wealth of how-to info and opportunities for volunteer service via Internet.

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This News Update is, like ACA itself, of, by, and for Americans abroad. ACA is staffed through the efforts of volunteers, with its primary income source being membership fees and donations from private American citizens around the world.

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE HANDS-ON TO ACA WORK:

1. NEWS UPDATE EDITORS. ACA is seeking to supplement its News Update staff. Work involves actually writing the News Update 2 - 3 times a year, under supervision of a Senior Editor, and monitoring raw material considered for the newsletter on a regular basis. Calls for e-mail access and an ability to write/edit succinctly and against a deadline. ACA takes pride in the global spread of its editors.
2. BOOK REVIEWS/REVIEWERS. ACA is interested in discovering books of particular interest to Americans abroad. It also seeks individuals willing to review such books. Reviewers get to keep the book, and to see their contribution in print. Click here for a list of books or contact the ACA office.

WAYS TO CONTRIBUTE TO ACA'S FINANCIAL SUCCESS:

1. Did you know that by accessing amazon.com (click on any Amazon link you find in the book review section, ACA web site) and then browsing and purchasing as normal, ACA receives—at no cost to you—a small percentage on the purchases you make? Check ACA's web site and make a painless contribution: it makes $&sense!
2. Join us for our annual auction, now being planned for Friday 5 March 2004 in Geneva's Hôtel du Rhône. The FUNdraiser evening produces the single largest annual contribution to ACA's working budget. And the highest bids are for items ingenious and/or exotic. It's a good bet that someone in the attending crowd of internationals will be intrigued by even the most distant and/or unusual of objects or services.
3. And, of course, an outright contribution via check or charge card is the most obvious way to support the work of ACA and its worldwide volunteers working to help YOU. Membership is only $40 a year ($30 for seniors). Secure payment via this web site, or mail to: ACA, 5 rue Liotard, CH-1202 Geneva, Switzerland.

Disclaimer: "While ACA makes every effort to be accurate in the information it transmits, such information is not to be considered a substitute for specific and qualified professional advice."

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