The election
Post election survey

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New requirement
Passport for minors under 14

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       Read the entire ACA News Report issue 2004-2 as printed

Former ACA News Report editor Dave Rosso, is now city editor of the Eureka, CA Times-Standard. He has shared his editorial from the 3 November 2004 edition:

We survived, and so did the system. 
The sun did come up this morning.
We will eat breakfast, send the kids off to school, start 
another work day. Democracy worked - once again. 
We can take another step into the new millennium.
We just endured a long, nasty campaign, but there was 
no shooting in the streets. The people voted their will 
and their choices will be reflected from the White 
House to the local city halls. Throughout the country 
transitions are being made. Some teams stayed the 
same; some will begin a new term with new players. 
But it all works.

The splits were wide, so wide they were threatening. 
But the process worked and we, the people, had 
another opportunity to make a difference. We made our 
voices heard and from all appearances, the choir was 
very large - perhaps a record turnout.
Americans woke up Tuesday morning and knew what 
we had to do. We felt a necessity to do something. We 
felt a deep division in the country and we wanted to do 
something to help pull it together. And that is the task 
ahead of all of us now. Not just the president - all of 
us.

From the Oval Office to each and every home - the 
estate, the apartment, the condo, the shelter, the 
nursing home, wherever we find shelter - we must 
now work together. We must learn to talk, not yell; to 
compromise, not dig trenches; to listen, not filibuster; to 
find the best way for all of us, the ways that will benefit 
the most, not just enrich the few.
We know our system is not perfect. There may still be 
some Election Day details to iron out. But overall, we 
know our system works. And we know that we can 
improve it and that we can participate in changing it. 
Many people voted for the first time. We hope they will 
now start thinking about the second vote. 
Pay attention to what is happening around you - from 
your city hall to the White House to the world outside 
our borders. Learn about the issues that affect your 
lives. Talk about them with your families and neighbors. 
Get ready for the next election - and give a damn.

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Approximately 30,000 members of the military, Unit Voting Assistance Officers, Federally-employed and private U.S. civilians overseas, and Local Election Officials will receive the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) 2004 Post-election Survey. Participation is strictly voluntary and anonymous.

Participants will have the option of responding by paper or the web. Web site access information will be provided on the hard copy survey, and each questionnaire has a unique access code to enter the web site. It is strongly urged to use the web version of the survey because it is the faster and more efficient.

Survey results are used by FVAP to work with the U.S. Congress and state officials to improve the absentee voting process and make absentee voting easier, while maintaining its integrity. Only people involved in collecting or preparing the information for analysis will have access to completed questionnaires and only group statistics will be reported.

Questions regarding the survey may be referred to Ms. Elaine Tucker at +1-703-5881584, or via an e-mail message to vote@fvap.ncr.gov. Further information to be posted soon on www.fvap.gov

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ACA welcomes comments from ALL absentee voters. Contact us with your experiences and commentary about voting from abroad. Material ACA receives will be sent in compiled form to FVAP to supplement survey results, and an article will appear in the next ACA hard copy News Report.

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As of 1 November 2004, passport applications for minors under 14 years of age must not only be consented to by both parents, but agreement by a non-appearing parent must be NOTARIZED, unless the sole appearing parent can prove that s/he has sole custody of the child. See www.travel.state.gov/passport/get_minors.html/.

1. Both parents must appear together and sign or
2. One parent appears, signs, and submits second parent's notarized Form DS-3053, Statement of Consent: Issuance of a Passport to a Minor Under Age 14 , authorizing passport issuance for the child or submits a notarized , written statement of consent from the non-appearing parent (including the child's name and date of birth, as well as parent's identification information or a copy of his/her ID) authorizing passport issuance for the child or
3. One parents appears, signs, and submits primary evidence of sole authority to apply

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Ordering books, CDs, DVDs via amazon.com? With just a click or two on your part, you can contribute to ACA's work on behalf of all Americans abroad. Through this ACA web site (www.aca.ch) go to the book section; then click on any amazon.com logo there. By accessing amazon.com via the ACA web site, ACA will get a small sales commission on every purchase you make during that visit - at no extra expense to you!

Thanks for your help in covering the overhead of our non-profit, non-partisan association run by overseas Americans like you, devoting hundreds of volunteer hours to help YOU.

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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. 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 thru PayPal^®, 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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