News and Politics | November 01, 2008 | 39 comments

Couple travels 9,300 miles to vote for Obama

source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/Its_a_Mad_Mad_World/Couple_travels_9300_miles_to_vo...

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An American couple has travelled 9,300 miles from Bangalore to vote for Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama and his running
mate Joe Biden in the November 4 election.

For nearly a month, Susan Scott-Ker and her husband had been waiting for their New York State absentee ballots to arrive in India, where she has been working since the summer, the New York Times reported.

A week ago, they realised that even if the ballots arrived before the election - a proposition that was growing more dubious by the minute - they had almost no chance of getting them back in time to be counted.

They had already called the American consulate, to no avail, and had looked into hiring a round-trip courier service. Finally on Tuesday evening, she and her husband caught a flight from Bangalore to New Delhi, about 1,100 miles.

The next leg of the journey, 7,500 miles, took them to Chicago. By 5:30 Wednesday morning, they had cleared immigration and customs at O'Hare International Airport, and flew the last 700 miles to La Guardia.

Their journey of 9,300 miles had taken 22 hours. When all their expenses are counted, their trip will have cost them about $5,000, Scott-Ker told the Times.

For Scott-Ker, 45, a native of New Zealand, and her husband, who was born in Morocco, the votes they intend to cast on Tuesday in the Washington Heights section of Manhattan will be their first, ever. They became American citizens on November 30, 2007.

"We became citizens so we could vote," Scott-Ker said. "We'd lived here 13 years on green cards, paid lots of tax money, but you have no voice within the system."

A few months after they were sworn in as citizens, Scott-Ker was transferred to Bangalore by her employer, Accenture, a management consulting, technology and outsourcing company, as its marketing director for India.

She kept her eye on the election, filing the voter registration forms in August and getting the confirmation in early October. But after doing all the necessary paper work when still no ballots came, they took the flight to New York.

She and her husband were determined to vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden. "Is there a test we can take beforehand?" she asked. "We don't want to squander our vote."
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    News and Politics,   Politics,   Election 2008,   Current News US
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    News and Politics,  Politics,  Barack Obama,  Election 2008,  5 more
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39 comments // Couple travels 9,300 miles to vote for Obama

  • Emil_G
    • 0
      Emil_G  

    • My parents are on a trip to Russia currently, and my dad requested an absentee ballot and they (South Dakota) sent it with a 41 cent stamp! It was a wonder it arrived there at all!

    • 3 years ago
  • UWAZell
  • smartgranny
  • Jezzzikuh
  • petarro
    • 0
      petarro  
    • smartgranny:

      smartgranny, I guess like your nick says. You are a Granny.

      Please note that the world evolves and that wrinkly, old and close minded figures are far from being the Future for this world. Perhaps you can notice this by looking at the Iraq war and point out that it has only drawn more killings... Something that has been around since day 1 in this world.

      How about putting an end to that?

    • 3 years ago
  • bedeboop
  • GRIPEABOUTSTRIPES
    • 0
      GRIPEABOUTSTRIPES  

    • I don't want to hear all you when this election go's to "OBAMA". Please be respectable humans if you can, and praise the goodness of the American voters who are more intelligant than you.

    • 3 years ago
  • ps04
  • glasshalffull
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • nessie00
  • GRIPEABOUTSTRIPES
    • 0
      GRIPEABOUTSTRIPES  

    • Good for them. Our ancesters fought in every way for our rights we have today, the least we can do as U.S. citizens is excercise our God - foresaken-right -and vote.Also there vote's are the right choice.VOTE DEMOCRAT, VOTE FOR OBAMA, VOTE FOR YOUR FUTURE.

    • 3 years ago
  • owlcritic
    • 0
      owlcritic  
    • GRIPEABOUTSTRIPES:

      Yea,thats if you want a future of some one taking your hard earned money and giving it to some crack head on welfare,sitting around waiting for their check to arive. A future where some one will be trying to take your guns,despite what the second ammenment states" The right of the people(not the goverment,not some national malita)to KEEP and BARE(that meand carry on ones person)arms,shal NOT be infringed apon"you might want to check out the definition of infringed.And some one who thinks it the "right" of every american to have health insurance.Show me that in the constitution,the only thing they have a right to,is to get up off their dead ass and get a job,and BUY there health insurance,like any other insurance you have to buy,like car,home, life,ect. But hey,this is what socialism is all about,eh comrad?

    • 3 years ago
  • Jezzzikuh
  • arcticspirit
    • 0
      arcticspirit  
    • Owwmykneecap:

      US Citizens, have the right to vote no matter where they are. And they legally vote from their "home of record". That means the state that they call home. It's probably more complicated that than with the territories and such, but within the 50 states, it is that way.

      Why can't US citizens living in Irland vote? That's a little nuts.

    • 3 years ago
  • UWAZell
    • 0
      UWAZell  
    • Owwmykneecap:

      I agree with arcticspirit, and I will make a statement in line with Owwmykneecap line of reasoning:

      'Non-Americans should mind their own business and not comment on what Americans are doing in relation to US affairs.'

      Now I do not believe that, but one ignorant comment deserves another.

    • 3 years ago
  • bedeboop
    • 0
      bedeboop  
    • Owwmykneecap:

      Curious, why do you think that? Why should someone be considered less valuable as a voter because they are somewhere else at the time of the election? I wonder how all military members in the US would feel about that? Not knowing the laws of other countries, if in the military and away from home can they still vote? Or is their vote denied cuz they aren't at home, even tho protecting your butt in some way, shape, or form!??!?!?

      Influence?!?!?!? They are living somewhere else, yet every action being taken in the US (or any other country where people are allowed to vote while abroad) could very well affect them, even if they are not living at home. WOW!

    • 3 years ago
  • arcticspirit
    • 0
      arcticspirit  

    • It upsets me that we know of obviously false registrations and then this legit couple couldn't get 2 absentee ballots!!!

      I wonder how many of those in the service and other places are having the same problem?

      I'm happy they got to vote.

    • 3 years ago
  • Saladin
    • 0
      Saladin  
    • arcticspirit:

      There have only been 4 cases of voter fraud in the past 8 years.

      It doesn't happen.

      Did we forgot the Gonzales fiasco already?

      Stop trying to pretend like that isn't a Republican talking point. Ultimately ironic since your party engages in wide-scale election fraud.

    • 3 years ago
  • bedeboop
    • 0
      bedeboop  
    • arcticspirit:

      She didn't mention voter fraud nor her party affiliation. And as a former member of the military, you sometimes do worry your ballot getting to you in time...that also is not something particular to one party or another...mail.....time......sometimes they don't match up.

    • 3 years ago
  • bedeboop
    • 0
      bedeboop  
    • arcticspirit:

      Here is my example.....these people are still U.S. citizens, they have not given up U. S. citizenship. If you leave the U.S. and give up citizenship then you can no longer vote here either. As the article clearly states they are citizens. So you are talking about a totally different issue.....

    • 3 years ago
  • artMcQueen
    • 0
      artMcQueen  

    • Awesome. This goes to show how Americans everywhere are eager for a change. Let's now hope people in the states don't get discouraged by the long lines come Tuesday.

    • 3 years ago
  • daboz
    • 0
      daboz  

    • Snowbirds travel from New York to Florida to vote for Obama twice. what the big deal? They could have used a absentee ballot, and maybe they did for the first vote.

    • 3 years ago
  • bedeboop
    • 0
      bedeboop  
    • daboz:

      Last I heard it doesn't take 22 hours of flying time to get from Florida to New York. It is a big deal, big commitment, which this couple realize and should be commended for their commitment to the process. All people who travel long distances to vote should be commended, much easier to just forget about it, I am glad they do not.

    • 3 years ago
  • AlessandroMachi
    • 0
      AlessandroMachi  

    • If the media had been as diligent in questioning how Barack Obama did so well in the caucus contests when polling done just before the caucuses showed Hillary Clinton either tied or leading in most of the caucus states, then I'd be impressed.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzK2ndwrFYI

      Instead we have a candidate that has collected as much as 200 million dollars in unmarked bills. Once Barack Obama is done going through his obscene amount of campaign cash, he'll probably do the same for the country and go through a much bigger amount of money.

    • 3 years ago
  • bedeboop
  • Chheang
    • 0
      Chheang  

    • I'm impressed. I was just told a few days ago I would have to travel to CA for work. By that time, I had already missed the absentee route so there was only 1 option, drive 3 hours to vote in person.

      I thought I had it back. This couple really took one for the team. I hope more people will be willing to take one for the team come Nov 4th. I look forward to day the reign of Gdub finally comes to an end. Although the reign ends, it's going to take decades to undo his damage. You don't hear much about Reagan, but his policies are still being felt today in areas with mental or disability institutions.

      Oh, and that trickle down effect of Reaganomics?!?! From someone who's lived it, it doesn't work.

    • 3 years ago
  • nkeg87
  • ColdWorld
    • 0
      ColdWorld  

    • I loved this story except for the fact that the lady's an out-sourcing director (in India, India of all places). Even though we have suffered through many jobs being outsourced, I can't blame her for making a living. Regardless of her occupation, it's pretty cool that these people made that much sacrifice to ensure their voice will be heard. Conversely, how sad that just 50 % of us vote.

    • 3 years ago
  • Chheang
  • borymp
  • mako2424
    • 0
      mako2424  

    • Inspiring.

      This couple traveled half way around the world to cast their vote while tens of millions of us wont take the 15 minutes to do it in our own town.

    • 3 years ago
  • owlcritic
    • 0
      owlcritic  
    • mako2424:

      Hey you,in this country we have the "right" to vote,we also have the "right" not to vote if we dont like the people who are running.And I wonder,would you say tat if that person was going to vote for McCain?

    • 3 years ago
  • mako2424
    • 0
      mako2424  
    • mako2424:

      First, you'd have to be quite strange to believe that the overwhelming majority of people who don't vote are choosing to do so for any other reason than apathy.

      And second, whomever the couple have decided to vote for is irrelevant. It is their incredible will and determination to CAST their votes that is important.

    • 3 years ago
  • nkeg87
  • petarro
    • 0
      petarro  
    • mako2424:

      owlcritic:

      It is your duty to Vote. Your rights is not everything, and your Duty to vote is a lot higher to your "Right" to not Vote.

      So move along because there are many countries were voting, is not close to an option.

    • 3 years ago
  • currentlyreading
    • 0
      currentlyreading  

    • Amazing. All the way from India, people feel that Obama is what the U.S. needs and come to the U.S to make it happen.

      I can't wait to vote for Obama/Biden on Nov.4th

    • 3 years ago
  • nkeg87
  • bedeboop
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