http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-overseas-vote,0,6183855.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines By BETH DUFF-BROWN
Associated Press Writer
September 29, 2004, 4:16 PM EDT
NEW DELHI -- On election night in November 2000, dozens gathered at the American Center in New Delhi to watch the returns. When Democrats and Republicans alike saw the close results coming in, some were compelled to sheepishly admit that they hadn't bothered to vote.
They had thought their absentee ballots wouldn't really count, or were too difficult to prepare, or would be lost by the Indian post or U.S. diplomatic pouch.
Americans living in India, and dozens of countries worldwide, are determined that won't happen this time around.
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The U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt, has distributed 3,000 voter registration applications this year, compared to 900 last time. In Italy, where some 150,000 Americans live, the U.S. consulate in Rome reports an overwhelming demand for registration forms. The Washington-based Democrats Abroad had 30 overseas chapters in 2000 and now has a presence in 73 countries, including an Iraq chapter called "Donkeys in the Desert."