operation clark county

non-americans everywhere are concerned about the outcome of next month's election, but many of them feel un-empowered to influence it. now, the guardian newspaper has come up with an innovative way for the people of england to try to make a difference. operation clark county is a scheme by which readers of the guardian can submit their email address and get matched up with an independent registered voter in clark county, ohio. once given this us voter's name and address, the reader is encouraged to write a persuasive letter explaining how the vote effects england and the reader personally. clark county has no idea this is coming, as the guardian simply pulled public voting data. the guardian says: "it's not quite a vote, but it's a chance to influence how a very important vote will be cast. or, at the very least, make a new penpal."

Comments

[Vaffanculo]

It must be awful to have nothing political to worry about in the UK. Frankly I've never worried how an election in the UK, Italy, Japan, Isreal, or anywhere else affects my life. If I were to get one of these letters I'd probably put it in the round file. Non Americans have no business influencing US elections - non Americans influencing the US elections what a positively United Nations thought -just as Americans have no business influencing elections anywhere else.

[Michelle]

"Britain said yesterday it will respond soon to a US request to send troops to more dangerous areas of Iraq, a politically charged issue that has revived anger over Prime Minister Tony Blair's support for the war.
Critics have accused Blair of preparing to put the lives of British troops at greater risk to help President George W Bush in the US presidential election, in which Iraq is a key issue."

No letters to influence the elections, please. Just send more bodies to influence the elections. Thanks.

[ShannonB]

Thanks for the thoughts. As an American living outside the US, I have to say there's no question that our political situation has huge impact on the rest of the world. To quote Claire Tréan in an article in the French Le Monde (http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2004/10/16/141549/16), "This is not an empty, static world we live in, the choices we make have important implications for the entire world. What is America's position if the countries of the world are stacked against it? How are Americans to react in a world that is not supportive of their government?" While it may not feel to us that our elections are that impactful, certainly the rest of the world feels otherwise.