To register for an Absentee Ballot, go to the US Embassy with your passport and fill out a short form to request your state and federal voting ballots. Do this as soon as possible so it can be processed and the ballots can be sent to you in time. To speed delivery of your registration and your completed ballot, you can give it to the Embassy to send back with its frequent diplomatic post. Many states now also offer voting over the internet. Of course, everyone votes they way they do for different reasons – maybe they vote the party line, maybe they vote the way their parents told them too, maybe they find one candidate more charismatic than the other, maybe they want to vote for a “winner”…but maybe you vote for a candidate that will represent your view of the important issues. If the environment is one of the overriding issues for you, check out The League of Conservation Voters.

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Among other goodies on the site is the annual Dirty Dozen vote, which Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) won overwhelmingly in 2007-2008. Perhaps the most useful part of the site is the National Environmental Scorecard which you can look at by name, state, or zip code. How did the candidates vote on the Clean Air Act, oil drilling in the Alaska Wildlife Refuge, road-building in the Tongass National Forest, the future of nuclear energy in the US, and a host of other issues? 

Naturally, most topical now are the environmental stances of the surviving crop of candidates for President in 2008. For this, LCV has created a Voters Guide to the Primaries.

Senator Hilary Clinton gets a 90% positive lifetime environmental score from LCV. Sen. Clinton is a cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, the strongest global warming legislation introduced in the Senate. As First Lady, she worked with Sen. Barbara Boxer to propose the Children’s Environmental Protection Act, a bill to require the government to set health and safety standards at levels that protect children. Sen. Clinton opposes new subsidies for nuclear power, but supports taking additional steps to deal with the problems associated with nuclear power, including waste disposal and plant security. Sen. Clinton has consistently voted to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, in 2006 she voted to allow new drilling off the coasts of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana.

• Supports protecting water resources (including intermittent streams and isolated wetlands)
• Supports permanently protecting and preserving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• Supports the reinstatement of 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule
• Supports requirements of compliance with existing environmental laws in trade agreements
• Supports reinstating the Superfund “polluter pays” program

Senator Barack Obama has received a 96% positive lifetime environmental score from LCV. He believes that there is no future for expanded nuclear power without first addressing key concerns, including fuel and waste security and waste storage. Sen. Obama is a cosponsor of the Global Warming Pollution Reduction Act, the strongest global warming legislation introduced in the Senate. Sen. Obama has consistently voted to protect our nation’s coasts and beaches by opposing offshore drilling.

• Supports reinstating the Superfund “polluter pays” program
• Supports protecting water resources (including intermittent streams and isolated wetlands)
• Supports permanently protecting and preserving the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
• Supports the reinstatement of 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule
• Supports requirements of compliance with existing environmental laws in trade agreements

Senator John McCain has received a 26% positive lifetime environmental score from LCV. Among the Republicans running for president, Sen. McCain holds the distinction of being the only candidate to make global warming a part of his campaign agenda and to regularly address it on the campaign trail. Sen. McCain has been a leader in the U.S. Senate on climate issues for several years. In 2003, he introduced the first Senate bill attempting to curb global warming pollution with Senator Joe Lieberman, and reintroduced similar legislation in 2005 and 2007. One of the areas in which Sen. McCain particularly separates himself from the field of Republican presidential hopefuls is in his recognition of the economic benefits of tackling climate change and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. In addition, he views climate change as a serious national security threat While Sen. McCain supports developing clean energy sources, including wind, solar and biofuels, he also is a fervent advocate of nuclear power. In 2005, he voted against a Renewable Electricity Standard that would have required electric utilities to produce 10 percent of their electricity from clean, renewable sources by 2020. He has not consistently voted to protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

• Voted in 2004 to reinstate some $1.7 billion in revenues from the Superfund fees, but in 2003 he voted against restoring the “polluter pays” fees.
• Opposes drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge at this time.
• Voted in 2005 to end taxpayer subsidies for new commercial logging roads in the Tongass National Forest.
• Voted in 2005 for the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), which included weak and mostly unenforceable environmental provisions.

Source: http://www.lcv.org

If “women’s issues” are more important to you when choosing a candidate, Ms. Magazine used to publish a voters guide state by state candidate-by-candidate on a number of issues ranging to the candidates’ stances on everything from affirmative action, abortion rights, gay marriage, child care, national health care... It does not appear that they have prepared one for 2008 yet.