Well, grr. I'd just settled into filling in my Federal Absentee Ballot, just in the nick of time, following the instructions I'd found on the Vote From Abroad website. (I'd sent off my Michigan absentee ballot request a week and a half ago but hadn't gotten the ballot itself yet, and was thrilled to find out that I had another option.) I came across something I wasn't sure about, so I decided to call my actual elections clerk, back in East Lansing, to check.

Turns out that the federal absentee ballot form I've got is not legal, after all. She said that they are sending me out my requested Michigan absentee ballot today...but since it needs to be back in their hands, filled out, signed and posted, by November 7th...well, it's not completely impossible. If I get it by Friday (if), then I'll pay whatever is the highest premium to try to get it to Michigan on time.

But it doesn't sound very likely.

Of course, the frustrating thing is that it is, of course, all my own fault. I was too out-of-it this autumn to get the ballot sent in time.

But how ironic that the one year I'm most upset about current American politics is the first year since I turned eighteen that I might not be able to vote...

Oh well. In slightly consoling news (it doesn't make me feel better about not voting, but at least it gives a nice distraction), I found a full omnibus of the Hitchhiker's Guide novels in the RSPCA thrift shop today for £1.98. It's a good time to find some humor to distract me while I wait for the ballot to show up...