How Americans in India vote for US polls?

DELHI/MUMBAI/KOLKATA: The American voters in India can exercise their franchise by handing over "absentee ballots" to the US embassy or consulates in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai. The ballots are then forwarded to the US for counting.
But this is just one of the ways an American citizen can cast his or her vote. Some voters are even making special trips back to the US just to exercise their franchise.
Said an official: "They can theoretically carry absentee ballots of other voters with them."
Voters can even send their marked ballots directly to their local counties in the US, where they are registered as voters, through post or courier."The ballots should reach the counting station before Tuesday," he said.
Officials said most of the US citizens here procure their ballots from their respective counties by post.
"Before leaving the country, they inform their local county authorities, leaving behind the addresses where they would be available," says an embassy official.
In the northern region, an estimated 500 US citizens have registered to vote through the embassy in New Delhi.
That, embassy officials point out, is a fraction of the number of US citizens in the region and represents only those who have chosen to take the embassy route to vote.
In Mumbai, consular section chief Joseph Pomper said the American Citizens Services (ACS) unit at the consulate has helped more than 700 American citizens in western India apply for absentee ballots in the last three months.
He estimated the number of US citizens in Mumbai at 4,700, with Gujarat, Goa, Madhya Pradesh and other parts of Maharashtra adding 9,000 to that figure.
Other American diplomatic sources said the response this year in Mumbai has been overwhelming compared to the November 2000 election.
In the eastern zone, several American residents in from 12 states in eastern India have been able to vote through the US Consulate office in Kolkata.
According to Kolkata US Consulate''s public affairs official Bhaskar Rajah, "We provide an in-depth detail about the elections, how to register to cast vote, election timings of each state in US. These are available both through the internet (www.fvap.gov) and on demand at the consulate office."
And everyone expects the turnout to be high. "Given the huge level of interest this time, we expect a fairly large percentage of them to vote," said a US embassy official.
Pushing matters are groups of volunteers, like Democrats Abroad, who have reached out to potential voters through poster campaigns and meetings. Carolyn Sauvage-Mar, one of the volunteers of this group, says their main thrust has been to explain the absentee voting procedure to US citizens.
"We''ve got about 200 Americans registered for the embassy vote," she says. Having worked hard to mobilise voters with tools such e-mail lists, Carolyn and her group are already preparing for a victory party.
US tourists are also entitled to cast absentee ballots, simply by showing their passport. According to Pomper, the US consulate in Mumbai has conducted an intensive voting drive over g the past three months.
"The ACS unit distributed voting materials to various American-affiliated organisations in Mumbai like the American Women''s Club, the Expatriates Club, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce, the American School and the American Alumni Association," he said.
In western India election meetings were held at Ahmedabad, Baroda and Pune which were attended by more than 200 American citizens.
The final voting drive was held on October 21,2004, when a ''voting assistance night'' was held at the consulate. A computer was installed to enable voters to get details about senators and representatives.