Actually the part of the whole Democratic and Republican parties having offices abroad really have nothing to do with getting out the vote.

No, these offices, like US embassies abroad serve a much deeper purpose... I'm surprised no one has ever looked into the issue....

I knew and drank with heads of both offices while living in Kyiv for 20 years. Not once did they ever ask me if I was voting, let alone telling me how to go about it.

There are literally only between 5.1 to 9 million US expats in the world according to various estimates. Pretty small out of 330 million.

And since those numbers may mean "a little" in just one election "for President" which is only once every 4 years. US citizen's votes are more important on state and local levels. In fact, even to vote in the Federal elections you have to register at a local US address.

US expats aren't even considered to be a voting block, have no one to represent them or their interests abroad. Whereas many other countries actually have this.

For example, the Italian government has this set up for their citizens abroad who are actually represented as a voting block, etc.

And also considering that the majority of Americans who do vote consider themselves as Independent, the dilution goes even further.

Let's put it this way. They told me their "job" was to "promote democracy" they speak at universities, have luncheons, mingle etc.

They also help organize political parties or help those that align with US interests abroad. If you studied the Euro-Maidan affair in 2013-2014, it was started by a small group of student protestors, then joined by small fringe political parties and so on. I was actually living and working there at the time and witnessed it with my own eyes. Not on TV but walked right past them at the very beginning.

There's a brilliant little YouTube clip about how movements are started. It shows a guy dancing by himself in the middle of a field at an outdoor concert...check it out!

People blame Hillary Clinton and Neuland, (I'm no fan of either btw) etc for 2014 Ukraine, but all they did was take advantage of something that was already in play. Besides, they aren't that competent to pull off something like that at the grass roots level, no really, they aren't..lol.

No, they didn't start anything... That's how events like this happen all over the world. The US doesn't off regimes like it did in the past, Iran in the 1950s, Latin America etc, if they can help it. Sure they may once in a while because we have some real simpletons like Bush Jr in Iraq etc but in general, they prefer to exploit movements already in play....behind the scenes..

I don't have the answers, no one does. Sometimes things get sloppy. But there are many ways governments around the world implement foreign policy objectives.
It's not limited to Embassies, the CIA or even the Democratic and Republican parties, you have the Peace Corps, USAID, etc.

The Brits have the British Council etc. All of which by the way Putin threw out of Russia within the first few years of being in office. Putin an old KGB man himself knows how the game is played...lol..

Don't misunderstand me, as an American I actually support all these! Yes, Johnny Expat here who "fled" the US because of its decay. End of empire, blah, blah, blah....lol..

The US ain't going anywhere, neither is the dollar or anything else, regardless of what amateur political pundits, grifters and conspiracy theorists who never spent any time outside their own shores are preaching for clicks...lol..

In fact, the US will only get stronger, a fact very few of the new wave of expats would ever recognize nor appreciate.

But spend any time outside the US like I have for 26 years and you soon learn the world including my own government is more complex than anyone could ever comprehend...

Needless to say the Democratic and Republican parties aren't out there to "get out the vote"

Thanks for reading 🙂