Expats start online petition to ‘let us vote while abroad’

While many expats look forward to cheap flights to Malta offered to voters at every election, some are making the point that they would rather vote abroad. An online petition (www.change.org/petitions/make-an-absentee-ballot-system-a-key-part-of-the-2013-election-campaign) has attracted only tens of signatures over the past two days but those behind it hope it will catch on. “We are concerned that hundreds of Maltese nationals resident outside the island will not be able to vote in the general elections on March 9,” writes London-based Robert Zammit in the petition’s foreword. “The demands of employment or graduate and postgraduate education make it difficult to leave the country of residence in order to vote. “The financial and logistical burden of travel to Malta, even with subsidised flights, introduces an unfair obstruction to voting to those who cannot afford it.” The petition suggests various options to change the current system: electronic voting, postal voting or voting at Maltese embassies. Acknowledging that the election is only three months away, the petitioner says this should at least be a “key part” of the 2013 election campaign. Mr Zammit told The Times he set up...