Will it be Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney on the 2008 presidential ballot? Clinton or Obama?
You need to plan ahead in the Czech Republic if you want to have a say in who the U.S. presidential candidates are going to be.
That’s the message from Stu Hatcher, the U.S. consul general in Prague, the point man for questions from U.S. voters here. Many states have moved up their presidential primaries, for one, with places like Michigan and Washington, D.C., vowing to hold them in January. And mailed ballots can take several days to get to their destination from locations around the world, Hatcher says.
You can get what you need to register and to vote either at the U.S. Embassy in Prague (Tržiště 15, Prague 1, tel. 257 022 000) or online (www.fvap.org). The embassy’s consular office has “registration and absentee ballot request” post card applications, federal write-in ballots and other materials.
Your vote counts, Hatcher says.
With an estimated 5 million to 6 million U.S. voters living overseas, it could even end up changing a federal election.
“If you have heard that they don’t count ballots unless it’s going to make a difference, by law it must be counted,” Hatcher says.
Voter registration campaigns are being planned for the coming months, says Creag Hayes, chair of Democrats Abroad in the Czech Republic, a nonprofit group that spreads information to overseas voters about U.S. political issues. The group registered about 600 voters in 2004, Hayes says.
Roger Johnson, Hayes' Republicans Abroad counterpart, says he votes in every election, after his Czech father-in-law rebuked him for not voting in 1992.
“He said he spent four years as a political prisoner in the 1950s in the former Czechoslovakia because they didn’t have the right to vote,” Johnson says. “He said, ‘You, as an American, didn’t vote?’ ”
On election day Nov. 4, there’s always a voter who comes and wants to fill out a ballot, Hatcher says. Anyone who asks can get a federal absentee ballot form, just in case their home state is one of the few that allows ballots to come in after election day.
“At least they feel like they voted and it might count,” Hatcher says.

2008 PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY DATES

If you are 18 or over and a U.S. citizen living overseas, you can vote absentee in the presidential primary elections.
Although each state has different rules, all of them share four basic steps:
➊ Register and request a ballot. You can use the federal post card application, available at the embassy or online at www.fvap.gov. Even if you are registered, do this to be certain election officials have your current address and will send you a ballot.
➋ Election officials will notify you that you are registered.
➌ Election officials will send you a ballot.
➍ Vote the ballot and send it back by the deadline – election day in most states. If you have not received a ballot by 30 days before the general election, you should use the federal write-in absentee ballot.
Alabama: Register by Jan. 25 to vote Feb. 5. www.sos.state.ala.us
Alaska: Register by July 27 to vote Aug. 26. www.elections.state.ak.us
Arizona: Register by Feb. 26 to vote Feb. 26. www.azsos.gov
Arkansas: Register by Jan. 29 to vote Feb. 5.  www.sosweb.state.ar.us
California: Register by Jan. 29 to vote Feb. 5. www.sos.ca.gov
Colorado: Register by Aug. 8 to vote Aug. 12. www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections
Connecticut: Register by Feb. 4 to vote Feb. 5. www.sots.state.ct.us
Delaware: Register by Feb. 1 to vote Feb. 5. electionsncc.delaware.gov/absentee_de/
District of Columbia: Register by Dec. 10 to vote Jan. 8. www.dcboee.org
Florida: Register by Jan. 23 to vote Feb. 8. election.dos.state.fl.us
Georgia: Register by Jan. 7 to vote Feb. 5. www.sos.state.ga.us/elections
Hawaii: No presidential primary. www.hawaii.gov/elections
Idaho: Register by May 2 to vote May 27. www.idsos.state.id.us/elect/eleindex.htm
Illinois: Register by Jan. 5 to vote Feb. 5. www.elections.state.il.us
Indiana: Register by April 7 to vote May 6. www.in.gov/sos/elections
Iowa: No presidential primary. www.sos.state.ia.us
Kansas: No presidential primary. www.kssos.org
Kentucky: Register by April 21 to vote May 20. www.elect.ky.gov
Louisiana: Register by Jan. 9 to vote Feb. 9. www.geauxvote.com
Maine: No presidential primary. www.maine.gov/sos/cec/elec
Maryland: Register by Jan. 22 to vote Feb. 12. www.elections.state.md.us
Massachusetts: Register by March 3 to vote March 4. www.sec.state.ma.us/ele
Michigan: Presidential primary date to be determined. www.michigan.gov/sos
Minnesota: No presidential primary. www.sos.state.mn.us
Mississippi: Register by Feb. 10 to vote March 10. www.sos.state.ms.us/elections/elections.asp
Missouri: Register by Jan. 30 to vote Feb. 15. www.sos.mo.gov
Montana: Register by May 8 to vote June 3. sos.mt.gov/ELB/index.asp
Nebraska: Register by May 7 to vote May 13. www.sos.state.ne.us/elec
Nevada: No presidential primary. sos.state.nv.us
New Hampshire: Presidential primary date has not been determined. www.sos.nh.gov/electionsnew.htm
New Jersey: Register by Feb. 1 to vote Feb. 5. www.state.nj.us/lps/elections/electionshome.html
New Mexico: Register by Jan. 21 to vote Feb. 5. www.sos.state.nm.us
New York: Register by Jan. 11 to vote Feb. 5. www.elections.state.ny.us
North Carolina: Register by May 5 to vote May 6. www.sboe.state.nc.us
North Dakota: No presidential primary. www.nd.gov/sos/electvote
Ohio: Register by Feb. 4 to vote March 24. www.sos.state.oh.us
Oklahoma: Register by Jan. 30 to vote Feb. 5. www.elections.state.ok.us
Oregon: Register by April 29 to vote May 20. www.sos.state.or.us/elections
Pennsylvania: Register by March 24 to vote April 29. www.dos.state.pa.us
Rhode Island: Register by Feb. 2 to vote March 4. www.sec.state.ri.us/elections
South Carolina: Register by Dec. 30 to vote Jan. 29. www.scvotes.org
South Dakota: Register by May 19 to vote June 3. www.sdsos.gov/elections
Tennessee: Register by Jan. 7 to vote Feb. 5. www.state.tn.us/sos/election
Texas: Register by Feb. 4 to vote March 4. www.sos.state.tx.us/elections
Utah: Register by Jan. 16 to vote Feb. 12. www.elections.utah.gov
Vermont: Register by Feb. 25 to vote March 4. vermont-elections.org/soshome.htm
Virginia: Register by Jan. 14 to vote Feb. 12. www.sbe.state.va.us
Washington: Register by Feb. 19 to vote Aug. 19. www.secstate.wa.gov
West Virginia: Register by April 22 to vote May 13. www.wvvotes.com
Wisconsin: Register by Jan. 30 to vote Feb. 19. elections.state.wi.us
Wyoming: No presidential primary. soswy.state.wy.us/election/election.htm


Source: Information from the 2008–09 U.S. Voting Assistance Guide; dates may differ for  U.S. Service members. Information may have changed based on legislation and clearance from the U.S. Department of Justice.