So far only 8,198 Dominicans have been registered on the electoral rolls outside the Dominican Republic. New York leads the list with over 5,000 possible absentee voters registered, followed by Madrid, Spain, which has 1,387 registrants. Am?rico Rodr?guez, head of the department of the Central Electoral Board (JCE) that oversees voter registration for expatriates, said that he is due to travel to Puerto Rico tomorrow to supervise 17 employees in San Juan. He added that the budget for the registration of the overseas Dominican population totals RD$39 million.
Rodr?guez told Panky Cordero from the El Caribe that the Dominican ID card called the ?c?dula?, carried by all Dominicans and legal residents, was being exchanged for those Dominicans wanting to vote in 2004. The new c?dulas were being carried by diplomatic pouch to ensure their safe delivery.
A commission is working to register voters in the Washington Heights area of Manhattan, as well as Paterson, New Jersey, Lawrence, Massachusetts and Orlando, Florida.