It used to be common for people back home to think U.S. expats living abroad were no longer U.S. citizens. Now, of course, most people know that living, working, or retiring overseas does not affect U.S. citizenship in any way.

These elections are about our jobs, our health, our communities, our security and our future. These elections affect all of us; it is critical to weigh in on that issues that matter most to you!

Are you registered to vote? Do you know when early voting starts? Absentee voting? We've compiled the important dates for the March 18 primary in today's chart.

I have the good fortune of living in Washington state. I was born and raised here, so a lot of the forward thinking and progressive values that the people of this state have are something I grew up with. One of our most impressive and forward thinking systems is that my state votes entirely by mail.