Absentee Ballot

I got my ballot from the Marion County (Indiana) Election Board last week. Apart from the appalling omission of a Democratic candidate to oppose Republican Senator Dick Lugar (have at it, Dr Freud) there was nothing out of the ordinary inside the envelope. I've filled in all the circles, I've signed the back and am just waiting to seal the envelope and send it on its way. So, what's the hold up?

Alright, I've been in Taiwan for a while now, and, though I don't receive stacks of letters from overseas, I've had mail more often than I've changed my toothbrush (Don't freak out, Dr Bradford). Last week is the first time that a letter or package has arrived for me with "Province of China" typed on it. And in one day, I got TWO of them. One was my ballot, the other was a wasted 39 cents worth of advertising from the Republican Party featuring their slate of candidates. (Money well, spent lads, keep those letters coming!)

Honestly, though, anyone here in Taiwan ever receive mail like that before? My return address, is a rare nod to the KMT in that it reads, Taiwan, R.O.C., but my application for the opportunity to pretend my vote is being counted this year said neither ROC, nor POC. I wonder if this was the work of a slack-jawed bureaucrat in a fluorescent environment in Indianapolis, or if there is another reason. Selling soybeans to China? Hoosiers? What's going on?