In a press conference held today outside his Singapore residence, Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin announced the formation of a new special interest group, Former Americans for Voting Rights (FAVR). The group was formed by several former American citizens who had all voluntarily renounced their citizenships with the aim of allowing those expatriates who have given up citizenship to retain their right to vote in U.S. presidential elections.
Saverin, who made headlines when he renounced his American citizenship right before Facebook went public, said that he found it “disgusting how expatriates were stripped of their most basic right to a small voice in the democratic process of their former countries as punishment for moving their citizenship outside the bounds of the United States.” After speaking with several other former American citizens, Saverin was inspired to form FAVR to hopefully win back the right to vote before the upcoming 2012 presidential election.
“America was my home for years and just because I have made the business decision to become a Singaporean citizen doesn’t mean that I’m not fully invested in its democratic process,” Saverin told the small crowd of reporters. “One day I hope to go back, to make my home there. I can still do that, right?” He then outlined his plans to influence the upcoming election the only way he knew how: with money. “I figured, hey I have some extra money left over from that whole Facebook thing, why not put it towards a good cause, one that’s close to my heart: voters’ rights. And so I took some of my extra cash and I formed FAVR.”
Other notable members of FAVR include songwriter Denise Rich, financier Bill Browder and actor Jet Li. The group is currently planning a lobby day in D.C. “as soon as all of our visas go through” Saverin says.
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