Washington, DC - Democrats who are bracing for a rough midterm season might also be worried about this trend - when a party loses big in a "Six-Year Itch" election, it doesn't fare well in the subsequent presidential contest. Think of the GOP's midterm losses in 1958 and JFK's win two years later. Or the GOP's big defeat in 1974 (Watergate) and Jimmy Carter's win after that. Or the GOP's midterm losses in 2006 and President Obama's White House win in 2008.

The one exception to this, of course, took place in 1988, when Republicans held on to the White House, despite suffering midterm losses in 1986 (though don't forget that Democrats were the earlier favorites before the H.W. Bush campaign destroyed Dukakis in the late summer and fall). But in an important piece published earlier this week, political journalist Sasha Issenberg wrote that midterm elections aren't truly about a referendum on the president or about momentum heading into the next White House contest. Instead, he wrote, they're in large part about drop-off voters -- the people who cast votes in presidential elections but not in midterms. Indeed, 130 million voted in the 2012 election; just 90 million voted in 2010.

Who are the drop-off voters?

They're largely Democrats: Our new NBC/WSJ poll provides some insight into these drop-off voters, and here's who they are: Democrats - or more accurately, key blocs of the Democratic and Obama coalitions. Of the voters who said they voted in 2012 but not in 2010, 51% are Democrats (versus 25% Republicans and 17% independents); 61% are female (as opposed to 39% male); 35% are those 18-34 (compared with 28% 35-49, 25% 50-64, and 12% 65 and older); President Obama's approval with them is 53%-40%; and they prefer a Democratic-controlled Congress by a 22-point margin, 55%-33%. In sum, this explains how the Democrats lost 63 House seats in 2010 but won across the board two years later.

"Today the Republican coalition is stacked with the electorate's most habitual poll-goers-or 'Reflex' voters, as we will call them. The Democratic Party claims the lion's share of drop-off voters, or 'Unreliables,'" Issenberg writes. So if the ultimate midterm results are largely about turnout, that suggests that whatever happens in November could very well not have an impact on 2016. Yes, it's a cliché to say elections come down to turnout. But clichés become clichés because they usually are true. And in this case, perhaps, more true than usual.

Profile of 2012 voters (who didn't vote in 2010), per the NBC/WSJ poll:

• Male: 39%
• Female: 61%
• 18-34: 35%
• 35-49: 28%
• 50-64: 25%
• 65+: 12%
• Democrats: 51%
• Independents: 17%
• Republicans: 25%
• Obama approve: 53%
• Obama disapprove: 40%
• Preferring Democrats to control Congress: 55%
• Preferring Republicans to control Congress: 33%

This set of statistics should tell every Democrat one thing, we have historically shown up in presidential elections, but inexplicably we have not voted in mid-term elections. 2010 was particularly harsh that way because that was the year the Tea Party showed up in large numbers and they took control of the House of Representatives (63 seats were lost), we lost 6 senatorial seats, and as importantly in a census year, we lost 6 governorships and 680 state legislative seats.

We all know how painfully inept and obstructionist the Republicans have been ever since. Therefore, it is incumbent upon all of us to re-register, vote, and talk to everyone we know about how critical this mid-term election is. The American middle class is counting on us to vote.

Voting in U.S. Elections While Living in Mexico

If you are a U.S. citizen and want to vote in the U.S. 2014 mid-term elections, and you voted in the 2012 U.S. elections from Mexico or elsewhere abroad, go to canivote.org and determine if you need to re-register.

If you have never voted in the U.S. elections from Mexico, or your state requires you to re-register for every federal election, go to: votefromabroad.org, and follow the simple instructions for filling out the FPCA (federal post card application, i.e. your registration application) and the FWAB (federal write-in absentee ballot, in case your ballot does not arrive in time). We recommend you request both an FPCA and FWAB at the same time. Once you have filled out your application, follow the instructions for sending them back to the registrar in the county you last voted in.

Should you have any questions about this registration process, or you need a local post office box address in order to receive your ballot, please contact John at wbeegood(at)yahoo.com, or call (322) 223-2022.

This message is paid for by the Democratic Party Committee Abroad.