Even though the Spiel des Jahres is the award that counts, I still participate in the DSP voting ever since they made it easy for us foreigners to participate over the Internet. Mik Svellov has been facilitating that process for non-German speakers for just as long. Doesn't that just make the DSP a popularity contest, which the sales figures probably do already? Yeah, that's probably true, but I don't mind. Moreover, I often find that while the top game might be a forgone conclusion, the others receiving top ten voting may be interesting, even turning up something that hasn't had as much attention in the English-speaking world. Also, once Mik shares the voting totals it's fun to see the distribution, whether this year has a runaway favorite or several close games in the final voting.
Well, fun for boardgame geeks, anyway. :-)
Going through the process also highlites why this isn't the best one for picking THE best game. I play a lot of games (admittedly, not as many of the newest ones as I used do), and there are lots I've only played once, possibly with errors in the rules. There are lots more I haven't EVER tried and some I've never even heard of.
But who cares? Just vote for the fun of it.
You can probably do the same thing on Boardgamegeek somehow, but I use Luding for the lists of eligible games (released on or about Essen 2003 and Nuremberg 2004). Though the voting takes place at a German site, you'll want to go to Mik's page that walks you through the simple process.
I voted for Hansa, St. Petersberg, Die Fugger, Iglu Pop, and Wings of War. Just missing the cut were San Juan, Ticket to Ride, and Santiago.