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US elections: ‘Not a Republican to be found’

4 November 2006 – The votes of American expats might well be decisive in next Tuesday’s elections. They are concerned about the war in Iraq and about the environment. This says Donna DuCarme, chair of Democrats Abroad Netherlands.

The Dutch may be excited about the upcoming elections for Parliament, but at least as important are next Tuesday’s American Midterm Elections. 3,740 Americans live in Amsterdam, mainly in Centrum and Oud Zuid. In the entire country, they number about 40,000.

Americans abroad might well be decisive in next Tuesday’s elections, says DuCarme. In America, participation in Midterm Elections tends to be low, although there seems to be more interest this year. Among Americans abroad, however, there is a lot of interest in the upcoming elections.

American expats are concerned about the Iraq war, the threat of war in Iran and the environment. “They are more aware of the effect America has on the rest of the world than the folks back home”, says DuCarme.

Many Americans in the Netherlands vote Democrats. DuCarme says that the media frequently want to interview her as well as a Republican. For instance, a radio channel made such a request for a broadcast yesterday. However, they could not find one official representative of the Republican Party. “They had to get one from Germany”.

For Americans, voting from abroad involves some bureaucracy. They have to re-register every election year and send in their vote by mail. Procedures vary according to the state they are from.

Democrats Abroad has been organising weekly voter assistance drop ins, starting last spring. This year, relatively few people attended, because a number of websites have been created that make registration easier.

Democrats Abroad further organises film nights, speaker events and book launches on political issues. Often these activities take place at the Treehouse, an international community centre at the American Book Center. “The people at the American Book Center are very open minded and interested in politics”, says DuCarme.

In America, churches, trade unions and rifle clubs mobilise thousands of volunteers who try to convince people to vote. In our city, especially the American Women’s Club of Amsterdam is very active.

Asked what the outcome of the elections will be, DuCarme says that she is not the person to ask. “My predictions are always tinged with hope”. For predictions, she refers to the immensely popular website www.electoral-vote.com, which has been developed by someone from Democrats Abroad Netherlands.

In any case, Democrats Abroad has already planned a victory party.

 

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