Expat US voters could swing presidential poll either way

With current polls suggesting the US Presidential election is too close to call, Americans living in European countries have become aware that their votes may well decide the victor in this crucial contest.

Although the situation is very different than in the last election when US citizens rallied around Obama following Bush’s two years in the top job, most expats have tracked the two contenders closely and know their vote is crucial .Absentee ballots are being posted with the knowledge that, this time, they could really make a difference.

Since 1988, when absentee ballots changed the result of a Florida senate race, both the Democrats and the Republicans have wooed the expat vote as an insurance against exactly the situation both candidates now face.In 2008, another Senate election close call was decided by expat votes, when Democrat Al Franken, down by 215 votes, caught up and passed the Republican hopeful after the absentee ballots were counted.

According to a Reuters tracking poll, the two candidates are in a dead heat deadlock, with Democrats Abroad and Republicans Abroad pulling out all the stops to ensure their man wins by ensuring all expat Americans are registered and voting. Democrats Abroad’s representative in Berlin, opera singer Nancy Green, says US citizens resident in Germany are nervous but really excited about the election. She adds that everyone is aware that the final count is going to be incredibly close.

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