When America votes on November 5 the presidential battle between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is expected to go down to the wire.
At present several polls have Ms Harris, the current Democrat vice-president, slightly ahead of Trump, who is seeking a second term in the White House.
With Trump a polarising figure in both the US and abroad, Democrats are looking to do everything they can to keep him from returning to power.
And that includes here in Australia.
There are at least 110,000 Americans living in Australia, who are eligible to vote.
And while voting is not compulsory in the US, statistics from the Federal Assistance Voting Program shows only 8.5 per cent of eligible Americans in Australia voted in the 2020 US election.
American expats face a slew of problems when trying to vote in elections from abroad. (ABC News: Jerry Rickard)
For the first time in US history, the Democratic party have made an investment in its Democrats Abroad group, spending almost half-a-million US dollars in the hope they can harness global votes in battleground states.
San Francisco-native Amy Saha has lived in Australia for 17 years and is part of that movement as she looks to support Ms Harris.
“I need to do everything I possibly can to make sure he doesn’t win,” Ms Saha told 7.30.
She has been campaigning on the streets of Sydney since October 2023, in a bid to entice fellow Americans based here to vote.
Democrats Abroad are busy handing out ‘how to vote’ buttons to American expats in Australia. (ABC News: Jerry Rickard)
Every Monday and Thursday, Ms Saha along with a group of volunteers from Democrats Abroad Australia ring eligible American voters, teaching them how to register and then encouraging them to vote wisely.
They have also been handing out free buttons with voting information as well as committing to “power hours” each week.
“Every phone call costs us, so we’re very careful about who we call, but yeah, we will stay on the phone with you if you’re from Pennsylvania,” she said.
Battleground states
Pennsylvania is a key battleground state which has flipped in the last four presidential elections, including for President Joe Biden who turned the state blue in 2020 with a margin of 81,660 votes.
In 2016, Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by 44,292 votes over Hillary Clinton.
Barack Obama managed to win over Pennsylvania comfortably in 2012, succeeding over Republican Mitt Romney by 287,865 votes.
In 2024 there are seven key swing states where every vote counts – Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, and Wisconsin.
However, voting from overseas is not easy for Americans.
“Depending on which state you come from, it’s not always that easy to vote remotely or absentee for Americans,” Visiting Fellow at the US Studies Centre Ben Reilly said.
Ben Reilly from the US Studies Centre. (ABC News: Richard Berrill)
“Some states make it extremely difficult.
“You have to have an appointment at a local county, or you have to fax a document. Who uses faxes anymore?
“So despite the fact that the federal law insists that all eligible American voters should be able to vote when they’re overseas, in practice, a lot depends on which state they’re based in.”
Ms Saha has been trying to make this process easier for American voters in Australia by attending fourth of July events and debate watch parties and speaking to people face-to-face.
Amy Saha is determined to help make sure Kamala Harris becomes the next US president. (ABC News: Jerry Rickard)
“I want five people who are lost and confused and think it’s too much effort to register to vote,” Ms Saha said of who she would be targeting.
“I want five never Republicans to realise they’re not a homeless Republican. They’re now a Democrat.”
The latest poll conducted by The New York Times and company FiveThirtyEight on September 30 shows Kamala Harris leads Donald Trump by just 1 per cent in Pennsylvania.
Australians want Kamala Harris
Michael Fullilove is the executive director of The Lowy Institute. He revealed new data to 7.30 that shows a drop off in support for Trump among Australians since Ms Harris replaced Mr Biden as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute. (ABC News: Michael Nudl)
“Mr Trump was extremely unpopular in 2016, when the Trump phenomenon was much newer to Australians,” Mr Fullilove said.
“His support was around 11 per cent and it increased to a high of about 29 per cent when Mr Biden was still in the race.”
In a September survey of 2,028 people the The Lowy Institute found the number of Australians who prefer Ms Harris has risen.
Support for her is at 73 per cent, which is up from the 68 per cent in March who supported Mr Biden, while support for Trump has dropped in that time from 29 to 22 per cent.
The overseas Republican campaign
Greg Swenson is the chairman of Republicans Overseas UK and says he’s unsure of who exactly runs the group’s branch in Australia.
But support for Trump does exist.
Twitter boss Elon Musk and UFC head Dana White are amongst his big supporters in the United States and Mr Swenson pointed to actor Holly Valance as an Australian connection.
Holly Valance and husband Nick Candy attend Britain’s Reform UK party’s national conference in Birmingham. (Reuters: Hollie Adams)
“The fundraiser we had in June for Trump, that was actually at Holly Valance’s home with Nick Candy, so we have real connectivity with Australia,” Mr Swenson said.
But finding vocal Republicans who are willing to support him publicly in Australia has been difficult.
While the Democrats have spent millions to try and garner overseas votes, the Republican party didn’t make the same commitment and Mr Swenson believes Kamala Harris has a serious advantage because of it.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if the Democrats have a much bigger chunk of the electorate overseas, not just in Australia or the UK, but just in general. I think the exceptions will be countries with large military presence,” he told 7.30.
With just over one month till the US election Ms Saha had a message for undecided US voters.
“It’s our civic duty to just represent our voice,” she said.
“Obviously, I support Harris-Waltz, but I think it’s just important that people make sure that if [people] have an opinion, they express it.”
Source link : http://www.bing.com/news/apiclick.aspx?ref=FexRss&aid=&tid=66fbcf4aa5c3424f9810c5bb86565095&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.abc.net.au%2Fnews%2F2024-10-01%2Faustralian-voters-pivotal-to-us-presidential-election%2F104418018&c=13174571466659641260&mkt=en-us
Author :
Publish date : 2024-09-30 20:51:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.