How are Americans in Spain experiencing the elections?

The results of the US elections will also have ramifications outside the country, especially for those United States citizens living abroad. In Spain there are 64,227 Americans registered, according to INE data for 2023, and many of them are preparing for a very long electoral night, as they have told ‘Euronews’.

“I feel that our country is at stake” dice Kelly58 years old, from the farm in Galicia where she lives with her husband, also American. They have been in Spain for six and a half years, first in an apartment in Valencia and now in a house at the foot of the Camino de Santiago. “When people tell me ‘but you live in Spain, these elections don’t impact you’ I say ‘my God’,” he says, “This has an impact all over the world.“They are elections of global relevance.”

He interest by Spanish people in the American elections is something that has “surprised a lot”. “I live next to the Camino, and in our garden there are banners. One day I was standing by the door wearing a T-shirt (in support of the Democratic candidate, Kamala Harris) and a man who was walking with his family approached me to ask about her,” she says.

“He spoke English very well, and he told me ‘you have to make sure that (Donald Trump, the Republican candidate) doesn’t win,’ and I feel a very big responsibility towards these people, because I think it really matters in Spain”, he thinks.

Spain prefers Harris

It is anti-Trump sentiment He is not unique among the walkers who chat with Kelly. According to a study by the Franklin Institute with the University of Alcalá de Henares, the 75% of Spaniards believe that a Harris victory would be better for Spain than one from Trump.

Furthermore, 57% believe that, if Harris is ahead in the elections, Your image of the United States would improve. This image tells Erica 33-year-old American who has lived in Madrid for nine years, has deteriorated in recent years. “They reach me quite a few comments from Spaniards“Even at work today several colleagues have asked me questions,” he explains to ‘Euronews’.

“They always tell me ‘we had an image of a very advanced United States and progressive, and then you have a crazy person and many people who follow him’, a friend even told me once ‘I thought Spanish politics was complexbut compared to yours…’”. And he adds “in general (the Spanish) They never understand the policies that we Americans have on issues like abortion or the armas”.

People who have recently arrived in Spain have also encountered this general feeling of rejection of Trump. Todd y Kimberly56 years old and originally from Arizona, have been living in Malaga for less than a month, and they have already had the feeling that “none of the Spaniards we have met they believe that Trump would be good for Spain”, regardless of their political opinions.

Vote from abroad

For Americans, the exact step by step to vote from outside the country It depends on the state and district in which they are registeredthe last place in the United States they ever lived. Todd and Kimberly, newcomers, have voted via emaila process “simple and with constant information about whether the information about our votes had arrived correctly.”

For Kelly, registered in Washington state, the first time he voted “it was difficult”. “I received a paper vote in the mail and I didn’t know where to send it,” he recalls. Now, in his state you can request and receive your vote digitally, and scanning it is enough, so he considers the current process “pretty easy.”

Eric, voting for Texas, thinks the hardest part is “know exactly how the system works in your district”which may be different from that of another American you meet abroad, and don’t get any of the steps wrong. But he has already voted this year and has not had any problems.

Are Americans in Spain involved in the elections?

“I am a Democrat, a progressive Democrat by what is considered in the United States, so I was going to vote for Joe Biden although I was not too involved in the elections, since both candidates seemed very old to me,” says Eric. “But when Kamala came in I was very encouraged, and I think all my American friends here feel the same way.”

Kelly certainly welcomed the change in the Democratic nomination: “I was kind of in desgana By voting for Biden, I think he did an excellent job but I don’t feel like he is still a good leader. So when I woke up on Sunday and saw that Kamala Harris was the new candidate, I immediately went to a local print shop to make t-shirts, I give them to everyone!”.

She believes that in general Americans residing in Spain They are quite involved in the elections, although he remembers that “three days ago someone asked me how I could ask for your vote, at this point!” Recognize that living abroad makes “complicated” to feel “part of the political conversation” in his country, although he also has the benefit of “not being harassed daily with political ads.”

American campaigns They do not usually focus on the foreign votetaking into account that they estimate that around three million Americans have the right to vote from outside the country. According to data from the FVAPthe agency that organizes the foreign vote, Spain is one of the countries where Americans voted the most in the 2022 elections.

Eric remembers hearing some candidates mention a improvement in the tax system, that today forces Americans to pay taxes both in the United States and in his country of residence, but he believes that “once they reach the Government the issue will fall quite low in their priorities.” “In any case, I’m not going to vote based on that,” he says.

In addition to not having seen much involvement from the main parties for residents abroad, Todd and Kimberly believe that “it seemed that the campaign of Trump was actively trying to make sure that our votes “They won’t count.”

Following the election night from Spain, a task for insomniacs

Following the elections from Europe is a complex task, although at ‘Euronews’ we have prepared a guide to explain the process. For Americans, however, it will be a night with more tension and nerves than for Europeans.

“I know that the best thing for our mental health would be to sleep and wait until the morning to see the results, but we won’t do it,” Kelly confesses. “My husband and I we spent the night up watching the debate, and for us this is even more important, although we know that the next day will be hard.”

Eric, who works the next day, knows there are events organized in Madridamong them for the Democratic Party, to be able to see the minute by minute of the election night, but will try to rest as much as possible during the night. “Of course, I will be listening to the news live and reading articles the whole next day while I work,” he adds.

Todd and Kimberly will follow the elections from home, since they are both retired, but they hope to attend one of the Harris campaign events in Spain that will take place in a few days in Malaga, as long as the democrat takes over the position of president.