America Votes: Americans abroad will take to the polls before November with their absentee ballots. Credit:: Andy.LIU / Shutterstock
Americans abroad begin to look ahead to November with renewed interest after President Joe Biden announces he has dropped out of the 2024 presidential election race. With the Republican National Convention and Trump’s official nomination as the Republican candidate in the rearview mirror, pressure continues to build on the shoulders of the Democrats.
Americans abroad can register to vote from wherever they live worldwide with absentee ballots.
Susanne Sullivan, 61, of Pismo Beach, California, finds the news of Biden’s withdrawal from the race unsurprising. “I think you could see it coming a bit from his performance in the last debate,” said Sullivan “I think letting the VP Kamala Harris take over the campaign is a no-brainer, despite all this talk about Biden being old and not able to debate, I think he had a good platform and she will continue with what Biden’s campaign stood for and will continue to do a good job.”
While Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris and she sits atop the polls of Democrat politicians who have talked about potentially running, a candidate will not be officially nominated until August 19, when the Democratic National Convention (DNC) will be held in Chicago.
“He [Biden] had a great three years as president, but I think it’s very noble what he did by letting someone younger run, and in my mind, that has to be Harris.” Said Sullivan “Now what I’m interested to see is who she will pick as her vice president.”
Hamilton Bone, 37, of Atlanta, Georgia, is one of many Americans who feel alienated by both parties. “I don’t care for Trump, but I blame the Democratic Party for letting him get elected,” said Bone “I don’t like how Trump does things, for example, I don’t think he has any intention to help Ukraine, and I think the Democrats should have had a better candidate than Biden for a while now.”
Bone’s disappointment in the candidate selection process is reflected in polling data, which shows that among all Democrats currently sitting highest in the polls is Michelle Obama, who, despite not campaigning and repeatedly saying she does not want to run for any office, currently sits comfortably ahead of Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom, and other Democrats who have expressed interest in running against Trump and even above Trump himself, according to a poll by Reuters.
“I think if Michelle Obama actually wanted to run for president, I’d hear what she has to say and her stances on issues, but she feels too far removed from it.” said Bone
Ben, 32, an American from Nashville, Tennessee, who wanted to remain anonymous, is of the mindset that he will cast his lot with whoever is running against Trump. “I will be voting for whichever candidate is nominated that is running against Trump,” said Ben “I am very afraid of what will happen during a second Trump presidency. Policies that he has already proposed, like protective tariffs, scare me because of their ability to instigate an inflationary international trade war, and beyond that, his past refusal to participate in a peaceful transfer of power makes me even more scared of what a well-organised and prepared Trump will accomplish with a second term as president.”
The Nashville native’s concerns about Trump’s actions in a second term where he has no future elections to focus on winning would find him among plenty of Americans who are concerned about Trump’s adherence to the rule of law. In a campaign speech in Davenport, Iowa, in December 2023, Trump stoked concerns about his authoritarian rhetoric as he referenced an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity earlier that same day. “He says, ‘You’re not going to be a dictator, are you?’ I said, ‘No, no, no, other than day one. We’re closing the border, and we’re drilling, drilling, drilling. After that, I’m not a dictator.’”
Trump campaign aides, when asked about the comments, said the former president was simply trying to trigger the left and the media with his dictator comment.
For many Americans like Ben, polls aren’t truly indicative of who will win come November, so until then, they must simply stand by. “I think the polls and betting markets are saying Trump is the favourite by a hair, but I think we’re in pretty unprecedented times here,” said Ben “I think it depends a lot on how the next few weeks go and how the Democratic Party handles the nomination of their candidate.”
