#4 - RW 10-22-04 - RW Home
Moscow Times
October 21, 2004
U.S. Expatriates Catching Election Fever
By Greg Walters
Staff Writer

Anticipation and anxiety are running high among American expatriates as the U.S. presidential election approaches, and local activists are running an unprecedented drive to get out the vote.

U.S. citizens in Moscow say the Nov. 2 election has a sense of added urgency due to the narrowness of President George W. Bush's victory in 2000 and the wide partisan divide that has opened up over the war on Iraq and concerns about the domestic economy.

"If George Bush is elected to another four years, we won't have an America to go home to," said Mark Sleboda, chairman of Democrats Abroad in Russia. "That's my feeling and the feeling of every Democrat I've talked to."

Bush's victory in 2000 was decided by just a few hundred votes, meaning Russia's relatively tiny American community -- estimated at about 5,000 people -- could have a say in whether Bush or Democratic challenger John Kerry wins.

"There is a tremendous sense of importance in this presidential election on both sides," said Michael Malloy, chairman of Republicans Abroad in Russia. "Bush supporters feel it's very important to vote for George Bush this time. And Kerry supporters feel it's very important not to vote for George Bush this time."

As a result, Democrats Abroad in Russia has boosted its presence, and a Russian chapter of Republicans Abroad was thrown together at the last minute. Even the U.S. Embassy has stepped up its work to help voters with electoral logistics, holding about a half-dozen events in different locations around town this week.

But while many say this election is a bigger deal in Moscow than in years past, it's an assertion that's difficult to check by the figures. The U.S. Embassy has registered or given emergency ballots to about 1,000 voters. That number is roughly the equivalent of previous years, some embassy officials said, although they do not have exact records, and much of the key staff has moved on since 2000.

Still, many expats said this election is exceptional. "I think everything is riding on this election," said Alesia Georgiou, 21, a theater student from New York who is voting for Kerry. "Americans are not viewed very kindly, especially over here, and to re-elect Bush would dig ourselves deeper into that hole."

Sleboda said expats in Russia will probably vote 60 percent for Kerry and 40 percent for Bush. Malloy said he couldn't give an estimate.

Heightened anticipation means higher anxiety, as hundreds of would-be voters who requested ballots have not received them yet.

"Of the people who have turned in ballots to the embassy, about half turn in the state ballots and about half have been asking for emergency ballots," said Peter Shea, a U.S. Embassy official.

About 300 ballots have been turned in to the embassy so far, with more than 100 on Wednesday alone after the American Women's Organization hosted a get-out-the-vote event at the Hard Rock Cafe on Arbat.

But embassy officials don't know how many voters may have mailed their ballots back home themselves. "It's an iceberg," Shea said. "We don't know how much is below the surface. But I'm guessing that half the people are going through the embassy."

Dozens of voters crowded into the Hard Rock Cafe on Wednesday morning, as embassy officials and Democrats Abroad representatives helped people fill out emergency ballots.

Some would-be voters complained that the electoral system isn't organized to help citizens abroad get their ballots in on time.

"The system sucks," said Theresa Yaroshevich, 34, from Michigan, who has lived in Russia for almost a decade and has never voted. "I don't think the procedures are very well laid out."

Almost none of her friends in Moscow will vote, she said.

But other Americans said the embassy has helped them. "The embassy made it easy," said Joyce Victory, 45, from Texas. "If you didn't register to vote, you must have had your eyes closed."

No polls have been taken of the U.S. electorate in Russia. But in the global race to get more than 4 million American expatriates to send in their votes, the Democrats appear to be winning the ground war in Moscow.

Democrats Abroad began a concerted registration drive back in April. Since then they've organized a riverboat cruise along the Moscow River, held a Fourth of July picnic, showed up at theatrical screenings of Michael Moore's Bush-bashing film "Fahrenheit 9/11" and, more recently, begun to focus on registering American students studying in Russia.

The group held a party in the Hard Rock Cafe on Wednesday night, and have two more coming up: one at noon Sunday at the Starlight Diner near Mayakovskaya metro station and another at 7 p.m. next Wednesday at the Hard Rock Cafe.

Malloy said Republicans Abroad sets up shop most evenings at the Starlight Diner near Oktyabrskaya metro station and relies heavily on e-mail.

Some Republicans said they are dismayed by the lack of an organized voter turnout drive for their party in Russia.

"As a Republican, I am very disappointed," said Lisa Daley, 41, who is registered to vote in Connecticut. "The Republicans Abroad are missing in action. If I'd known, I would have volunteered months ago."

The Russian chapter of Republicans Abroad was founded only in August. Unlike its Democratic counterpart, Republicans Abroad is a so-called "527" group with no formal financial or organizational links to the U.S. Republican Party's campaign.

"I fully agree that Republicans Abroad had been too inactive for too long," Malloy said. "In fact, that's what got me involved."

He and Sleboda said many expat voters come from crucial swing states such as Florida and Ohio, and that perhaps more voters from Florida have cast their ballots than from any other state. Malloy and Sleboda are both registered to vote in Florida.

Rules for voter registration and absentee ballot requests vary between states and even within them, meaning that as Election Day closes in, some U.S. expats have it easier than others.

In most states it is still not too late for those registered to vote to request a ballot, although sending the request to the United States and getting the ballot back before Nov. 2 might present logistical difficulties.

Some 20 percent to 30 percent of U.S. states accept absentee ballot requests by fax, and a handful even send ballots by fax or e-mail, the U.S. Embassy said.

Emergency ballots are available at the embassy or embassy events, but those who request them must sign a statement that they mailed a ballot request to the United States that should have been received by Oct. 2.

The U.S. Embassy said any American who wants to vote but hasn't done so should contact the embassy for assistance. The embassy is planning an election results party in the embassy from 8 a.m. to noon on Nov. 3. U.S. citizens are welcome and can bring Russians as guests.