| KMitch429 2004-10-31, 4:08 am |
| Oct 27, 2:31 PM EDT
Expat Voters Turning Out in Large Numbers
By PANOS KAKAVIATOS
Associated Press Writer
GIESSEN, Germany (AP) -- To ensure soldiers at this U.S. base in southwest
Germany could participate in the Nov. 2 presidential election, voting
assistance officer John Miller ordered 6,000 "write-in" absentee ballots - more
than enough, he believed.
But by this week, all but 100 of the generic ballots were gone - just one
reflection of the intense interest in voting among Americans in Germany,
soldiers and civilians alike.
"The write-in ballots went like wildfire," said Miller, a civilian whose job is
helping soldiers with the 1st Armored Division at Giessen register and vote by
absentee ballot.
The same experience confronted Henry Nickel, an American in Berlin who has been
helping register civilians in his role as chairman of Republicans Abroad
International.
"The level of interest has been incredible," Nickel said. "In 2000, when I was
here, I probably got 10 phone calls, faxes per week. This year it is about 20
per day since June."
The U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt says there are about 260,000 Americans living
in Germany, but not all of them are of voting age. About 80,000 U.S. soldiers
are stationed in the country.
Phil Hill of American Voices Abroad Berlin, which opposes the war in Iraq, said
his group registered 2,000 new voters and predicted that Americans here would
vote for Kerry.
"Kerry's message that Bush has destroyed our alliances rings true for people
living in Germany," he said.
Latest News
Expat Voters Turning Out in Large Numbers
Gary Smith, executive director of the American Academy in Berlin, said
conversations about the vote "are inescapable, even in the elevator."
"I have been in Germany for quite a few elections, having lived here for 20
years, and there has never been even close to the amount of attention and
enthusiasm about an American election here," he said.
The generic ballots can be used to cast write-in and straight party-line votes
in all 50 states, which means voters no longer have to wait for an individual
ballot from their home state to arrive in overseas mail. Voters still must be
registered in their home state.
There has been no polling of military voters in Germany, but many of them have
served in Iraq, which may affect their outlook.
"We would rather have our commander in chief re-elected, because he has all the
knowledge that is needed to fight the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism,"
said Staff Sgt. Coleman Shelley, 42, of Miami, who served in Iraq for 15 months
with the 1st Armored's Headquarters Detachment Engineer Brigade.
1st Lt. Jimmy Archange, a West Point graduate also from Miami, said, "I've
already sent my ballot in for Kerry."
He said the war has affected some soldiers' decisions.
"I've talked to soldiers here who have come back from Iraq, and they have
changed their minds about who they will vote for," he said.
Staff Sgt. Steven Juliana, 34, stuck with Bush after serving in Iraq.
"If Kerry gets elected, Iraq would really fall apart and things in the (United)
States would get a whole lot worse. There would be a greater risk of terrorist
attacks," said Juliana, of Tobyhanna, Pa.
Bush "is the wrong president to begin with," said Spc. Juan Burkette, 25, of
Flint, Mich., referring to the disputed 2000 result.
"I think some soldiers have illusions that Kerry is going to bring us home
sooner, which I do not think will happen. But my vote is going to Kerry."
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
(remove purple from up above, never from my life!)
|