American electors in Portugal are “very committed”

OuS voters living in Portuguese territory are particularly mobilized for mid-term elections in the United States (USA), scheduled for November 3, Lusa told the president of the organization Democrats Abroad in Portugal, Lynnette Shaw.

“We have already exceeded 58% of electoral involvement, which is quite high for this stage of a mid-term election,” Lynnette Shaw said in statements to Lusa, stressing that these elections, usually less attended than the presidential elections, are arousing an unusual interest.

Democrats Abroad is the official organization of the American Democratic Party abroad, with representation in Portugal, which promotes the electoral participation of US citizens residing outside the country and assists in the census and exercise of the right to vote.

“ Our voters are very committed,” said the person responsible, expressing the conviction that participation will be higher than in previous interim elections, both in Portugal and in the United States.

Lynnette Shaw attributes this mobilization to discontent with the US political situation and concerns about the functioning of democratic institutions.

According to her, many voters are concerned about what she considers to be the degradation of democratic standards in the last two years and the social consequences of the policies of the administration of Republican President Donald Trump.

Among the main concerns identified the tax cuts favorable to the richest, the difficulties in accessing health care, the reduction of food support and the deterioration of public services.

For Lynnette Shaw, these elections could be decisive to restore some balance in US political power and allow for the adoption of policies more favourable to the daily needs of the population.

In Portugal, the mobilization covers different generations, including voters over 90 years old who contact the organization to ask for assistance in exercising the right to vote.

“ We have people in their 90s, with health problems, who call us to ask if anyone can go home help them understand how to send the ballot ", he said.

There is no face-to-face vote for US citizens living abroad, but they can register and ask for a mail ballot.

The organisation Democrats Abroad also receives dozens of responses to contacts sent to its associates, especially with requests for clarification on electoral procedures.

One of the main difficulties is the different rules applied by the US states, which autonomously organise electoral processes.

“ Registering to vote or ask for a newsletter is one thing, but getting him to the United States is something quite different,” Shaw explained.

As for the geographical origin of the North Americans living in Portugal, she highlighted a significant presence of citizens from traditionally Republican states such as Texas and Florida, but also from Democratic states such as California, New York and Oregon.

According to Shaw, this diversity mainly reflects the demographic weight of the states of origin, being more frequent to find in Portugal citizens from the most populous North American states.

The person responsible, however, acknowledged that there is no aggregate data to determine how Americans living in Portugal vote or to establish a strict comparison between Democrats and Republicans.

The mid-term elections in the United States, held in the middle of the presidential term, serve to renew all 435 seats of the House of Representatives (low House of Congress) and about one third (35) of the 100 seats of the Senate (high House).

Today, Republicans control both cameras.

The loss of at least one of the chambers would hinder the adoption of Trump's legislative agenda during the last two years of the mandate and would allow Democrats to launch parliamentary investigations into the administration.

On November 3, the positions of governor and other state and local officials are also in dispute.

More than 43 million Americans have already voted in advance in the mid-term elections on Tuesday, almost 10 million more than in 2022, according to an analysis by the Associated Press (AP) agency known on Friday.

In total, there are about 210 million registered voters.