In the home stretch, Trump and Kamala Harris set their sights on voters overseas
Although turnout among Americans overseas is often low, their votes can be decisive. Democrats believe they have the majority support of this sector, but Trump's economic proposals could seduce a large majority.
Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
With the presidential race so close, campaign committees are in no position to waste any constituency, however small. In the home stretch, Democrats and Republicans are looking for votes in every corner of the United States and also in the rest of the world.
The Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) reports that there are almost 3 million U.S. voters living outside the United States, including military and their families.
Usually, this group's participation in elections is low. In 2020 less than 8% voted, compared with nearly 67% of eligible Americans overall. But with such an even race, polls indicate that these votes are important enough for candidates to seek to win them over.
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The Democrats believe that Americans living abroad tend to support their party, so they are putting special focus on these voters. As NBC News reports, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) this year provided Democrats Abroad with $300,000 in funding to help with voter registration and other efforts to mobilize the overseas vote.
According to the DNC, there are about 1.6 million Americans overseas eligible to vote in the seven swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. It is worth remembering that in 2020, Biden won the presidency by only 44,000 votes in Arizona, Georgia and Wisconsin. The sudden desperation of the candidates for those votes spread around the world is understandable.
Meanwhile, the Republican National Committee, has shown its concerns to protect all legal votes, including those of military and overseas citizens. Donald Trump is also seeking support from this sector and has expressed his opposition to the double taxation of Americans abroad, who must file U.S. income tax returns each year regardless of where they live and pay, in addition, taxes in the countries and territories where they reside.
Vice President Kamala Harris, in contrast, has not announced any tax policy for Americans abroad. Trump's stance against double taxation could sway American voters abroad, including Democrats, as all voters are sensitive to tax burdens and their personal finances.
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