US Politics | What’s Ahead in 2020 for Americans in Catalunya
“Remember, Remember…” goes the traditional English rhyme about the treasonous Guy Fawkes and his failed plot to blow up King James Ⅰ and both houses of the Parliament of England in 1605.
In 2020 “Remember, remember the third of November” is the rallying call to all US Citizens, wherever they may be, as that date will see elections to set the course of the United States of America for the next four years.
On November 3, Americans will decide whether they wish to offer Donald Trump and his administration a second term in the White House. On the same day they will vote to decide all 435 members of the House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 US Senate seats. Nearly all 50 states will also have state legislative elections and 11 state governorships will be determined.
After a controversy-filled three years and the early part of 2020’s calendar occupied by the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump and his subsequent acquittal, there has never been more interest in the state of the political landscape in the US. With its historic adherence to democratic principles and its economic and military power, a stable US has long been regarded as important for the well-being of the rest of the world.
Many of the president’s actions since he was elected in 2016 have given rise to widespread uncertainty about the future of long-established global alliances and treaties, are seen as an erosion on the separation of church and state and and have cast serious doubt on the permanence of many of the individual freedoms currently enjoyed by US citizens. In spite of this, those who have benefited from his presidency are invested in seeing it continue for another four years. As a result, this election is expected to be as hard-fought as any in US history.
US Citizens Living Overseas
Just how many Americans live abroad? According to the US State Department, there are approximately nine million US citizens residing outside the country at any one time. Estimates vary as to the number permanently residing in Spain. The Spanish Statistics Institute (Instituto Nacional de Estadística, INE) figures state there are over 37,000 US citizens permanently living in Spain. This number is based on the padró (municipal registers), so it doesn’t include those living here but not not registered, the many people who hold dual citizenship or the very large, fluctuating, number of students—many in Spain for months at a time.
In Catalunya, estimates on the number of US residents vary wildly. The INE lists 8,468 US citizens empadronado, however, as mentioned above, this leaves out a large number of people. With few reliable statistics available, US-related entities work on the assumption of a potential permanent to semi-permanent US population of between 10,000 and 20,000.
Democrats Abroad
Democrats Abroad (DA) was set up in 1964 and has approximately 550 chapters worldwide, assisting all overseas Americans to register and vote. Overseas votes have gradually become ever more critical in determining outcomes of tight races all over the US; in the 2000 general election overseas voters tipped the scales and it could very well happen again in 2020. Within the Democratic Party, increased voter engagement by overseas residents is reflected in the growing number and influence of Democrats Abroad’s voting delegates at the Democratic National Convention, to be held this year in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 13 through July 16.
The Barcelona chapter of Democrats Abroad has existed for nearly 20 years and participates in a variety of activities, including initiatives related to gender equality (some in collaboration with Women’s March), immigrant rights and climate change. The chapter is also involved in activities relating to global taxation and income reporting—an issue of interest to Americans of any political stripe. Its critical role, though, is to ensure that all US citizens, regardless of affiliation, register and vote in every election. Every last one of these votes counts. Going back many years, there is a long list of instances in which a few votes made a big difference in races large and small—a famous recent example being a Vermont State Senate Democratic primary, which in 2016 was settled by just a single vote out of 7,400.
The core organizing team of the Barcelona chapter of Democrats Abroad comprises four people—Chair, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer—elected by fellow members of Democrats Abroad and empowered to operate according to a detailed set of long-established guidelines and bylaws. A new team was elected in early 2019 for a term of two years and has been very busy. To help bolster engagement in the upcoming election, they decided to take advantage of the US Democratic Party’s candidate selection process and host debate watch evenings. These have been regularly occurring in various venues throughout the city. Attendance at the debate watch events continues to grow and they will continue to be held through election day.
At the same time, the Democrats Abroad global organization has arranged a series of virtual town hall meetings with the individual presidential candidates. These live town hall meetings are open to all DA members and represent a great opportunity for individuals living overseas to question candidates directly. Audiences for the live broadcasts have been large and numbers have increased each time. At the time of writing, nearly all the candidates have participated at least once in these forums and they are expected to repeat as the primaries and then the general election itself, proceed. If you would like to receive notifications of scheduled town halls, please sign up at DemocratsAbroad.org.
Your Vote Matters
Over the past three years, controversies have multiplied, rhetoric and politics have become more strident and divisive, media stories about voter suppression and foreign interference have proliferated and the checks and balances designed to control the rise of an autocratic president have fallen away. It has become clear to all that the 2020 election, more than ever before, will hinge on voter turnout. In 2016, the outsider candidate Donald Trump lost the overall national vote count by a record 2.8 million votes. Yet due to the Electoral College process he was able to gain a majority of Electoral College votes (304 of 538) and become president.
As has been widely reported and discussed in the media, in spite of impeachment, endless scandals and significant complaints from many about the activities of this president and his family, it is still possible that Trump could lose the overall popular vote by five million and yet, because of the mechanics of the Electoral College, still retake the presidency in 2020.
With this emphasis on voter turn out, the elected Democrats Abroad Barcelona group has expanded its original team and broadened its focus. The core Barcelona team now numbers seven, with expertise in communications, database management and youth development among the added competencies. They have also recently added a satellite team in Sitges that will create a presence in Tarragona to the south and a separate team of four under 30s.
Upcoming Events
Engagement with these younger voters is a key activity and Democrats Abroad has been active during inductions of new groups of US students in Spain through their universities and colleges. These sessions are always conducted in a bipartisan manner; neither individual candidates or parties are discussed. Instead, the conversation is focused on VotefromAbroad.org, a nonpartisan platform which enables much of the registration process online, straight from a cell phone for most states. Students are reminded of their civic responsibility, to participate in the process and learn that as imperfect as our democracy may seem, in the modern world there are still hundreds of millions of people with no voting rights (including over six million Americans), who have no say in factors that directly affect their lives. Our right to vote, such as it is, is precious and should be exercised by all citizens whenever possible.
“DA BCN Future” and VoteFromAbroad are planning a series of events designed to engage younger voters, including quiz nights, school-focused voter registration drives, the popular “Rock the Vote” and a newer initiative “Rap the Vote” event which is highly anticipated by all.
The first major watershed for ex-patriot Democrats is the Global Presidential Primary (GPP), open to all Democrats Abroad members scattered around the world which starts on Super Tuesday and ends on March 10. In Barcelona there are two separate voting days at two centrally located voting centers. The first is on Super Tuesday itself (March 3) at the ESERP School in the Eixample. The second takes place on Saturday, March 7 at El Foro Restaurant in the Born. Voters will be able to register and vote on site; they can also vote online if unable to be present. The Saturday event will last most of the day and has been organized to allow Americans to hang out and socialize.
As in previous years, the group is undertaking a comprehensive phone banking operation in Spain in order to reach potential US Voters. This is already underway. This phone system can be accessed easily and comfortably from individuals’ homes by DA members. To sign up for phone banking please email info-es-barcelona@democratsabroad.org or visit democratsabroad.org.
My Experience
Prior to joining Democrats Abroad Barcelona, I participated in two presidential campaigns while living in the US—those of John Kerry and Barack Obama. What have I found in Barcelona? Well, Americans here form a diverse group of people with different lives, interests, characters and opinions. In spite of distinct preferences for the individual candidates in this race, everyone in the group is working towards the same goal: removing Donald Trump from office and replacing him with someone better. Faced with the seemingly endless corruption and immorality of the incumbent and his cronies, everyone I’ve met the past year craves a presidential candidate who will bring maturity, statesmanship, optimism and integrity back to the presidency.
As the core group has grown and previous Democrats Abroad activists have got involved in this election cycle, it’s been very rewarding to be with such a worldly and knowledgeable group of US citizens. The conversations are enlightening, entertaining and educational, and the individual drive is motivating. For my part, the single most rewarding thing has been the interaction with US students at their Barcelona college induction days. While they tend not to discuss politics among themselves to avoid the same division that exists at home, it turns out that a great many of them are engaged and understand what is happening in their government.
As our group has interacted with other Americans in Catalunya, it’s become clear that among those who would normally vote Republican, there are many who take a dim view of this President: the abuse he hands out via social media on a daily basis, his relentless flouting of the law, the long line of women (at least 22) who have accused him of sexual misconduct, his flagrant courting of America’s enemies, his demonstrable disregard for his fellow man and his willful ignorance of science and facts as related to climate, environment and even disease.
The above makes our task a little more straight forward. Though there are many important races being contested, the simple, overarching goal of everyone now involved with Democrats Abroad in Barcelona is to register all qualified Americans to vote and then encourage them to vote for a better path in November.
There is much to do. Join us and play a part in shaping the future.
For more information on the Democrats Abroad Barcelona check out the website at democratsabroad.org and follow on Twitter at: @DemsAbroadBCN and Facebook at: @DemocratsAbroadSpain.
You can learn more about VoteFromAbroad at votefromabroad.org and follow on Twitter at: @votefromabroad and Facebook at: @VoteFromAbroad.