Americans in Germany catch election fever

Nov 3, 2008, 19:31 GMT

Berlin - For Americans in Germany, election parties this week are not likely to get really exciting until long after midnight: it will be 5 am Wednesday, local time, when the polls finally close on the US west coast.

Not that the time difference has taken any edge off the excitement over the historic choice between Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate, and John McCain, the Republican contender. Obama visited Berlin in the summer and gave a speech to huge crowds. German media has closely followed the race.

Whichever candidate they prefer, many US nationals abroad seem to welcome the prospect of change from the administration of President George W Bush, which is set to expire with both the Iraq War and the global financial crisis unresolved.

Making up one's mind can be easier than actually voting. Because of bureaucratic obstacles, most US nationals abroad who vote have tried to cast their ballots well in advance, taking advantage of absentee voting laws in their home states.

The US embassy in Berlin estimates that 100,000 US nationals living in Germany qualify to vote.

Steve Chismar, a US journalist living in the German city of Munich, described the hassle, beginning with the hour he spent online trying to find the right place to download the necessary documents.

'In a democracy, which the United States is supposed to be, it ought to be easy to vote,' he said, complaining that the US consulate in the city had not been able to help him.

'When I ring there, I only speak to computers,' said Chismar, who came to Germany as a windsurfing instructor and who favours Obama.

Postal votes are counted later than ballots cast in person. Chismar says his may not arrive in the United States until after the result is already known. But no matter: every vote counts.

One problem is that registration and voting deadlines vary among the 50 US states.

Michael Ricks, chairman of Republicans Abroad in Munich, has seen the whole gamut of rules as he helps other McCain voters.

He jokes, 'The easiest thing would be to get on a plane and go home to vote.' Ricks' own vote was posted home to Oregon weeks ago.

Ricks, 45, says, 'We need a strong president.'

In Berlin, the local branch of Democrats Abroad is confident it will not be McCain making a victory speech after the US television networks begin to offer the first predictions.

The Democrats have rented a city movie theatre for celebrations and the slogan for the party is, 'Watch the Sunrise with Us.'

Berlin-based comedian entertainer Gayle Tufts says she never hesitated.

'I voted Obama,' she said. 'I'm a life-long Democrat.'

The US embassy in the city will not be a party venue on the day.

'Obviously each of us has got a personal opinion,' said embassy media spokesman Bruce Armstrong. 'But at work, and in public, we are strictly non-political.'

The diplomats are to attend a couple of star-studded Berlin parties with hand-picked German guests Tuesday evening as the last votes are being cast. Those events will be broadcast live by German TV networks.

One party, on Unter den Linden street, just across from the embassy, will be held in the palatial headquarters of Germany's Bertelsmann Foundation. The colours of the US flag will be projected on the building and mock voting papers will be handed out to guests.

Another similar event, to be broadcast by ZDF public television in Germany, will play out in the luxurious Berlin offices of the German phone conglomerate Deutsche Telekom, owner of the T-Mobile wireless network in the United States.