Across the United States, Democrats are out knocking on doors and rallying support with just over two weeks to go before Election Day. But north of the border in Canada, a flurry of activity ahead of the 2024 election is also underway.
The presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris appears razor-thin, so Democrats are looking for American voters wherever they might be to cast ballots including Canada.
The exact number of Americans living abroad is hard to determine, but it is believed more than four million U.S. citizens are living overseas.
The top country where adult U.S. citizens are living outside the U.S. is Canada.
Some 605,000 adult U.S. citizens are living north of the border according to the non-partisan Federal Voting Assistance Program.
With that it does not come as a surprise perhaps that Democrats are hitting the pavement in the U.S. voter rich country searching for eligible voters.
Democrats have gone door-knocking in Ontario to help turn out the vote in what could be the closest election in U.S. history.
Former U.S. ambassador to Canada Bruce Heyman, who served under President Obama, is leading the effort to canvass and turn out votes from Americans living in the U.S. neighbor to the north, according to a report from Politico.
‘I believe in my heart of hearts that Americans living in Canada could determine the outcome of this election,’ Heyman told the publication.
Democrats Abroad argue they played a key role in helping decide the 2020 election as more Americans living abroad lean blue.
Earlier this year, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) announced six-figure spending on Democrats Abroad to help efforts to register eligible voters, ramp up mail-in voting operations and other mobilization efforts outside the U.S.
‘This marks the first time the DNC has invested in Democrats Abroad in a presidential cycle,’ said DNC Deputy Communications Director Abhi Rahman in a statement to DailyMail.com.
‘We’re going to win this election by engaging every eligible voter, no matter where they live, and our investment shows our commitment to leaving no stone left unturned,’ he added.
The vote of U.S. citizens abroad increased more than 73 percent in 2020 from 2016, according to Democrats Abroad. They argue it made up the difference along the margins when it came to the presidential election.
Some 18,400 ballots from abroad counted in Arizona in 2020, a state President Biden won by just over 10,000 votes. Another roughly 18,400 ballots from abroad were counted in Georgia, a state Biden won by just less than 12,000 votes.
The efforts to get American voters overseas to request and return U.S. ballots come as former President Trump has cast doubts over Americans abroad voting in the election.
Last month, Trump accused Democrats of preparing to ‘cheat’ in the election with their efforts to engage Americans abroad.
‘The Democrats are talking about how they’re working so hard to get millions of votes from Americans living overseas,’ he posted on Truth Social. ‘Actually, they are getting ready to CHEAT!’
But such claims are false. It is illegal for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. For Americans abroad to participate, they request their absentee ballot with a form through their local election office.
When officials receive that application, they verify the person’s identity through provided identification such as a driver’s license, state ID or social security number.
For decades, the process has not been controversial, but that is no longer the case in 2024 with Trump as the GOP nominee.
More than 900,000 voters including the military and citizens abroad had ballots counted in 2020.
As the election looms, Republican groups have filed lawsuits in swing states including Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania challenging the validity of the ballots cast by Americans abroad including members of the U.S. military.
Just across the U.S. border in Canada, Democrats have been door knocking in the town of Windsor looking for Americans from Michigan as the state is key to Democrats’ path to the White House and the state has a crucial Senate race.
Democrats Abroad globally have been engaging voters in multiple ways.
A zoom event last month for Kamala Harris drew in 33,000 viewers, raised $90,000 and helped register 6,800 voters living, working and serving overseas.
Volunteers have also been making phone calls and working to engage other American voters abroad across six continents.
When it comes to the seven battleground states, there are approximately 1.6 million Americans living abroad including service members.
That includes more than 197,000 people in Arizona, 293,000 in Georgia, 264,000 in Michigan, 288,000 in North Carolina, 84,000 in Nevada, 340,0000 in Pennsylvania and 156,000 in Wisconsin.
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