Rubber ducks scribbled with the names of US Senator John Kerry and US President George W. Bush bob and swirl down a babbling brook in this Vienna suburb.
"Go, John, go!" shouts a group of American expatriates, some using hockey sticks to give the Kerry ducks a helpful slap downstream. Not surprisingly, the Democrat wins by a waterslide.
The Federal Election Commission wouldn't approve. But the Austrian chapter of Democrats Abroad says the mock race achieved its aim: to awaken the 7,000 Americans in Austria to the approaching US presidential election, and get eligible voters to register.
Mindful of the recount fiasco that put Bush in the White House four years ago, Democrats and Republicans everywhere from Hong Kong to Hungary are aggressively targeting American expatriates, whose absentee ballots could prove decisive in a tight race.
With an estimated 3 million US citizens of voting age living overseas, "We're like the 51st state," said Katie Solon, a Colorado Springs, Colorado, native and Democrats Abroad volunteer in Austria.
"We're riding a wave of renewed interest," she said.
But election fever runs strong. Democrats Abroad Thailand recently revived itself after lying dormant for 16 years. It now has chapters in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, and has participated in conference calls with Kerry and former Vermont governor Howard Dean, former US Army general Wesley Clark and US Representative Dennis Kucinich.
"The response has been incredible," said the group's head, Gary Suwannarat.
Strong anti-American sentiment overseas is driving US citizens to register to vote, and both Democrats and Republicans could benefit. A backlash against anti-Bush fervor has attracted Republicans, while dismay over Bush's stewardship is getting Democrats who haven't voted for 30 years.
Republicans, who claim to dominate the overseas vote by a three-to-one margin, are mobilizing to ensure him a second term.
"It's difficult to be an American abroad now with the hatred around the world for the US government and President Bush," said Stephen O'Connor, who runs Republicans Abroad in Hungary, where an estimated 20,000 Americans live.
"You need thick skin to be an American," he said.
"What we're seeing, all of us, is this malaise, this feeling of anti-Americanism," said Nancy Galan, chairwoman of Republicans Abroad in Italy, home to an estimated 60,000 Americans of voting age.
Eileen Wilkinson, of the Rome chapter of Democrats Abroad Italy, said people have signed up "who haven't voted since Nixon in 1960 or McGovern in 1972."
In Hong Kong, Republicans Abroad is getting daily inquiries from the 50,000-strong US expatriate community, vice chairman Mark Simon said. Bush's narrow victory over Al Gore in 2000 has driven home the message that every vote matters, he said.
Canada, Mexico and Britain have the world's biggest American communities. Fourth is Germany, with roughly 250,000, and party activists are trying to draw interest with visits by former Vice President Dan Quayle and Kerry's sister, Diana.
"We have 33 Senate races that are going to decide who controls Congress," said Ronald Schlundt, chairman of Democrats Abroad Germany.
"Bush is almost certain to win Alaska, but it looks like a Democrat might win the Senate seat there. I registered someone from Alaska the other day," he said.
Overseas voters can find it a hassle to get absentee ballots, and traditionally haven't played a key role in past presidential elections. Turnout in 2000 was 37 percent among expatriates, compared to 51.3 percent overall.
No one knows just how many Americans abroad intend to vote this time, since the party groups can only give them registration forms to mail to the US county where they voted last.
Peter Kropp, a native of suburban Washington, DC who works for a cosmetics company in Belgium, didn't vote in 2000.
Republican US lawmakers on Friday criticized US President Joe Biden’s administration after sanctioned Chinese telecoms equipment giant Huawei unveiled a laptop this week powered by an Intel artificial intelligence (AI) chip. The US placed Huawei on a trade restriction list in 2019 for contravening Iran sanctions, part of a broader effort to hobble Beijing’s technological advances. Placement on the list means the company’s suppliers have to seek a special, difficult-to-obtain license before shipping to it. One such license, issued by then-US president Donald Trump’s administration, has allowed Intel to ship central processors to Huawei for use in laptops since 2020. China hardliners
A top Vietnamese property tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to death in one of the biggest corruption cases in history, with an estimated US$27 billion in damages. A panel of three hand-picked jurors and two judges rejected all defense arguments by Truong My Lan, chair of major developer Van Thinh Phat, who was found guilty of swindling cash from Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) over a decade. “The defendant’s actions ... eroded people’s trust in the leadership of the [Communist] Party and state,” read the verdict at the trial in Ho Chi Minh City. After the five-week trial, 85 others were also sentenced on
‘DELUSIONAL’: Targeting the families of Hamas’ leaders would not push the group to change its position or to give up its demands for Palestinians, Ismail Haniyeh said Israeli aircraft on Wednesday killed three sons of Hamas’ top political leader in the Gaza Strip, striking high-stakes targets at a time when Israel is holding delicate ceasefire negotiations with the militant group. Hamas said four of the leader’s grandchildren were also killed. Ismail Haniyeh’s sons are among the highest-profile figures to be killed in the war so far. Israel said they were Hamas operatives, and Haniyeh accused Israel of acting in “the spirit of revenge and murder.” The deaths threatened to strain the internationally mediated ceasefire talks, which appeared to gain steam in recent days even as the sides remain far
RAMPAGE: A Palestinian man was left dead after dozens of Israeli settlers searching for a missing 14-year-old boy stormed a village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank US President Joe Biden on Friday said he expected Iran to attack Israel “sooner, rather than later” and warned Tehran not to proceed. Asked by reporters about his message to Iran, Biden simply said: “Don’t,” underscoring Washington’s commitment to defend Israel. “We are devoted to the defense of Israel. We will support Israel. We will help defend Israel and Iran will not succeed,” he said. Biden said he would not divulge secure information, but said his expectation was that an attack could come “sooner, rather than later.” Israel braced on Friday for an attack by Iran or its proxies as warnings grew of