http://www.malaysiakini.com/print.php?id=31033
American expat votes for readers' choice in US poll
Steven Gan
Oct 26, 04 2:11pm
American expatriate Erik Ossemig, who offered his postal vote ahead of next week's American presidential election to malaysiakini readers, has voted according to the majority choice in an online poll.
"I sent my postal ballot last Friday, Oct 15. It is going to Flagstaff, Arizona, as that is where I'm registered," said Ossemig, an ex-US serviceman who has been living in Malaysia for 14 years.
Ossemig's 'Malaysian' vote will be counted along with all the other ballots on election day next Tuesday.
The poll was mooted by Ossemig who felt that voters other than Americans should have a say in the presidential election.
Over the past one month, 8,090 malaysiakini readers have participated in the online poll, which kicked off on Sept 20 and closed on Oct 15. It saw John Kerry (Democrats) emerging as the most popular choice for US president.
Kerry bagged 60.67 percent (4,908) of the total votes, while incumbent George W Bush (Republican) came second with 27.65 percent (2,237) and no-hoper Ralph Nader (Independent) finishing third with a rather strong 11.68 percent (945).
Neck-to-neck race
The malaysiakini poll results vary significantly from US public opinion with polls showing that Bush and Kerry are running neck-to-neck. Nader has picked up no more than 1 or 2 percent of those surveyed.
"I'm not surprised that Nader garnered as many votes as he did because I see a vote for Nader as a protest vote against both candidates rather than a vote for anything particular Nader stands for," said Ossemig, a freelance writer and photographer who is married to a Malaysian.
"What does he (Nader) stand for? No one knows because the press have given him zero air-time."
Ossemig said he was taken aback by the enthusiastic response to the malaysiakini poll.
"More than twice as many Malaysians voted in these online polls than any of us expected," he said.
Mindful of the possibility of multiple voting, the malaysiakini's poll - 'US president: Who will you vote for' - had been configured to allow each computer to only vote once.
This is accomplished by the use of 'cookies' that identify computers that had already participated in the poll. Still, some hackers had found their way around the restriction.
The website had detected two attempts to rig the poll. However, immediate steps were taken to block them from further tampering with the results. The 'extra' votes were also removed to ensure that the poll would fairly reflect the views of readers.
"The response has been overwhelmingly supportive, confirming the obvious: that the world outside Fortress America is hungry to have a say in matters of global leadership and its effect on us all," said Ossemig.
Based in Petaling Jaya in Selangor, Ossemig has worked for various local and international publications, including women's magazine Marie Claire and adventure travel monthly Action Asia.
Making a difference?
But will Ossemig's vote make a difference?
"I realise that mine is just one vote, so in the larger scheme of things, it remains a largely symbolic gesture," said the first-time voter, who had argued that apathy failed to get him anywhere.
"However, seen from a different perspective, my vote does have a direct impact on the outcome of the US presidential elections. My vote is just a drop in the bucket, but at least it's in the bucket."
Ossemig also expressed his wish that the seven million expat Americans would follow his example by offering their votes to global citizens.
"Given the enthusiasm Malaysians have shown in wanting a say through my single solitary vote, I would like to see more globally-minded expat Americans offering their vote in the 2008 US presidential elections."
He said that this could grow into an 'International Voting Bloc' movement where hundreds of US voters agree to donate their votes to a number of countries and will then vote on their behalf.
"While these votes would likely still be small in number, they would earn their importance by representing potentially billions of voices demanding to be heard," he added.
"I'm just thinking out loud here, but such an 'International Voting Bloc' could hold its own US presidential elections a full week before the actual one in 2008, thereby speaking in a clear voice to America what the rest of the world thinks. Now if only they cared..."
But despite voting for Kerry, Ossemig's keeps his own choice for US president very close to his heart.
"I made it clear from the start that I would keep my voting preference private. After all, strictly speaking, I have no vote as I've given mine to Malaysia."
But according to the recently published Transatlantic Trends 2004 poll which surveys global public opinion on US foreign policy, the world is speaking with largely one voice - that it does not want to see another four years of the Bush administration.