US Elections: We meet the expat voters in Belgium

Americans tell us about their voting experience, the US election process, what they think about the media coverage, and Obama’s legacy.

Alison Woodward
A Belgian resident since 1985 and in Europe since 1971, Alison hails from New York and Ohio. She has family in Florida and New Jersey

"I am a senior associate fellow at the Institute of European Studies where I do political and sociological research on gender and diversity in the European Union. I voted by postal ballot. I have been following this election very closely, and I hope we will know the answer pretty early in the night, but given how politics is going these days and the media influence, it sometimes feels hard to call.

"As an American, of course I believe this election to be a major event in world politics. The candidates are extreme opposites, and one of the candidates is among the least qualified of the last century. Yet, the office of the president today demands the most qualified. A lot is at stake both domestically and globally in terms of the direction the United States will take.

"This election has received far more coverage internationally than any in my lifetime. It is of course historic, given the first female major party candidate. However, the media operate differently than 20 years ago and a lot of elements of this election have been mediatized, and spotlighted in ways that seem anti-political. Personally I believe that the phenomenon of Trump got much more coverage than seems rationally merited.

"Obama is one of the great orators in the presidential office and exuding integrity besides showing all that a black person can hold the highest office in the land. He did not solve the Middle East, but did pull the US out of a major economic recession. The affordable health care act was a landmark achievement, and with some adjustment will serve American families well for life. We can always wish for more, but understanding the tricky checks and balances of the American system, I think that Obama often managed to do ‘the right thing’."

Anthony Calderon
The 24-year-old, born and raised in New York, has been in Belgium for two months, studying for a master’s in urban design at the VUB and ULB in Brussels

“I voted via absentee ballot. The process for New York State is not the most convenient and requires some paperwork, but I think it’s very important that the American people make an effort to vote. I usually follow politics quite closely, but this election cycle has dragged on and been kind of dull, so I won’t be staying up for the results. It has a global impact and I hope we don’t let everyone down. Of course, New York won’t, but New York could also be an entirely different country!

"The media does its job but often it’s just clickbait, titles that grab your attention but aren’t the most informative or useful to any productive discourse. Locally and internationally, there is a bit too much focus on the election, while I think there are larger problems that America faces. I think if the election cycle were shorter the media effect wouldn’t be so large. My first time voting was in 2012 for Obama and I couldn’t have been more excited to follow his campaign and to submit my vote.

"I loved voting for Obama, reveled in his message of hope in 2008, and welcomed the change from the Bush administration, but I still have some problems with the current administration. For example, more undocumented immigrants have been deported than in any other administration, and the Obama administration’s foreign policy—namely warmongering and the selling of weapons to groups in the Middle East—are both policies that I entirely disagree with. Although I’m not so sure that even he could explain why he won the Nobel Peace Prize, I approve of Obama’s domestic policy and the nation he built over his two terms."

Felicia Benefield
The business communications professional is from San Francisco and has lived in Belgium for eight years

“I voted by fax using a postal ballot. I probably won’t stay up for the results, I’ll just get them later. While the US elections are watched by the world, and their results are felt globally, I don’t think that the election itself is as important in the rest of the world. In that regard, it’s just interesting in the ‘which team is gonna win’ sense. It’s the cabinet and the policies they pursue that have wider-reaching impact."

Read more of this article at TheBulletin.be