U.S. Election: How it Went for Students Abroad

As election day dawned across the United States, a different reality unfolded for American college students scattered around the globe. For many, it was a week of anticipation and a stronger sense of distance as these students witnessed the American election from abroad.

Simone Veltkamp, a third-year biochemistry student at Point Loma Nazarene University, is spending the fall semester in Scotland and said that the U.S. election is a frequent topic of conversation with the locals she meets.

 “Everyone we meet is talking about it, and they all ask us who we are voting for,” she said. “It’s one of the first questions we’re asked whenever we enter a conversation.”

Veltkamp said that the television and internet media in Scotland is similar to the U.S., with the election dominating the news. 

“It’s all anyone talks about,” she said. “Not only are they discussing the election, but they are also open to criticizing it.”

Aidan Grace, a third-year finance student from the University of Utah studying in Barcelona, Spain, said Europe’s interest in U.S. politics came as a surprise to many students.

“Every time someone found out we were American, they would ask us who we were voting for or tell us who we should vote for,” he said. Grace said that while he isn’t well-versed in foreign politics, Europeans seem passionate about U.S. policies.

Students encountered different political perspectives during their travels. Brynlee Grose, a third-year psychology student from PLNU traveling through Europe this semester, recalled a conversation with an older man in Ireland.

 “He was a strong supporter of voting for Harris and said that Trump would be the end of democracy,” she said. Although Grose hasn’t had many political conversations, she said she has an idea of the sentiment. “I would say people in Europe lean more democratic and show a lot of animosity toward Trump,” she said.

Andrew Klarich, a third-year business administration major at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, shared a similar experience regarding a conversation about U.S. policies from a foreign perspective.

“I’ve heard many Europeans support Harris because she wants stronger ties with NATO,” he said, “but that view is usually held by older students and adults.”

While some Europeans are deeply invested in U.S. politics, others find humor in it. Klarich says that his Danish, Spanish and Finnish friends often laugh at the spectacle of U.S. elections. “They laugh because of all the bickering,” he said, adding that younger, western Europeans sometimes favor Trump because of his media presence.

Despite the similarities among discussions abroad, the voting process itself posed unique challenges for U.S. students. Grose said that some students received their ballots before leaving the U.S. in the summer, while others had parents bring them when visiting. Veltkamp notes that many students in Scotland had their ballots mailed internationally. 

“I was slightly surprised,” she said. “A lot of students remembered to have their ballots sent abroad.”

Grace recalls the Washington State voting process abroad, describing another way to vote: “It varies by state, but you can register as an abroad student and vote via an online portal that gets emailed to you.”

Kylee Fletcher, a second-year psychology student at PLNU, decided to vote by having her parents bring her ballot during a visit. She said she noticed that some other students decided not to vote, not because of being out of the country but rather the system within the states.

 “A lot of people didn’t go through the hassle because they felt it wouldn’t matter much, especially if they were from a solidly blue state like California,” she said.