VICTORIA, British Columbia, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Given that the United States is a world super power, and that actions and policies taken by the American president can - and often do - affect the rest of the world, imagine if the rest of the world had its say in who was to be elected to the Oval Office.
Imagine if the entire planet could vote in the upcoming November presidential elections. How different would the outcome be?
Of course that will never happen (just as a foreign-born citizen can never become president). But what if it did happen? What if all citizens of the world were eligible to vote in the U.S. elections? How different would the outcome be if President George W. Bush and Sen. John Kerry had to contend for the support of the international community? What would be the implications? How different would the campaign be run? And more important, who would be the likely winner?
Well, although this is an exercise in futility given that traditionally, even overseas ballots cast by expatriate Americans voting by proxy have never really counted for much in an election, votes by foreign nationals will count for even less.
Yet regardless of where real politics stands on the issue of presidential elections, one ingenious Internet Web site has taken it upon itself to turn political fantasy into virtual reality. No matter where you live or what passport you hold, now you too can vote for the candidate of your choice in the November election. Of course your vote will not count for much, other than self-gratification, and the opportunity to let the rest of the world know how you stand on the issue, in the process giving your candidate some mental support.
BetaVote.com, the brainstorm of Daniel Young and Kevin Frost, an information technology consultant, have set up a site allowing citizens of the world to partake in what is expected to be a very close election.
Current polls in the United States show Bush and Kerry running neck-to-neck, with Kerry making some headway, particularly after the two presidential debates.
A Zogby Interactive poll conducted last Thursday after the second debate placed Kerry ahead of President Bush in 13 of the 16 closely contested states.
Kerry took ground in two states -- Ohio and Nevada -- and increased his lead in seven others. Bush's lead, meanwhile, narrowed in the three states -- Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia -- placing him ahead of Kerry in those states.
If the numbers projected by the Zogby poll this week were mirrored on Election Day, Kerry would be the winner and the next president of the United States.
But the elections are still about three weeks away, and much can happen between now and then. The race for the presidency remains very tight and very close.
However, the numbers from the rest of the world as shown on BetaVote.com project a very different view, where votes have been cast from 239 countries -- from Afghanistan (where Kerry leads 51 percent to Bush's 48 percent) to Zimbabwe (Kerry, 86 percent, Bush 31, percent) passing through Andorra, in Southwestern Europe, between France and Spain , one of the few countries where Bush leads with 53 percent (Kerry, 46 percent), Uzbekistan, (Kerry 87, Bush 12).
As of Tuesday, Oct. 12, a grand total of 295,712 votes have already been cast, of which an overwhelming 88 percent voted for Kerry, leaving Bush trailing behind with 11 percent.
A number of countries stand out for leaning heavily in favor of Kerry: Angola and Armenia, both give Kerry 75 percent and Bush 24 percent. Austria, the country from where a future Republican president might emerge if the Constitution is amended to allow California Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger to run the highest office, voted heavily in favor of Kerry (94 percent), giving Bush only 4 percent.
From tiny Belgium more than 29,000 votes were cast, also heavily in favor of Kerry (91 percent), Bush (8 percent). Brazil (Kerry, 95 percent) and Bulgaria (Kerry, 92 percent) also heavily favored the Democratic candidate.
Oh, Canada: More than 15,000 votes were cast by the neighbor to the north, with most going to Kerry (95 percent) leaving Bush with a meager 4 percent.
Among the highest to favor Kerry was Croatia with 96 percent voting for the Massachusetts senator, France and Greece each giving Kerry 95 percent of the vote. Germany gave Kerry 94 percent and Italy 88 percent.
The most votes came from Finland, casting 32,885 ballots, of which 92 percent went to Kerry.
Bush does have his supporters, however; Azerbaijan, Congo (Bush, 54 percent), Libya (Bush, 59 percent), Myanmar (Bush, 57 percent) and Nauru, (Bush, 61 percent). The African country of Niger favored Bush with an astounding 94 percent, as did the French territory of St. Pierre et Miquelon, off the east coast of Canada, allocating 62 percent of the 24 ballots cast to President Bush.
It just goes to show that nothing is ever certain in politics.
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