In 2016, Spain was the fifth country outside the United States with the most votes in the Democratic Party’s primaries, right after the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and France, Fernando Peinado reports for El País.
Democrats Abroad chapter Spain summoned U.S. citizens living in Spain to vote in the Democratic primary that kicked off this 2020 Super Tuesday, in eight voting centers in Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia.
“Our main goal is to find Americans who are resident and help them register to vote, or in most cases simply request an absentee ballot,” the platform presentation states on its website.
To elect their candidate in the Democratic primary, voters must be U.S. citizens living abroad; have registered on the Democrats Abroad platform; turn 18 by Election Day, November 3 2020; and not have voted or plan to vote in another state presidential primary this year.
On this Super Tuesday, March 3, 163 Americans voted in a downtown pub in Madrid. Fernando Peinado reports that Bernie Sanders partially won in that center with 118 votes. He was followed by Elizabeth Warren with 33, Joe Biden with 15 and Michael Bloomberg with one. Voting will remain open on Saturday and Sunday (March 7 and 8) in the same bar, where groups of Americans living in Madrid usually meet to watch the Super Bowl final or the candidates’ debates.
In Barcelona, voting opened on March 3 of Super Tuesday at the ESERP Business School and will continue on Saturday, March 7 in a restaurant also downtown, throughout the day.
In Valencia, voting began on March 3 at a restaurant, where it will also be open on Saturday March 7. It continued March 4 at the Universidad Politécnica Valencia.
For U.S. citizens living in Spain who are members of the platform and are not near these voting centers, there is the option of voting by e mail or by snail mail.
In Seville (Andalusia), Palma de Mallorca (Balearic Islands), Sitges (Province of Barcelona), Alicante (Valencian Community) there are also organized ballot assistance events to guide people who request remote voting through the votefromabroad.org website.
The Global Presidential Primary organized by Democrats Abroad began on March 3 and will on the 10th worldwide. The Democratic National Committee recognizes the platform as a “state party,” according to its website, which also says Democrats Abroad has committees in 44 countries in Europe, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa. “These country committees keep Americans abroad informed of their rights and help them participate in the U.S. political process.”
From this worldwide primary process, Democrats Abroad is sending 21 delegates (eight of them Democratic National Committee members) from among the 4,750 who will choose the presidential candidate at the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, next July. Candidates who have garnered at least 15 percent of the votes in primaries worldwide will receive delegates.