American grad student leads Democrats Abroad in Bonn Far from Pennsylvania on election day

Bonn · A 23-year-old American university student leads the Bonn chapter of Democrats Abroad. She is hoping to see Hillary Clinton become the first female president of the U.S.

 Candice Kerestan, Precinct Captain of Democrats Abroad in Bonn.

Candice Kerestan, Precinct Captain of Democrats Abroad in Bonn.

Foto: Jasmin Fischer

It’s probably safe to say that most Americans just want the U.S. Presidential Election of 2016 to be over. Watching the race from overseas has been especially trying and expats will be happy to put it behind them. It’s difficult to be put in the position of trying to explain what is happening back home. But there is a small benefit to being on this side of the Atlantic. University student Candice Kerestan sums it up, “It’s nice because we don’t get all of those ads on TV.”

At just 23-years-old, Ms. Kerestan leads the Democrats Abroad chapter in Bonn. Originally from Pennsylvania, she is responsible for informing U.S. citizens in Bonn about how they can vote from overseas. At one event her chapter organized, they registered 100 voters - many of them from California (Clinton country) and many from Texas (Trump land). Being here in Germany, she believes one can have a “skewed perspective” and get the idea that everyone supports Hillary Clinton. She doesn’t know anyone here personally who is voting for Donald Trump but says at home this would be different.

Across North Rhine Westphalia, Kerestan says there are eight chapters of Democrats Abroad, including ones in Cologne and Bonn. A check of the Republicans Overseas website didn’t show any current activity or events, and there was not a contact phone number or e-mail to get more information. There was a volunteer sign-up form, however.

From Bernie Sanders to Hillary Clinton

Ms. Kerestan is studying at the University of Bonn for a Master’s degree in Political Science. Her courses are all in German. She says it’s very different to the U.S. system because there is no attendance requirement and the whole grade is based on one final paper. When she first arrived at the University, she missed being politically active as she had been a member of College Democrats back home. “A quick google search and I found out there were others here,” she smiled. And then she bravely took on a leadership role as well. She is articulate and well-informed, and after only 3 years in Germany (two of them in Bonn), her German language skills are strong. Before coming to Bonn, she had completed an internship with the environmental organization, “Germanwatch” in Marburg.

Watching the evening news at home with her family while growing up in Pennsylvania helped spark her interest in public affairs and politics. Today, social media transports the world of politics to many young people, and this also keeps her interested. She is hoping that Hillary Clinton will become president and help unite all citizens of the country, regardless of ethnic or religious background.

It’s not that lots of American university students abroad were Clinton fans right from the start. Like herself, 69 percent of Democrats abroad voted for Bernie Sanders. To her, his attraction was partly that “he was against the establishment and offered an outsider’s perspective.” Still, the majority of those initial Sanders supporters have now warmed up to Hillary Clinton, she says. For Ms. Kerestan, it was the first presidential debate that helped her make up her mind to vote for Hillary Clinton. She felt Mr. Trump behaved quite childishly. There would be no vote for Green party candidate Jill Stein as she had initially contemplated. Her vote had to help ensure that Donald Trump did not get elected.

When night turns to day

There are estimates of around six to seven million Americans living outside the U.S. Ms. Kerestan believes that every single vote will count, recalling that the 2000 election was extremely close. But what does a young American think about an election with two candidates at or pushing 70-years-old? “With their age, they have a lot of experience and wisdom a younger person doesn’t have but the world has also gone through many technological developments - and maybe at 70 or 80 you’re not quite at the latest standard.” She adds quickly that Hillary Clinton is sufficiently up to date.

Candice Kerestan will not be asleep on election night. Even though polls in the U.S. are closing between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. early Wednesday morning (when translated into Bonn time), she will be at the WDR television studio in Cologne monitoring the coverage. It will be a late night, an early morning and finally an end to a highly controversial campaign. And if it goes the right way for Candice and her Democrats Abroad, the U.S. will have it’s first female president. But anything is possible and the suspense will stay until the votes are in and counted.

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