'Voting is incredibly important,' says US resident in Barcelona ahead of USA election

It all comes down to either Donald Trump or Kamala Harris, and the final decision will be made on November 5 in the 2024 US election. However, here in Catalonia, election day has been on the minds of many for weeks.

Chris Reilly and Lisa Berger are two of the over 10,000 US citizens living in Catalonia. As Reilly told Catalan News, they are among those who "vote very frequently."

"All elections are important, and as the people of Barcelona know, voting is incredibly important," he added.

In the previous elections, Spain was one of the countries with the highest overseas voter participation. However, according to the Overseas Vote Foundation, only 3.4% of US eligible citizens outside the United States voted in the 2022 General Election.

But, if "anyone's in any doubt whether Americans here are taking their responsibilities seriously, well, do not worry about that, because they really are," Reilly said.

Lisa, from New York, who has been living in Barcelona for 38 years, says that she votes in both countries as she feels "very responsible."

Especially as "being an American citizen is a big responsibility because what happens in the United States affects the whole world," she said. "It is not just what happens in the United States stays in the United States," she added.

Voting issues

Both Reilly and Berger are part of the Democrats Abroad group in Barcelona but have also heavily volunteered at Vote From Abroad events, assisting US citizens eligible to vote from Catalonia.

Despite the service being provided by the Democratic Party, Vote From Abroad is a nonpartisan tool to help voters. According to international media outlets, three-quarters of the 2020 overseas election votes backed the Democratic candidate. Back then, Catalan News found only Democrat voters willing to speak on camera.

"This election will be won on the margins, and every single vote counts," US Democratic National Committee deputy executive director Roger Lau said in a written statement.

For the first time ever, the democratic party announced a six-figure investment to "ensure every single US citizen has a voice in this election," Lau added.

"It is much easier to vote in Spain," Berger told Catalan News compared to her home country.

"You are in the census, and you get this card at your house, and I literally go downstairs and cross the street, and in five minutes, I have voted," she explained, as opposed to the US, where you "have to register."

Particularly for those living abroad, as US authorities "do not understand that we are never coming back, or may not be coming back," she added.

Barcelona and living overseas

"I support ending the double taxation of overseas Americans," Republican candidate and former US president Donald J. Trump said in a statement shared by the Republican Tax Overseas Committee to eliminate the double taxation. 

A message that 100% targets US-eligible citizens living abroad as their votes will "make a difference," a shared opinion among both major parties.

However, Democrat voter Chris Reilly questioned the policies of the former POTUS as "he says that Americans voting overseas should not be allowed." Despite this, overseas Americans "have to fill in tax returns every year and pay taxes to the Spanish, the Catalan, and the US governments," Reilly noted.

Many of these voters come for either "one, two semesters, or for a whole year," or even "local wealthier families like to send their children to America to study."

"Barcelona is a very popular location for US nationals. It is such a beautiful city," he concluded.