American Students at McGill Eager to Vote in U.S. Midterm Elections

As the heated U.S. midterm election campaign enters its final week, American students at McGill are showing enthusiasm for voting, despite the hassle of requesting absentee ballots and the lack of a presidential contest. Many students remember the excitement of the 2008 presidential election, when Barack Obama and John McCain faced off, and are now planning to vote for Democratic candidates. However, some students are not afraid to mix party lines, with one student planning to vote for a Republican candidate in a Senate race. Despite the lower voter turnout in midterm elections, McGill students are determined to exercise their right to vote and make their voices heard.

Key Takeaways:

• Approximately 2,000 Americans are enrolled at McGill, making it one of the largest concentrations of Americans in Canada.
• Estimates vary for how many Americans live in Canada and are eligible to vote, with numbers ranging between 500,000 and 750,000.
• Many McGill students come from Democratic-leaning states, such as the Northeast, but some are not afraid to split their ballot and vote for Republican candidates.
• A McGill student, Yaakov Stern, plans to vote for Charlie Crist, a Republican governor running as an independent, in the Senate race from Florida.
• Despite the lower voter turnout in midterm elections, students like Cassandra Zawilski, a U2 Psychology student, are determined to vote and combat the perception that youth are apathetic and ignorant of politics.

Statistics:

• 25% of Americans voted in the 2006 midterms, compared to 52% in the 2008 presidential elections.
• 500,000 to 750,000 Americans may live in Canada and be eligible to vote.
• 2,000 Americans are enrolled at McGill, one of the largest concentrations of Americans in Canada.

Sources:

• Democrats Abroad Canada, chapter chairman by Marc Seltzer, quoted in the article as saying "Most of my work has been within my own group of friends, trying to get them registered and make sure they've requested their absentee ballots."
• Democrats Abroad Canada, nation chairman Kenneth Sherman, quoted in the article as saying "The number is between 500,000 and 750,000".
• Article mentioning an estimate of up to 1 million Americans living in Canada by the Obama campaign in 2008.