Americans in Luxembourg Cast Unprecedented Number of Ballots in Democratic Global Presidential Primary

On Tuesday 1 March, U.S. Democrats living in Luxembourg arrived at the Salle Victor Hugo in Luxembourg-Limpertsberg during nine hours of in-person voting on “Super Tuesday,” to vote for their preference of Democratic candidates for US President.

Candidates Senator Bernie Sanders and Secretary Hillary Clinton accounted for the vast majority of the ballots cast on 1 March, but those results do not include ballots cast by email, fax, or post.

Americans in Luxembourg can still vote in-person on Tuesday 8 March from 18:00 to 22:00 at Bosso in Luxembourg-Grund, or by casting a ballot by email, fax, or post.

“The less-traditional candidates on both sides have generated a lot of interest in this election cycle, especially from voters who may not have come out in past years," said Democrats Abroad Luxembourg Secretary, Morgana Barbknecht. “It's fantastic for Democrats Abroad to have a high voter turn-out because it gives us increased authority that makes it easier to advocate for Americans living abroad.”

Any Democrat living abroad can take part in the Global Presidential Primary by joining Democrats Abroad via its webpage (www.democratsabroad.org) or the dedicated tool for absentee ballot requests, www.VoteFromAbroad.org. Membership of Democrats Abroad is free.

“It was great to see fellow Americans that I haven’t seen in a while and many brought their kids who were voting for the first time,” Democrats Abroad Luxembourg Vice-Chair Vicki Hansen said. “After all, your first time matters.” First-time voter Tom Porz said that it was “pretty cool” to be able to vote in an American primary in Luxembourg.

After 8 March, the votes of Democrats living in over 190 countries worldwide will be counted at a central tabulation site in Germany. Any candidate receiving 15% or more of the primary votes cast will be awarded delegates in proportion to their support in the Global Presidential Primary.

Democrats Abroad will send a total of 21 delegates to the Democratic National Convention. The 13 elected delegates will be pledged to a candidate. Eight more will be Democrats Abroad's members on the Democratic National Committee. These eight delegates each have half a vote, therefore giving Democrats Abroad a total of 17 delegate votes at the convention.