An election like no other: US residents in the UAE talk decision 2020

All American elections matter. But November's run-off is a poll like no other. Election season comes in a year of protest, tension and instability wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. America is one of the worst hit by Covid-19, protests such as the Black Lives Matter - a movement against police brutality - have filled city streets, and President Donald Trump's style of governing has proved divisive for some Americans. While the usually raucous arenas are quiet, the contest between Republican incumbents Mr Trump and Vice President Mike Pence and the Democrat Party's candidate Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is heating up. "It is very clear there are deep social divides in the US, just look at the Black Lives Matter movement," said Cary Smith, an English teacher and Dubai resident from Denver, Colorado. "Health is another major issue because there’s no universal healthcare system," she said. "Students are also being saddled with huge debts and it’s not uncommon for them to owe up to $300,000 in loans when they leave college." Ms Smith, 43, has misgivings about Mr Biden but will vote for him. "It looks like his selection is the last gasp of the dying white man," she said. "It’s essential that ethnic minorities and women get out to vote if there’s going to be change." There are about 70,000 US citizens in the UAE determined to have their say on who triumphs on November 3. Mr Biden is ahead is most polls but there is a long way to go. Californian Christine Lippincott, who has lived in the Middle East for 10 years, said the factors favouring Mr Trump in 2016 no longer applied. "A lot of people saw Hillary Clinton as unlikeable and couldn’t bring themselves to vote for her,” said Ms Lippincott, 34, a catering trainer, regarding Mr Trump's 2016 rival. “Now I see Trump sharing those similarities with her. I have so many friends and family back home who would normally vote Republican and are opting for Joe Biden.” Controlling the coronavirus pandemic and race relations are two of pressing concerns for voters, said Ms Lippincott. “Trump’s biggest platform is usually the economy but he’s not going to be able to use that time.” American citizens in the UAE have until October 15 to register their ballot . They can bring it to the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi before this date, where staff then send it to America in time for the election. One voter who has switched parties is Beverly Newell, a UAE resident of nine years. Newell voted for Ronald Reagan in 1984 when she was just 18 and for George Bush, senior and junior. But in 2016, the registered Republican voted Democrat for the first time. She will again in 2020. Ms Newell, 54, came of age in New Jersey during the heyday of Mr Trump in the 1980s when Wall Street was eulogised and the motto "greed is good" reigned supreme. But she also saw the collapse of his Atlantic City businesses cause major job losses in her state. "I became an adult in the Reagan era and trickle-down economics has been proven not to work," she said. "All the tax breaks have been to the rich." The kindergarten teacher planned to return home next year to be with her family. But she has Lupus, an autoimmune disease, and cannot return with Covid-19 unchecked. For her, Mr Biden is a placeholder. "I’m somebody who didn’t vote for Obama but for the last four years I’m like, ‘we need him back’." Ebraheem Al Samadi, 32, said the "hatred and negativity" in his home country meant it was time for a change in the Oval Office. "I don’t really care what Donald Trump says online because that’s just him being him," said the founder of Al Samadi Group, a retail conglomerate. "But I was shocked when I saw he was trying to change the healthcare system that Barack Obama put in place. I am a big supporter of Obamacare because it’s something the country really needs." A simplified online registration and voting system made it easy for citizens abroad to vote, said Tony Graham, an American banker. "American elections have global consequences so the idea of being an American overseas and not voting is just not acceptable," said the Dubai resident. "Absentee ballots also can, and in several instances do, swing elections. If you don't vote, you have no right to complain." The 2000 presidential election between George W Bush and Al Gore, for example, was finally settled in Bush’s favour by a margin of just 537 ballots, while Democrat Al Franken won a protracted race for the US Senate race in 2008 with absentee ballots proving crucial. "Elections matter," said Mr Graham. "All Americans need to take them seriously and cast their ballots, regardless of where they are in the world."

An election like no other: US residents in the UAE talk decision 2020

Coronavirus, student debt and the economy are top concerns of American expats