by Maggie Riddle | WeINSPIRE Reporter

Greenville, N.C. - Three million Americans are currently living abroad and are able to vote according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program. As the election rapidly approaches, people are eager to get to the polls to see how the presidential election will transpire. With this monumental election day on the horizon, United States citizens continue to encourage one another to get out, use their voices, and vote.  

For 22-year-old graduate student, Katie Sutton, voting is an exciting privilege; and even more so while living in Glasgow, Scotland to complete her graduate degree.

Sutton said she is working towards a master’s degree in Human Rights and International Politics. She said her right to vote as a U.S. citizen is a privilege that many others around the world don’t have. The ability to participate in the administration of the government, is what the U.S. was founded on. 

“It’s literally one of my only chances to actually change the landscape of our government and political climate in real time,” Sutton said, “Even from the UK I feel a responsibility to vote.

Although she won’t experience the effects of the 2020 presidential elections, Sutton said her loved ones back home will. She said she not only votes for herself, but others as well. 

According to Sutton, today, young people hold the power when it comes to voting. She said this is because the younger generation is “modernizing” the way that elections and voting operate.

“It's like an invitation to get involved in history and who wouldn’t want to participate in that?” Sutton said. 

24-year-old, Emily Browning is a U.S. citizen who is currently living in Madrid, Spain. She said she will definitely be voting in the 2020 presidential election. She is originally from Raleigh, North Carolina and said it was easy to request a voting ballot from her county. 

Browning said, her county’s board of election was very responsive and made it easy for her to request her ballot. After requesting her ballot by mail, she said she was able to vote electronically. 

According to Browning, these days, voting is a simple civic duty and it shouldn’t be a question of whether or not to exercise your right that was given to you.

“So many ancestors gave all their life for my ability to vote. It would be a shame to just watch the election go by,” Browning said.

Browning said she takes pride in knowing that while living on another continent, the country that she calls home, allows all voices to be heard. She said, what inspires her to vote is that it’s her opportunity to use her voice to impact social justice and environmental reform. 

Sutton said she encourages young people to vote and wants them to know that using their voices is important. She said she wants them to understand that their vote does matter and will make an impact. It gives young people a say in the kind of nation they will have when they get older, she said. 

Sutton said she is inspired to vote because as a woman, she did not always possess this right, and so many women before her fought so that she would have the chance to participate in the decision-making of her country. 

“I’m inspired to vote because I know strong women,” Sutton said, “Strong women are the reason I get to vote and the reason I want to vote.”