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Culture on demand: Election Knife-Edge
Our exclusive interview with an Absentee Palm Beach County voter
By STAN STALNAKER
November 10, 2000
Web posted at 8:41 p.m. Hong Kong time, 7:41 a.m. EDT
With all the chaos that is the U.S. presidential election, those that can have been glued to television screens and websites covering the seesaw, and now quite boring string of election reports.
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INTERACTIVE |
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As most absentee voters across Asia know, our votes are only counted if the race is incredibly close. But with over 50,000 registered Americans in Hong Kong alone, this is, as one media pundit put it, "the election that puts the D in Democracy."
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ASIAWEEK |
Intelligence
The story behind today's news from the editors of Asiaweek
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Well this, the column that puts the M in mouthing off, the O in online, and the C in comments (What's that spell? Nothing, actually!) has access to the sudden star of the 2000 Election: the Absentee Palm Beach County voter. Here's the profile: She's been an Asia resident for several years. Total vamp. American citizen, Palm Beach registered. Half Chinese, half Jewish, sufficiently demographic for the new century. Moderately responsible, yet on the fence on key issues. Your basic absentee voter, who as we all know, holds the key to this election, and therefore the fate of little things like Taiwanese missile defense systems, school vouchers, beef exports, and the like. Oh, another minor point: she missed out on voting. Told you it was minor.
Herewith, my conversation with the Absentee Palm Beach County voter, blow by blow over e-mail since Thursday:
On Demand: Dear absentee Florida resident, did you vote this year?
Asia Absentee: Unfortunately I did not send my application for an absentee ballot in on time so I missed the opportunity. Now I'm kicking myself. Maybe if they call for Palm Beach County to re-vote, I can fly in?
On Demand: Didn't you think you could make a difference?
Asia Absentee: I did file for my absentee ballot with the U.S. consulate, but I didn't send in the application for the absentee ballot -- it's a two-step process and I only finished the first part. To be honest, I didn't think my vote would make a difference, but now I wonder. As I said, I'm kicking myself.
On Demand: Do you feel that as an international citizen you have let down something bigger than yourself...democracy perhaps? Mmm?
Asia Absentee: O.K. church lady, get off your high horse. I don't think that I let down the democratic process. But I do feel that I let myself down. By the way did you vote?
On Demand: This isn't about me -- it's about you. Of course I didn't vote. Now that the election has come down to Palm Beach County, your home county, do you have any predictions as to how it will all come out, Miss Absentee Ballot Florida Voter?
Asia Absentee: Everyone I speak to wants it be Gore, but everyone has a gut feeling it will be Bush.
On Demand: Ma'am, please describe the voting population of your county, having lived there for many years. What's your gut-feel there?
Asia Absentee: They're all Democrats. They're old, Jewish and retired, whatever, so they want health care and Lieberman.
On Demand: Does that mean they voted for Gore?
Asia Absentee: Of course. They're like me. Jewish and retired. Well, I'm not actually retired, but I hope to be one day.
On Demand: What's more important in South Florida, sunscreen or politics?
Asia Absentee: Neither. It's all about Cuba.
And Asia thought Elian Gonzalez didn't matter!
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