EMMA Conn hopes working on the evening of the US election will help keep her mind off of it.
The 24-year-old American – originally from Baltimore, Maryland – moved to Scotland in 2019 and currently works in a restaurant in Edinburgh.
“I'm stressed, I'm not gonna lie. I am worried,” she told the Sunday National.
“For some reason, watching from afar can even be a bit more stressful.”
The race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris to be the next president of the United States remains essentially a dead heat according to most polls.
Tension is high going into Tuesday (November 5), when Americans across all 50 states – from California and Texas to Pennsylvania – will go to the polls.
But there are also some 23,863 US-born residents living in Scotland, according to the last census, watching with bated breath.
The Sunday National spoke with four of them.
Emma Conn, 24, Edinburgh (via Baltimore)
EMMA Conn's greatest fear when it comes to the result of the US election is what it may mean for her family, particularly her sister.
“My sister is transgender,” she explained.
“I don't want Donald Trump to come in and I don't want her life to get any harder than it already is, you know?”
The former president has made his opposition to transgender rights central to his campaign, using demeaning language at rallies and spending millions of dollars on advertising attacks on Harris for her previous statements of support for the community.
“We will get transgender insanity the hell out of our schools, and we will keep men out of women’s sports,” Trump told a recent Madison Square Garden rally.
Emma said she is also worried because, in her words, the electoral college is “dumb”.
The electoral system – in which states are assigned a certain number of votes each – has meant that US elections are typically decided by the results in swing states where the split in support between the two parties is smallest.
“All of our votes [in Maryland] will go to Kamala Harris no matter what I do,” she said.
“But it's the other states that worry me a bit, the swing states – that a couple of people in Pennsylvania can determine the result of an entire election is baffling to me. And I know it is for other people as well.”
Emma said that a co-worker asked her last week why she wanted to vote in the US election despite it not affecting her directly.
“I said that my family is there. In Maryland, they're voting to enshrine abortion rights into the Maryland constitution – which means that it would be very difficult to touch regardless of who gets into power later on,” she said.
“I still have family there. I still have friends there, and that right is something I want to help protect.”
She added: “I hope and pray that Kamala Harris wins.”
Prediction: Leaning Donald Trump
“I don't want to admit that I am, but I feel like I am [expecting Trump to win]. I think maybe it's just plan for the worst and hope for the best. You know what I mean?”
Katherine Coble, 26, Edinburgh (via Washington DC)
KATHERINE Coble voted for the first time in the 2016 US presidential election, in which Trump beat Hillary Clinton in a shock election result.
“My main memory of 2016 is how unprepared Democrats were, including myself. We went into that election with a real underestimation of who Trump is and how loyal his base was,” she told the Sunday National.
“And I think there were issues with the polls and people not wanting to admit that they voted for him when they did.”
The 26-year-old from Washington DC – who moved to Scotland in 2022 and currently works at Edinburgh University – won’t make that mistake again.
“Since then [2016], there's just been this really deep-rooted cynicism, with a lot of people, that Trump is this all-powerful force. That we can't believe the polls, like, even when we are ahead.”
Katherine is a staunch Democrat. She even campaigned for Clinton in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020 and certainly feels more disconnected this time around.
“I find it harder to follow the election when I'm not on the ground,” she said.
“I think it's harder for me to gauge what the feeling is back home. I feel a bit more distant from it for sure.”
But that doesn’t mean Katherine doesn’t feel the importance of this election.
“Everything is at stake that we've spent the last four years trying to recover from,” she said.
“The harm that Trump did – we still haven't gotten back to where we were before.”
Katherine added: “Gun violence and abortion rights are the two biggest issues for me as a voter and they are the two reasons why I've chosen to make my life elsewhere outside of the United States.
“So, the idea that we could go even further back on those points is really upsetting to think about.”
The lessons that Katherine took from January 6, 2021 – when, after losing the 2020 presidential election to Biden, Trump's supporters attempted to overthrow the Capitol building – was that American democracy is “fragile and damaged” but “intact”.
“I think the fact that January 6 didn't escalate any further than it did is proof that American democracy is still working, even if it's not working as well as it used to," she said.
"So, I still have faith that we would see a transfer of power.”
Prediction: Kamala Harris
“I think the popular vote will be far in Kamala Harris's favour. But I think the election will be incredibly close. I think it won't be called for several days but that she will win in the end after securing one or two crucial states.”
Genevieve Gates, 29, Glasgow (via Wisconsin)
GENEVIEVE Gates – “like Bill, no relation” – has hope but also a lot of fear going into next week’s election.
The photographer, who lives in Glasgow, said: “I know how split the vote is and I know how a lot of voters are quite silent before they vote. You just don't know what's gonna happen.
"I would say I'm freaked out. But that’s kind of a part of me at this point."
Genevieve explained that a bit of political anxiety is part and parcel of being an American.
"You kind of live with it at all times," she said.
"You're aware of the history of the country and you're aware of the politics and how it affects its people. It weighs on you, especially those that care more about progressive policies.”
While very much “anti-Trump”, Genevieve wouldn’t describe herself as “the most pro-Kamala person” either. And what she wants most, more than any individual policy, is “decency back” in politics.
That being said, she stressed how this election could be a historic one if the vice-president wins.
“There has been no female president [in US history]. Kamala was the first female vice-president ever. And she's a woman of colour. And all of that affects how people speak about her. It affects how she's viewed and it affects the way people feel, see and perceive her,” Genevieve said.
“You can't separate race from the American story and even people that don't really like her as a politician often end up saying, 'I do respect her'.”
She added: “It's important to say that history is going to be made if Kamala wins and it will be important for a lot of people.
“There are black people still alive who were active in the civil rights movement in the United States.
“It's important and historic but because Trump takes up so much airspace, the importance almost gets lost.”
Prediction: Too close to call
Nick Meyers, 39, Stirling (via Ohio)
NICK Meyers has found the 2024 US election “bombastic, frustrating, and encouraging”.
The 39-year-old, who works for a facilities management firm, explained: “The rhetoric we see on a day-to-day basis is often extreme and even threatening. Many voices are keen to get a ‘one up’ on the other side rather than have discussion, and due to the omnipresence of misinformation, it seems nearly impossible to persuade someone who has already made up their mind.”
Nick moved to Scotland in 2012 but went back home to north-eastern Ohio to visit a few years back where he felt, for the first time, a real “line drawn” between both sides of the political divide.
“It would be nice for an election result to bring folks of all backgrounds back together,” he said.
“Where you can still be friendly with someone of a different political opinion.”
Nick has felt most convinced by Harris and felt a relief when Joe Biden decided to withdraw earlier this year.
“Kamala’s decision to run has galvanised folks and actually brought an enthusiasm to participate, the lack of which would have seen Donald Trump elected due to voter apathy,” he said.
“I also simply resonate with Kamala’s policies and opinions on most issues.”
Nick added that it is a “surreal experience” to watch the election from afar.
“Scotland is my home now, and I participate fully in life here as a resident and a voter,” he said.
“But the USA is always home in my mind and in my conversations. I often wonder if my thoughts and feelings should count, since the results of this election won’t have quite the same impact on me that it will for my family in Ohio."
Nick added: “Ultimately, it does matter. For good or for ill, the USA has a political and cultural impact, and it would be very encouraging to see the country set an example of reason, compassion and unity.”
Prediction: Kamala win
