{"id":121260,"date":"2026-08-27T11:54:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-27T11:54:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/121260\/"},"modified":"2026-08-27T11:54:26","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T11:54:26","slug":"us-midterms-democrats-target-voters-on-swiss-trams-and-buses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/121260\/","title":{"rendered":"US midterms: Democrats target voters on Swiss trams and buses"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/democratsabroad.jpg\" width=\"1086\" height=\"816\" alt=\"Poster in Basel\" loading=\"eager\" decoding=\"sync\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                A poster on a Basel tram urges people to vote in the US mid-term elections.            <\/p>\n<p>            Democrats Abroad Switzerland        <\/p>\n<p>        US Democrats are seeking to mobilise American voters in Switzerland ahead of the November midterm elections, hoping a strong turnout will work in their favour.\n<\/p>\n<p>            Listen to the article        <\/p>\n<p>            Listening the article        <\/p>\n<p>                Toggle language selector            <\/p>\n<p>                            English (US)                        <\/p>\n<p>                            English (British)                        <\/p>\n<p>            Generated with artificial intelligence.        <\/p>\n<p>        This content was published on    <\/p>\n<p>        August 27, 2026 &#8211; 09:00\n<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAre you a US citizen?\u201d ask leaflets displayed on trams and buses in Basel and Geneva and posters in Zurich. They encourage Americans living in Switzerland to register to vote in their home state and cast a ballot in November.<\/p>\n<p>The QR codes on the adverts link to non-partisan voter information websites. However, the campaign is run not by the US government but by Democrats Abroad, the Swiss arm of the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/SWI_CHE_Liz_Voss_small.jpg\" width=\"3500\" height=\"2333\" alt=\"Liz Voss\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                \u201cI\u2019m lucky that most of my family and close friends in the US are Democrats or liberal,\u201d says Liz Voss.            <\/p>\n<p>            Vera Leysinger \/ Swi Swissinfo.ch        <\/p>\n<p>Democrats hope more of the Americans they reach will support their candidates rather than the Republicans, President Donald Trump\u2019s party. According to US federal figures, nearly 32,000 US citizens eligible to vote were living in Switzerland at the time of the last presidential election in 2024. About half hold dual citizenship.<\/p>\n<p>Democrats Abroad has several thousand members in Switzerland, according to Liz Voss, president of its Basel chapter, although she declined to provide a precise figure.<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;Ahead of the 2024 US elections, we spoke to Liz Voss and Tariq Dennison, the representative of Republicans Overseas. Read our archived article here:<\/p>\n<p>\n    More<\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/teaser_polarisation_usa.jpg\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2000\" alt=\"Three American voters\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Global elections\n        <\/p>\n<p>        Trump, Biden and hatred: how US polarisation affects Americans in Switzerland    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        Jul 20, 2024                    <\/p>\n<p>                A Republican, Democrat and Independent living in Switzerland describe the emotional divide in US politics.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/global-elections\/trump-biden-and-hatred-how-us-polarisation-affects-americans-in-switzerland\/84180825\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Trump, Biden and hatred: how US polarisation affects Americans in Switzerland<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>California and Texas are the home states of most Americans living in Switzerland. Most live in Basel, Geneva and Zurich, Voss said. \u201cMany people from the US move to Basel, for example, to work in the pharmaceutical industry. They often come from Silicon Valley, northern California or New York and New Jersey.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Democrats Abroad also canvassed for voters in Switzerland during the last midterm elections in 2022, aiming to boost Democratic representation in Congress. The pandemic had made in-person gatherings difficult and necessitated new approaches. \u201cLarge-scale advertising on public transport seemed to be the best use of our financial resources,\u201d explains Voss.<\/p>\n<p>Campaign driven by opposition to Trump<\/p>\n<p>While Trump was central to the 2022 campaign, he has become a major factor since the 2024 US elections. \u201cMany of us saw his possible return as an existential threat,\u201d says Voss. He is now back in office. \u201cToday, our commitment is very much shaped by the question of whether we can stop Trump\u2019s political agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DEMOCRATSABROADgENF.jpg\" width=\"703\" height=\"528\" alt=\"Poster on the bus\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                Adverts for the US Democratic Party can also be seen on buses in Geneva.            <\/p>\n<p>            Democrats Abroad Switzerland        <\/p>\n<p>The current campaign is expected to cost a low five-figure sum. Democrats Abroad is funded through donations and does not charge membership fees. The tram advertising was made possible by favourable seasonal rates offered by public transport operators.<\/p>\n<p>The focus on public advertising also carries particular weight because new data protection regulations make paid political advertising on social media impossible. In addition to the posters, the campaign includes postcards sent to members.<\/p>\n<p>Republicans Overseas did not respond to an enquiry by Swiss public broadcaster SRF about its activities in Switzerland.<\/p>\n<p>&gt;&gt;Did you know that the United States and Switzerland are known as \u2018sister republics\u2019? Read our article here, which explains the historical background:<\/p>\n<p>\n    More<\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Bundesverfassung_1848_nur_Bild.jpg\" width=\"3500\" height=\"2334\" alt=\"Lithograph\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Global elections\n        <\/p>\n<p>        Sister republics: what the US and Switzerland have in common    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                        This content was published on                    <\/p>\n<p>                        Mar 6, 2024                    <\/p>\n<p>                Switzerland and the United States were once known as \u201csister republics\u201d. A former ambassador to Switzerland recently evoked the idea again. How have the two states shaped and influenced each other?            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/global-elections\/sister-republics-what-the-us-and-switzerland-have-in-common\/73368873\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Sister republics: what the US and Switzerland have in common<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t miss out on any articles on democracy-related topics \u2013 subscribe to our newsletter:<\/p>\n<p>\n    More<\/p>\n<p>    <img src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787831666_92_newsletter_teaser_cc_democracy.jpg\" width=\"880\" height=\"587\" alt=\"Newsletter democracy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"auto\"\/><\/p>\n<p>        More    <\/p>\n<p>        Swiss democracy\n        <\/p>\n<p>        Our democracy newsletter    <\/p>\n<p class=\"teaser-wide-card__excerpt\">\n<p>                If you are a fan of democracy, then you\u2019ve come to the right place. We report on the latest democratic developments, debates and challenges.            <\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"teaser-wide-card__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/swiss-democracy\/our-democracy-newsletter\/79238472\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>            Read more: Our democracy newsletter<br \/>\n    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0Translated from German, sub-edited by Alexandra MV Andrist\/<a href=\"https:\/\/www.swissinfo.ch\/eng\/author\/simon-bradley\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">sb<\/a><\/p>\n<p>        Articles in this story    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A poster on a Basel tram urges people to vote in the US mid-term elections. Democrats Abroad Switzerland&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[4],"tags":[101,11236,5395,5510,27636,2177,57511,69,1456,334,41,17,21313],"class_list":["post-121260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-switzerland","tag-article","tag-beat-global-elections","tag-dialogue","tag-election","tag-kpi-srg-curation-democracy","tag-parliament","tag-parties-and-movements","tag-politics","tag-politics-general","tag-production-type-adaptation","tag-swiss","tag-switzerland","tag-user-need-update-me"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ch\/117167342749495882","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}