Democrats abroad vote with yearning for change

By Erik Kirschbaum and Fiona Ortiz

BERLIN/BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The chance to elect the first woman or African-American president fired the enthusiasm of U.S. expatriates voting in "Super Tuesday" Democratic primaries where they are choosing their own delegates for the first time.

Democrats abroad can vote online through February 12, and 22 delegates representing them will go to the August convention in Denver where more than 4,000 delegates will chose the party's presidential candidate to contest the Republican nominee in the November election.

Back home, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hillary Clinton split victories in the 22 states holding Democratic nominating on "Super Tuesday." The biggest prize of the day was California with 441 delegates to the convention.

"We'll send 22 delegates to Denver, and in a race this close who knows? Maybe our vote could tip it," said Mike Sokwronek, chairman of Democrats Abroad in Argentina, at a packed Super Tuesday gathering in Buenos Aires where people voted at laptops.

Sokwronek said Democrats can decide whether to vote by absentee ballot in their home states, as in past primaries, or online through Democrats Abroad in a process seen as a test for electronic balloting.

"This is the first time in history there is a primary like this. I wanted to show that Americans abroad have a voice," said Nicola Stewart, a 33-year-old genetic counselor who voted online at the Buenos Aires gathering.

Some Democrats in Buenos Aires said they made a strategic decision to cast a vote with more impact through Democrats Abroad, where there are fewer voters per delegate than in the primary in their home state.

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