At the Bulgarian Center of New England near Boston, Massachusetts, USA, election volunteers are once again giving the local Bulgarian community the opportunity to vote outside Bulgaria. This Sunday, the building of the Bulgarian Center, which also houses the Bulgarian school and the Bulgarian church in Boston, is hosting one of the two polling stations in the Boston area.
A total of 314 applications to vote in advance were submitted in Massachusetts for this election, considerably above the average of 180 recorded over the past five years, Nadia Ullman of the Bulgarian Center of New England told Radio Bulgaria. Expectations are that voter turnout will be relatively high at all polling stations across the state.
In the New England area, polling stations have also been set up in Hyannis, Massachusetts; on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts; and in Norwalk, Connecticut. These stations also serve Bulgarians living in the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and Rhode Island.
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“This autumn, another election in Bulgaria coincides with the US election season,” Ms Ullman points out. “Early voting in the American elections is already under way in many places across the country, and early voting stations are also open this weekend. We have the option of voting there by mail, provided we have applied in advance.”
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As a result, for many Bulgarians in the Boston area, this weekend involves voting both in Bulgaria’s presidential election and in the US early voting process.
“For me, voting is not simply an obligation, but a way of helping shape a better and more prosperous Bulgaria,” Nadia Ullman says, explaining what motivates her civic engagement.
The polling station in Boston/Newton
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Her fellow Bulgarian, Monika Stancheva, shares a similar view: “I vote because I believe it is important, especially for younger generations like ours, to be politically engaged citizens and to support democratic processes.”