Students and faculty turned out in droves to vote in the California primary election on Super Tuesday, and others have already voted or will vote in their home states. Excluded from the ballot-casting frenzy at the Graduate Student Union, however, were international students and faculty, who, by federal law, are not permitted to vote in any U.S. election.

While not allowed to officially cast ballots, members of the international community have been engaged, to varying extents, in this historic election. The Daily sat down with Alina Syunkova ‘08 of Moscow, Russia; Jawar Mohammed ‘09 of Oromia, Ethiopia; Siri Eklund Sachs ‘09 of Stockholm, Sweden; and Hebrew Professor and Israeli citizen Vered Shemtov to gauge the perspectives of the international community on one of the most tense elections in recent memory.

THE DAILY (TSD): Have you been following presidential election coverage, even though you will not be voting?

JAWAR MOHAMMED (JM): I have been following the politics like crazy. I think it’s one of the most interesting elections in recent history. The election seems not just about candidates, but it’s challenging the value and social norms of America. The issue of race, gender, class and religion [have] surfaced in interesting ways. The most annoying part of this election is how the media spins things.

SIRI SACHS (SS): Yes, but not a lot . . .

ALINA SYUNKOVA (AS): I have purposefully not been following it, because, being from Moscow, I know that a) my vote doesn’t count and b) masses have no say in politics and democracy is an illusion.

Nevertheless, I do think it is extremely interesting that the two top candidates are minorities — a woman and a young, black man. This is very curious and I am looking forward to seeing Americans’ reactions when either one of the two prevails.

VERED SHEMTOV (VS): I follow both Israeli and American coverage [of the election]. Within the American media, I follow The New York Times and NPR [National Public Radio], but also media within the Jewish community. I’ve lived here for 18 years, so I really care about what’s going on here.

TSD: What issues matter most to you, and how [do they] affect what you want to happen in this election?

JM: My major concern on American politics is the foreign policy. I strongly believe that somebody who will clean the mess Bush left needs to come in. The only person who is capable of changing the U.S. standing in the world today is Obama. If elected as a president, he gives the U.S. a human face. He could speak his mind to the Muslim world without reservation and without being labeled as anti-Muslim.

AS: No matter who wins, the outcome for U.S.-Russia relations and U.S. foreign policy in general will be largely the same.

VS: I care about the war in Iraq, gay rights, women’s rights [and] the environment. Very Californian, I suppose. I feel whatever goes here sets an example for the rest of the world.

TSD: How is this election different than one you would be experiencing at home?

AS: Well, Russian politics are an altogether different “art” from U.S. politics. In Russia, of course, no one that is sane wanted to vote or expected that any voting would happen. But this does not matter, as long as the economy is healthy and people are living better and better every day.

SS: In the U.S. money has too much say in one’s power status and electability. In Sweden the campaigning and campaign spending is limited. We also have proportional representation so we can get a higher participation rate as every vote counts, and there is no risk of electoral fraud — it’s just out of the question. And we’d have more parties to choose from.

VS: I think [in America] there is more emphasis on how people speak. If they know how to speak, I would say being eloquent is something that has such an impact. In Israel, the major strength of a leader is experience.

JM: Huge difference. There is no such freedom in Ethiopia to freely campaign and too much restriction on opposition movements. The debates also mostly focused on ethnic divisions [instead of] real issues such [as the] economy or healthcare. So it seems, in some odd ways, Ethiopians would turn out [to] vote in higher proportion than the U.S. In 2005 over 85 percent — 26 million out of 30 million — of eligible voters cast their vote in Ethiopia. The U.S. hardly passes the 50 percent mark, even during such [a] highly contested primary.

TSD: Do you participate in elections in your respective home countries?

AS: [Laughs] No. I mean, I could if I wanted to. Nothing bad would happen to me, but what’s the purpose or humor in that?

JM: Yes, I actually plan to run for office in few years, so count me in.