Iranian expats, children living in US cast ballots in Mideast country’s presidential election
By APFriday, June 12, 2009
Iranian expatriates in US vote in Iran election
LOS ANGELES — Iranian expatriates and their children living in the United States are casting ballots in Iran’s heated presidential election.
Voters on Friday gathered at 41 voting sites, mostly set up in hotel ballrooms and mosques staffed by volunteers, around the country.
Hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE’-neh-zhahd) is defending his seat against his main rival, reformist Mir Hossein Mousavi, who served as Iran’s prime minister in the 1980s, in a race too close too call.
The U.S. Census estimates about 414,000 Iranians are living in the United States, with more than half residing in the West.
The election is open to expatriates and their children who have valid Iranian paperwork. Many are legal U.S. residents or U.S. citizens.
