Salvadorans abroad could vote in 2014 elections

In his speech on the June 1 anniversary of his presidency, president Mauricio Funes stated that Salvadorans who live outside of the country will be able to vote in the next presidential election in 2014.  Such a change in Salvadoran elections would incorporate a very large group of additional voters into into the process.  Currently, Salvadorans who live abroad can vote only if they return to El Salvador to cast a ballot.

How many Salvadorans live outside the country's borders?   I'm not sure.   A La Prensa Grafica story about the president's announcement stated that there are 2.8 million Salvadorans living in the United States.   Another story, in the Contra Costa Times, cited US census figures from 2010 that there are 1.6 million Salvadorans in the US.   That story did acknowledge that the census probably did undercount those living in the US illegally.   Although most ex-pat Salvadorans live in the US, they also live in Canada, Europe and many other countries.

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