As the United States election vote count continued to drag on, members of the group Democrats Abroad Philippines anxiously waited for the fate of former vice president Joe Biden.

On Wednesday, November 4, the group expressed disappointment at early results showing a tight race between Biden and President Donald Trump. Despite this, the group still hoped for a victory.

“We had really expected a stronger showing for Biden with surge in voter turnout and Trump’s terrible handling of the coronavirus, stoking of racism. It’s not over yet,” chairperson Lisa Kircher Pagkalinawan, who has been living in the country for nearly 3 decades, told Rappler in an interview.

“Given how much is at stake, we are still hopeful Biden will win after all the mail in ballots – including overseas ballots – are counted over the next few days,” Pagkalinawan said in a separate statement.

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“This is probably the most important election in modern times. Moderates, progressives, and independents, we have all pulled together to restore sane leadership to our nation,” she added.

Months ahead of the election, Democrats Abroad volunteers in the Philippines and around the world have organized efforts urging Americans overseas to vote. Pagkalinawan said there are nearly 9 million Americans abroad, 7 million are of voting age.

Democrats Abroad is the state Democratic party for overseas Americans and has an estimated 200,000 members in at least 190 countries. It has over 1,000 members in the Philippines.

President Donald Trump falsely claimed victory, as he accused, without basis, electoral fraud. His camp has filed lawsuits in several states calling for the stopping of vote count. Trump also said he would go to the Supreme Court to dispute the counting of votes.

Biden, for his part, said he was on track to winning the required 270 electoral votes to secure the presidency. – Rappler.com