AMERICANS go to the polls on Tuesday in the most eagerly-anticipated presidential contest for generations.

Pitting Republican veteran John McCain against the pollsters’ favourite, Democrat candidate Barack Obama, the results will have reverberations throughout the UK and the rest of the world.

We tracked down members of East Lancashire’s American population as well as Lancastrians in the United States.

FOR the past year, the US election has been the talk of America’s bars, coffee shops and diners.

And on Greenwich Avenue in New York, the battle between Barack Obama and John McCain has had the queues at a traditional English fish-and-chip shop chattering.

Despite being based in the heart of the Big Apple, A Salt and Battery has a distinctly East Lancashire flavour - it is run by former Billington resident, and Blackburn Rovers fanatic, Matt Arnfield.

The 35-year-old, whose father ran a fish-and-chip shop in Clayton-le-Moors, succeeded friends Michael Baldwin, who used to live in Rishton, and Louise Demaine, formerly of Darwen, at the helm of the chippy, which counts A Listers David Bowie and Kiefer Sutherland among its fans.

Mr Baldwin, who is backing Democrat candidate Obama despite being unable to vote in America, said: “It’s been all over the news for at least 12 months.

"To be honest I will be quite happy when it’s over.

“But I will still be stopping up late when it happens.

"It’s been the talk of the town, and we’ve had some arguments in the shop because New York has people with all different political opinions.

“On the day it won’t be good for business because everyone will be watching on television.”

Also flying the flag for East Lancashire is international lawyer Gavin Hood.

The 35-year-old former Rhyddings High School student is at Yale University in Connecticut taking part in an international programme - and his next posting will be in Washington DC, the home of the White House.

Mr Hood, whose family still live in Knuzden, Darwen and Rishton, said: “It’s a fantastic time to be here.

"The election is pretty much the only story around at the moment.

“Whichever candidate wins it will mean a new phase of US politics.

"After this I will be in Washington DC and I can’t think of a better place to be.”

Former Lancashire Telegraph columnist Rachel Woolley lived in Colne with her East Lancashire husband up until around a year ago.

The couple now reside in her home city of Chicago.

She said: “Life right now is completely saturated with the election.

“With so much hanging in the balance it's good to see how motivated and passionate people are this time around.

"And when I say everyone I mean everyone. I stopped yesterday to take a street poll being administered by two 10-year-olds.

“Personally I'm voting for Obama because he's the only legitimate hope this country has of shoring up eight years worth of Bush-orchestrated sink holes.

"Namely the war, the economy, and the healthcare crisis.

“Unfortunately for Senator Obama, not to mention the rest of the free world, the decision regarding the future leader of America is in the less-than-capable hands of Americans.

“If the previous two elections have proved anything it's that the majority of my fellow countrymen, though well-meaning, are either uninformed, uninvolved, or just plain thick.

“But I'm trying to stay optimistic. All I can do is cast my vote next Tuesday and hope for the best.”

On this side of the pond, Americans have already registered their postal votes for Tuesday’s big day.

And while Blackburn’s Lancashire Wolverines American Football team might not contain a single bona fide US player, there are more than 300 Americans in East Lancashire according to the last census.

One of these is Unison representative Katherine Johnson, who came to Britain aged just 19.

The 26-year-old, who works at Blackburn with Darwen council, hails from Colorado, which is traditional Republican country.

But Ms Johnson said she was backing John McCain’s Democratic rival, and criticised the “showbiz” tag attached to this year’s election, where voters elect a president separately to the rest of the government.

She said: “I sent my postal vote off a couple of weeks ago.

"Barack Obama is the best hope. I have a schoolfriend who is working on the McCain campaign. We are not talking too much at the moment!

“It’s the ultimate personality contest, and I don’t like it much. The system in the UK is much more democratic.”

Also backing Obama is photographer Brett Henry, whose uncle worked for John F Kennedy’s campaign against Richard Nixon in 1960.

Mr Henry, who swapped Los Angeles for the Ribble Valley four years ago, also covered previous elections working for a US news agency.

The 48-year-old insisted the contest could still be a close call: “Nobody on either side is being complacent, and Barack Obama is trying very hard not to do that.

“I have been tracking the campaign on the internet and have made it a daily task.

“My wife and I were up until 4am watching the three presidential debates on TV.

“The mood over there is very much pro-Obama and I don’t just mean from talking to like-minded friends and family.

“There is a real interest in what’s going on. More and more people seem to be going out and registering to vote, people who in the past would have been apathetic.

“And people over here seem to be interested too. As soon as I open my mouth I am asked my opinion on the election and want to share their views.

“Rightly or wrongly it does affect the rest of the world.

“Personally, I vote for the person, not the party and I like Obama’s progressive thinking and what he’s promising, which is change.

”John McCain has not promised anything new.”

Another person heading for a late night on Tuesday is Kathleen Houghton, who works for East Lancashire’s Housing Market Renewal Group Elevate.

The 51-year-old, who comes from New York but has lived in Lancashire since 1990, has voted for Obama.

She said: “We will put in an all-nighter. I can hardly wait.

"I have not done it before for an election but this one is so exciting. I think I will have to get Wednesday morning off work.

“The polls are all showing Obama is a shoo-in but we have been there before so I’m not putting any money on it.”

Americans in East Lancashire (2001 census)

Blackburn with Darwen 67
Burnley 48
Hyndburn 42
Pendle 51
Ribble Valley 62
Rossendale 45

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