Kiril Totev, USA: Voters are disillusioned and don’t believe their voices matter

Election day for Bulgarians in the United States begins at 1:00 p.m. Bulgarian time. The first to cast their ballots will be Bulgarian citizens on the East Coast, in cities such as New York, Washington, and Naples, Florida. A total of 44 polling stations have opened across the country, 24 more than during the parliamentary elections in April 2026, when a restriction limiting the number of polling stations to 20 in countries outside Bulgaria prevented many Bulgarian citizens from exercising their right to vote. Among those affected was the Bulgarian community in Minnesota’s Twin Cities – Minneapolis and St. Paul.

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Following amendments to the Electoral Code and the submission of 40 preliminary applications to vote, a polling station has been opened in Minneapolis–St. Paul, allowing more than 1,000 Bulgarians to take part in today’s runoff to elect the country’s seventh president. Among them is Kiril Totev, who has lived in Minneapolis for 34 years but has never lost touch with his homeland. Speaking to Radio Bulgaria, he noted that voter turnout in the first round last Sunday was almost one-third lower than at elections held over the past seven years, with just 66 Bulgarian citizens casting their ballots in the city.

“Interest in these elections has been quite low, perhaps for a number of reasons. There have been many elections in recent years, and people have become disillusioned and no longer believe that these elections can bring about any change, regardless of whether Iotova or Gyurov becomes president. Only a very small, politically active segment of the community is turning out to vote here. The situation is similar in Chicago and in other places with larger Bulgarian communities, where voter apathy is even more pronounced.”

Despite growing voter fatigue and increasingly fragile faith in the power of their vote to bring about change, Bulgarians in the United States continue to follow the political and social developments in their homeland.

“Every Bulgarian who has left the country, whether for the United States, Europe or somewhere else in the world, wants to see change. They want Bulgaria to become a country, where people can lead a decent life without having to constantly struggle with corruption and administrative hurdles. These are the things that Bulgarians who have left their homeland want to see, and our compatriots here in Minnesota share the same expectations. This is nothing new, but Bulgaria still seems unable to deliver on these expectations, and this is one of the main reasons why people have become disillusioned. Bulgarians want a normal life - a decent job, adequate pay, an efficient public administration and healthcare system. For younger people, education is also very important. Many of the people I speak to who are considering returning to Bulgaria are already older or at retirement age. This is why Bulgarians continue to live abroad: it is very difficult for them to find decent jobs and earn a good living in their own country. Many return to Bulgaria not to work, but rather to spend their retirement years there.”

Kiril Totev expects voter turnout at the Minneapolis-St. Paul polling station to be higher in today’s second round of the presidential election than it was on October 25. But does the publication of preliminary voting results from Bulgaria at 8:00 p.m, as soon as polling stations close in the country, influence the attitudes of Bulgarians in the United States, where voting continues?

“Many people, particularly those who were already reluctant to vote, decide not to go to the polls in the afternoon and evening, once the preliminary results from Bulgaria are out. They say, ‘There’s no point in voting. The outcome is already clear.’ This effect does exist, although I cannot say how significant it is”, Kiril Totev says and adds:

''We vote in Bulgarian elections for a better Bulgaria. Of course, everyone has their own understanding of what that means, but most people have more or less the same views when asked what a ‘better Bulgaria’ means. We will continue to vote, and we will keep doing so as long as elections are held, as long as we are able to. A better Bulgaria - that is what we are striving for”, says Kiril Totev from Minneapolis.

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Translated by Kostadin Atanasov