Emmett Delaney, a former citizen of Ireland raised in South Africa, arrived in 1993 on a highly skilled visa to work for Systems Programming Limited in San Francisco. He voted absentee in the Virginia election because he travels giving presentations on emerging technologies for Cisco as a systems engineer in its Herndon, Va., office.

Delaney said voting may be more meaningful to him because he earned the right to vote and does not take it for granted. He said he hopes the close senate race in Virginia is a reminder that every vote counts and to vote absentee if necessary.

He also hopes Democratic challenger Jim Webb wins the senate seat. Delaney said he voted for Webb because of his strong military record with the idea that someone with that experience would have better experience to fix the mess in Iraq.