If the world could vote for US President, it would be a landslide for Kerry. At least, according to the unscientific survey at BetaVote.com. They’ve received over a half-million votes from over 230 countries and territories and as of 6pm PST tonight, the vote is running in Kerry’s favor by a margin of 88% to 11%. The only place you’re likely to see a spread like that among actual voters is in the District of Columbia, where Gore won by a margin of 70 points in 2000.

Now, this poll is just for fun, but the issues it raises are serious. Mainly: what is the meaning of national sovereignty in such an interconnected world? Is the outcome of this election limited in its impact to just the people of the United States? If so, then why is this election front page news in France, Germany, UK, South Africa, India, Russia, Brazil and China, to name a few? And if our election does resonate worldwide, then what is our responsibility to address the the concerns of those who are not entitled to representation?

Anyway, one really interesting question: what do the Cocos Islands, the Cook Islands, Kiribati, Niger, Niue, and Samoa have in common, and why is it that these are the only countries in the BetaVote list who have broken decisively for George W. Bush? Anyone have any theories?