At the invitation of the United States Government, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) deployed a Limited Election Observation Mission (LEOM) for the General Elections of 6 November. The LEOM, which deployed on 3 October, was led by Ambassador Daan Everts of the Netherlands and included 13 core team experts, based in Washington D.C., and 44 long-term observers, deployed to 40 locations throughout the country. The role of the LEOM, as with all election observation missions, was to assess the elections for their compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections, as well as national legislation. As a participating State in the OSCE, the United States has committed itself to conducting elections in line with OSCE standards and inviting international election observers. ODIHR has assessed elections in the United States on five previous occasions, since 2002. Observers followed campaign activities, the work of the election administration and relevant federal and state institutions, implementation of the legislative framework, and the resolution of election disputes.
The mission met with representatives from relevant federal and state authorities and political parties, as well as with candidates, and with representatives from the judiciary, civil society and the media. As part of the observation, the LEOM conducted comprehensive monitoring of the media. In line with ODIHR’s methodology for limited election observation, the mission did not carry out systematic or comprehensive observation of the voting, counting, and tabulation on election-day. However, Mission members visited a number of polling stations across the country to follow election-day procedures.
On 23 October, in an open letter to Ambassador Everts, the Attorney General of Texas, Greg Abbott, stated that OSCE representatives were not authorised by Texas law to enter a polling place. He indicated that it might be a criminal offence for OSCE representatives to maintain a presence within 100 feet of a polling place in Texas and that failure to comply with these requirements could subject the OSCE’s representative to criminal prosecution for violating state law.
On 24 October, the Director of ODIHR, Ambassador Janez Lenari, expressed his grave concern over the threat of criminal prosecution of OSCE/ODIHR election observers. The ODIHR Director wrote to United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, noting that the threat of criminal sanctions against OSCE/ODIHR observers was unacceptable and that the United States, like all countries in the OSCE, had an obligation to invite ODIHR observers to observe its elections. He stressed that any concerns or reports that the election observers intended to influence or interfere with the election process were groundless, underlining that OSCE/ODIHR election observers adhered to all national laws and regulations, as well as a strict code of conduct.
A Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions of the LEOM was issued on 7 November. It noted that election observation in the United States was regulated by State law, which generally did not provide for international observers, as was required by paragraph 8 of the 1990 OSCE Copenhagen Document. It further noted that OSCE/ODIHR observers were not provided with full and unimpeded access to polling stations in several States, including Texas, and that observers were publicly threatened with criminal sanctions if they entered polling stations. This was in contravention of paragraphs 8 and 10 of the 1990 Copenhagen Document.
More generally, the Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions assessed that the elections took place in a pluralistic environment and were administered in a professional manner. Election day was calm and although most voters were generally able to cast their vote without difficulty, there were reported instances of long queues and shortages in polling station staff. Overall, the elections enjoyed the trust of the majority of stake-holders, although shortcomings were identified in areas such as voting rights, accuracy of voter lists, campaign finance transparency and recount procedure. It was also reported that decisions on technical aspects of the electoral process were often unduly politicised, and the absence of a federal election management body with oversight responsibility was noted. A final report on the observation of the entire electoral process will be published in the coming weeks.
The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (OSCE PA) also deployed a short-term observer mission to the general elections in the United States, led by João Soares of Portugal, whom I appointed as Special Coordinator for the short-term observer mission. The OSCE PA deployed a total of 100 observers in Washington D.C. and four of the 50 federal States. In its preliminary post-election statement, the OSCE PA lauded the professionalism of the election authorities, while pointing to capacity problems at some polling stations. After a generally peaceful but highly polarised campaign, voters were given a genuine opportunity to make an informed choice. The OSCE PA expressed particular concern about the role of unlimited private campaign financing and the decentralised and highly diverse electoral system, which continues to lack country-wide standards, creating vulnerabilities in the system. The OSCE PA will issue its final report on the elections at its Bureau meeting on 5 December.
