Trump Administration Declines OSCE Election Observers

The Trump administration chose not to invite the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) to monitor the upcoming midterm elections, ending a practice that began in 2002. The decision has been described as a departure from a long-standing democratic norm and likened to actions by Belarus and Russia, which also reject international election monitors.

The Hill

Since 2002, the United States—one of the 57 OSCE member states—has routinely allowed OSCE observers to assess the election environment and issue recommendations, though the mission carries no enforcement power. Both Democratic and Republican administrations, including the earlier Trump administration (“Trump 1.0”), had previously welcomed the observers.

The Hill

The OSCE’s ODIHR and Parliamentary Assembly called the exclusion “regrettable.” A report on VoteBeat.org noted that the Supreme Court’s decision last month blocked an executive order that critics said would restrict mail-in voting, a development celebrated by voting-rights advocates.

The Hill

Sen. Rep. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) called the absence a “warning sign for democracy,” adding that it puts the United States in the same company as Russia and Belarus. The Democracy Renewal Group, a coalition of former USAID staff and democracy professionals, condemned the decision, stating it would align the U.S.

The Hill

• “After more than two decades in which the United States has welcomed OSCE observers to its federal elections, this decision represents a significant departure from an established democratic practice,” — Pere Joan Pons, president of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

The Hill